Underwood (typewriter)
Encyclopedia
The Underwood Typewriter Company was a manufacturer of typewriter
s headquartered in New York City
, New York. Underwood produced what is considered the first widely successful, modern typewriter. By 1939, Underwood had produced five million machines.
and carbon paper
, and were among a number of firms who produced these goods for Remington. When Remington decided to start producing ribbons themselves, the Underwoods decided to get into the business of manufacturing typewriters.
The original Underwood typewriter was invented by German-American Franz Xaver Wagner, who showed it to entrepreneur John Thomas Underwood
. Underwood supported Wagner and bought the company, recognising the importance of the machine. Underwood No. 1 and No. 2s, made between 1896 and 1900, had "Wagner Typewriter Co." printed on the back.
When the company was in its heyday as the world's largest typewriter manufacturer, its factory at Hartford, Connecticut
was turning out typewriters at the rate of one each minute.
Underwood started adding addition and subtraction devices to their typewriters in about 1910.
In the years before World War II, Underwood built the world's largest type writer in an attempt to promote itself. The typewriter was on display at Garden Pier in Atlantic City, New Jersey
for several years and attracted large crowds. Often, Underwood would have a young woman sitting on each of the large keys. The enormous typewriter was scrapped for metal when the war started. In December 1927 the Underwood Typewriter Co. merged with the Elliott-Fischer Co. to Underwood-Elliott-Fischer Co.
During World War II
Underwood produced M1 carbine
s for the war effort.
Olivetti
bought a controlling interest in Underwood in 1959, and completed the merger in October 1963, becoming known in the US as Olivetti-Underwood with headquarters in New York City
, and entering the electromechanical calculator
business. The Underwood name last appeared on Olivetti portable typewriters produced in Spain
in the 80s.
Typewriter
A typewriter is a mechanical or electromechanical device with keys that, when pressed, cause characters to be printed on a medium, usually paper. Typically one character is printed per keypress, and the machine prints the characters by making ink impressions of type elements similar to the pieces...
s headquartered in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, New York. Underwood produced what is considered the first widely successful, modern typewriter. By 1939, Underwood had produced five million machines.
History
From 1874 the Underwood family made typewriter ribbonTypewriter ribbon
A typewriter ribbon is an expendable module serving the function of transferring pigment to paper in various devices for impact printing. Such ribbons were part of standard designs for hand- or motor-driven typewriters, teleprinters, stenotype machines, computer-driven printers and many mechanical...
and carbon paper
Carbon paper
Carbon paper is paper coated on one side with a layer of a loosely bound dry ink or pigmented coating, usually bound with wax. It is used for making one or more copies simultaneous with the creation of an original document...
, and were among a number of firms who produced these goods for Remington. When Remington decided to start producing ribbons themselves, the Underwoods decided to get into the business of manufacturing typewriters.
The original Underwood typewriter was invented by German-American Franz Xaver Wagner, who showed it to entrepreneur John Thomas Underwood
John Thomas Underwood
John Thomas Underwood was an American entrepreneur and inventor who founded the Underwood Typewriter Company.He was the elder brother of missionary Horace Grant Underwood, and helped finance Horace's missionary work....
. Underwood supported Wagner and bought the company, recognising the importance of the machine. Underwood No. 1 and No. 2s, made between 1896 and 1900, had "Wagner Typewriter Co." printed on the back.
When the company was in its heyday as the world's largest typewriter manufacturer, its factory at Hartford, Connecticut
Hartford, Connecticut
Hartford is the capital of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960, it is the second most populous city on New England's largest river, the Connecticut River. As of the 2010 Census, Hartford's population was 124,775, making...
was turning out typewriters at the rate of one each minute.
Underwood started adding addition and subtraction devices to their typewriters in about 1910.
In the years before World War II, Underwood built the world's largest type writer in an attempt to promote itself. The typewriter was on display at Garden Pier in Atlantic City, New Jersey
Atlantic City, New Jersey
Atlantic City is a city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States, and a nationally renowned resort city for gambling, shopping and fine dining. The city also served as the inspiration for the American version of the board game Monopoly. Atlantic City is located on Absecon Island on the coast...
for several years and attracted large crowds. Often, Underwood would have a young woman sitting on each of the large keys. The enormous typewriter was scrapped for metal when the war started. In December 1927 the Underwood Typewriter Co. merged with the Elliott-Fischer Co. to Underwood-Elliott-Fischer Co.
During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
Underwood produced M1 carbine
M1 Carbine
The M1 carbine is a lightweight, easy to use semi-automatic carbine that became a standard firearm for the U.S. military during World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War, and was produced in several variants. It was widely used by U.S...
s for the war effort.
