The last few little-known typewriters ... for now (W-Z)

Here's the conclusion of my series of images of little-known typewriters. Of course, this hasn't been anything like an exhaustive list of weird or obscure writing machines. I just tried to select some that are never or rarely discussed in collectors' circles. Maybe one of my readers will now take a second look at that dusty relic on the antique shop shelf . . . .

This impressive index machine is a Wagner Schneider.



The Watsongraph was a radio-operated IBM invented by Glen Watson. This one isn't so obscure to readers of ETCetera, who know it from Robert Messenger's recent story in issue 121.



The cute Winsor is a name variant of the Junior, made in Spain by Talleres Alonso (see previous post).


I have the next machine in my files as "WWII Japanese device." I think it's a typewriter made for the military.



Not too many typewriters begin with X, but one that I would love to find is the Xcel, which had some keys devoted to typing whole words at one stroke.




Here's another little index machine of the 19th century, the Yankee. This is one of the antique typewriters that are worth far more than they originally sold for (after accounting for inflation).



An 1898 ad: "As to speed, will say I can write."



The Young American is a variant of the American Visible index typewriter.



The Young Students is a toy marketed by Sears Roebuck. (You may recognize the atomic SR logo from their "Tower" rebranded Smith-Coronas.)



The Zenit is a Russian clone of a '50s Royal portable.



If you don't know what a Zerograph is, you should. You can find more information about this brilliant personal teletype online, including this fine page from Greg Fudacz. So it's not little-known to everyone, but I think it deserves to bring up the rear of this parade.

Another pile of little-known typewriters (T-V)

The Tachotype is a really cute Dutch stenotype. I had one for a while.



The products of Talleres Alonso in Valencia, Spain include the Andina Nova, Alondra, Talbos, and Sabater. More information in ETCetera No. 86.






I featured the Taylorix Zeilomatik on my blog a few years ago, but I think this hulking machine still counts as obscure.



The Telautoprint, known to me only from this illustration, was one of many admirable and failed attempts to develop a teletype.



Same goes for the Telescriptor.



But here is a more successful Teletype Perforator. (I know, these aren't "typewriters," but you're interested, right?)



Here is a Thurber (or a reproduction of one?) along with an artist's idea of how the pioneering Mr. Thurber might have been viewed by conventional scribes.



Another invention is Thurber's Patent Kaligraph. Absolutely not a typewriter, but a device for replicating handwriting. Grab one if you see one.



Here's an Alpina, right? No, it's a TOPS P-2.



Toyo made the Condor, Jaguar, Rexina, and other obscure and fragile portables.


The Toyriter is ... well, just what it says it is.


The Trebla is an index typewriter you can clamp onto a table.




This Tyro is a practice keyboard.



The only Uarda I've ever seen looks delicate:




This Unic is obviously a clone of the Mignon, but is it a name variant of another clone, such as the Heady? I don't know.



This Unica may really be unique; there is no record of it anywhere but in this photo taken in Barcelona. The name is off-center and I wonder whether this was mass-produced or not. Certainly not in large numbers.



The Universal Letter Marker didn't have the nerve to call itself a typewriter.


But the Universal Type-Writer did, even though it was really just a printing kit (as I suspect the Samtico was—see previous post).



The Univex is a minor Spanish index machine.


The Velographe would be a great addition to any collection.



The Virocyl is a cute little index machine from France (I believe).



The Vision 2000: ordinary, yet very uncommon.



Here's a beautiful Victoria from Spain ...



... not to be confused with this Vittoria from Italy.



And finally, a Vornado:

Still more little-known typewriters (S)

If you look closely at this rare Sampo from Sweden, you'll see that it's even rarer: it has a Cyrillic type cylinder.




My only evidence for the existence of the Samtico Typewriter is this illustration from a mass mailing in Italian prepared by Timing, Burgess & Co. of London, manufacturers of the Samtico. It looks like it may have been a printing device rather than a typewriter: that is, you would pick up one of the alphabetically arranged types by a little handle and press it into place on the paper. But I'm just guessing. I ran across this document online in 2003, and have never heard of the Samtico again.



In this month's HBw-Aktuell, Lutz Rolf shows off his Saxonia. It may be a name variant of the astoundingly named Usapax-Visityp, the predecessor to the Glashütte.


This index typewriter is a clever Selbstbau, German for a "homemade" device.



This is a Senator, serial number #236. Looks ordinary, but check out how you can raise the carriage.



This prototype by Fred Sholes is in the Milwaukee Public Museum collection.



As is this creation by Louis Sholes.



This machine is also in my files as a Louis Sholes construction.



The Shortwriter is an appealing stenotype.



I could do a whole post about the Italian SIM machines. They are pretty well known, but they come in a million name variants; here are just a few of the more exotic.

(So if anyone asks you whether there was ever a Woodstock portable, the answer is yes.)

This ad for the formerly unheard-of Slocum typewriter was unearthed by Mike Brown several years ago and published in his book on the Williams typewriter. Even in this blurry photocopy, it looks very appealing.



The Soblik was a pneumatic typewriter. I very much want one!



But I want a Sphinx even more.



If I can't get the typewriter above, I'll settle for this cryptographic Sphinx based on a Helios.



The Star is the last gasp of the Simplex.



The Sténodactyle Lafaurie was a complex and intriguing stenotype, to judge from this poster.



This Sténophile is another French stenotype.



This Stickney was in the Onondaga collection.


Like the Usapax-Visityp, the Stolzenberg-Fortuna is another German machine with an impressive dual moniker.