Olivetti
Olivetti
Olivetti S.p.A. is an Italian manufacturer of computers, printers and other business machines.- Founding :The company was founded as a typewriter manufacturer in 1908 in Ivrea, near Turin, by Camillo Olivetti. The firm was mainly developed by his son Adriano Olivetti...
bought a controlling interest in Underwood in 1959, and completed the merger in October 1963, becoming known in the US as Olivetti-Underwood with headquarters in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, and entering the electromechanical calculator
Calculator
An electronic calculator is a small, portable, usually inexpensive electronic device used to perform the basic operations of arithmetic. Modern calculators are more portable than most computers, though most PDAs are comparable in size to handheld calculators.The first solid-state electronic...
business. The Underwood name last appeared on Olivetti portable typewriters produced in Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
in the 80s.
Underwood in pop culture
- The episode of Between the LionsBetween the LionsBetween the Lions is a PBS Kids' puppet show designed to promote reading. The show is a co-production between WGBH in Boston and Sirius Thinking, Ltd., in New York City, in association with Mississippi Public Broadcasting, in Mississippi. The show has won seven Daytime Emmy awards between 2001 and...
"Clickety Clack, Clickety Clack" used an Underwood typewriter. - In the 1991 Coen brothersCoen BrothersJoel David Coen and Ethan Jesse Coen known together professionally as the Coen brothers, are American filmmakers...
film Barton FinkBarton FinkBarton Fink is a 1991 American film, written, directed, and produced by the Coen brothers. Set in 1941, it stars John Turturro in the title role as a young New York City playwright who is hired to write scripts for a movie studio in Hollywood, and John Goodman as Charlie, the insurance salesman who...
, John Turturro's character Barton uses an Underwood typewriter in response to Jack Warner's comment that screenwriters are "Schmucks with Underwoods." - "Actors? Schmucks. Screenwriters? Schmucks with Underwoods." - attributed to Jack WarnerJack WarnerJack Leonard "J. L." Warner , born Jacob Warner in London, Ontario, was a Canadian American film executive who was the president and driving force behind the Warner Bros. Studios in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California...
- In the 2000 film, He Died with a Felafel in His HandHe Died with a Felafel in His Hand (film)He Died with a Felafel in His Hand is a 2001 Australian comedy, starring Noah Taylor. The film draws on the novel of the same name and consists of a series of vignettes describing a young man's experience of sharing accommodation with a variety of interesting strangers...
directed by Richard LowensteinRichard LowensteinRichard Lowenstein is an Australian film director. He has written, produced and directed the feature films He Died With A Felafel In His Hand, Dogs In Space, Say a Little Prayer, Strikebound and Ghost Story, as well as numerous ground-breaking and award-winning music videos for bands such as INXS...
, the character Danny (Noah TaylorNoah TaylorNoah George Taylor is an English-born Australian actor.-Early life:Taylor, elder of two boys, was born in London, England, the son of Maggie, a journalist and book editor, and Paul Taylor, a copywriter and journalist. Taylor's Australian parents returned to Australia when he was five, and he grew...
) defends his use of an Underwood to a pair of debt collectors. - In the 2002 Stephen Spielberg film Catch Me If You CanCatch Me If You CanCatch Me If You Can is a 2002 American biographical comedy-drama film based on the life of Frank Abagnale Jr., who, before his 19th birthday, successfully performed cons worth millions of dollars by posing as a Pan American World Airways pilot, a Georgia doctor, and a Louisiana parish prosecutor...
, Carl Hanratty shows Frank AbagnaleFrank AbagnaleFrank William Abagnale, Jr. is an American security consultant known for his history as a former confidence trickster, check forger, impostor, and escape artist...
a forged check, which he says was made with "a stencil machine and an Underwood". - An Underwood typewriter is featured on Fionn Regan'sFionn ReganFionn Regan is an Irish singer-songwriter and artist from Bray, County Wicklow, who came to prominence in 2006 with the release of his Mercury-nominated debut album, The End of History...
2006 album The End of History. - The poem Underwood Girls by Pedro SalinasPedro SalinasPedro Salinas y Serrano was a Spanish poet and member of the Generation of '27. He was also a scholar and critic of Spanish literature, teaching at universities in Spain, England, and the United States....
is a modernist description of the typewriter's letters as an ode to the potential of words and potential of creationism in the language through the work of the symbols. - An Underwood typewriter is used by the main character in the 2001 musical film Moulin Rouge!Moulin Rouge!Moulin Rouge! is a 2001 romantic jukebox musical film directed, produced, and co-written by Baz Luhrmann. Following the Red Curtain Cinema principles, the film is based on the Orphean myth, La Traviata, and La Bohème...
- The main character in the television show Murder, She WroteMurder, She WroteMurder, She Wrote is an American television mystery series starring Angela Lansbury as mystery writer and amateur detective Jessica Fletcher. The series aired for 12 seasons from 1984 to 1996 on the CBS network, with 264 episodes transmitted. It was followed by four TV films and a spin-off series,...
, Jessica FletcherJessica FletcherJessica Fletcher is a fictional character portrayed by veteran Tony-winning actress Angela Lansbury on the American television series Murder, She Wrote...
began her writing career using an Underwood Typewriter. - William FaulknerWilliam FaulknerWilliam Cuthbert Faulkner was an American writer from Oxford, Mississippi. Faulkner worked in a variety of media; he wrote novels, short stories, a play, poetry, essays and screenplays during his career...
used an Underwood typewriter. - F. Scott FitzgeraldF. Scott FitzgeraldFrancis Scott Key Fitzgerald was an American author of novels and short stories, whose works are the paradigm writings of the Jazz Age, a term he coined himself. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest American writers of the 20th century. Fitzgerald is considered a member of the "Lost...
used an Underwood typewriter. - An Underwood typewriter is also used by Joan Crawford's character, Blanche Hudson, in the 1962 film Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (film)What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? is a 1962 American psychological thriller film produced and directed by Robert Aldrich, starring Bette Davis and Joan Crawford. The screenplay by Lukas Heller is based on the novel of the same name by Henry Farrell...
- David James DuncanDavid James DuncanDavid James Duncan is an American novelist and essayist, best known for his two bestselling novels, The River Why and The Brothers K...
features a scene in his book The Brothers K in which the main character places a piece of wood on top of an Underwood No.5 to make it type better. - In To Kill a MockingbirdTo Kill a MockingbirdTo Kill a Mockingbird is a novel by Harper Lee published in 1960. It was instantly successful, winning the Pulitzer Prize, and has become a classic of modern American literature...
, the character "Mr. Underwood" is known to type on a typewriter all day long. - A book entitled Atop an Underwood: Early Stories and Other WritingsAtop an Underwood: Early Stories and Other WritingsAtop an Underwood: Early Stories and Other Writings is an anthology of American Beat writer Jack Kerouac's early work, published by Viking Press in 1991. It includes writings from Kerouac's high school years, poetry, short stories, essays and other previously unpublished works...
was printed by the Viking Press in 1991 and is an anthology of American Beat writer Jack KerouacJack KerouacJean-Louis "Jack" Lebris de Kerouac was an American novelist and poet. He is considered a literary iconoclast and, alongside William S. Burroughs and Allen Ginsberg, a pioneer of the Beat Generation. Kerouac is recognized for his spontaneous method of writing, covering topics such as Catholic...
's early work. - An Underwood typewriter is featured in the Australian cartoon film Mary and MaxMary and MaxMary and Max is a 2009 Australian clay-animated black comedy-drama film written and directed by Adam Elliot and produced by Melanie Coombs. The voice cast included Philip Seymour Hoffman, Toni Collette, Eric Bana, Bethany Whitmore, with narration by Barry Humphries. The film premiered on the...
, in which Max, in New York City, used an Underwood to write to Mary, in Australia. - In the video game BioShockBioshockBioShock is a first-person shooter video game developed by 2K Boston and designed by Ken Levine. It was released for Microsoft Windows and Xbox 360 on August 21, 2007 in North America, and three days later in Europe and Australia. It became available on Steam on August 21, 2007...
all typewriters in the game bear the comical name "Below Tree," of course referencing the famous Underwood brand. - KPH Consulting started their business in a garage with only one Underwood typewriter.
- The stop-motion animation film Mary and MaxMary and MaxMary and Max is a 2009 Australian clay-animated black comedy-drama film written and directed by Adam Elliot and produced by Melanie Coombs. The voice cast included Philip Seymour Hoffman, Toni Collette, Eric Bana, Bethany Whitmore, with narration by Barry Humphries. The film premiered on the...
features a fully functioning miniature Underwood typewriter prop. - Ukrainian rock band UndervudUndervudUndervud is a Russian musical group established by Maksim Kucherenko and Vladimir Tkachenko , two physicians from the Crimea. The group locates in Moscowand has the reputation of being loved by several thousand fans, while most other people don't understand their lyrics...
named after typewriter owned by one of its founder, Maksym Kucherenko