Underwood Typewriter Company

Underwood Typewriter Company
Type	Private company
Founded	1895
Founder(s)	John T. Underwood
Headquarters	New York City, New York, USA
Key people	Franz X. Wagner,; "Front strike" Inventor; John T. Underwood,; Namesake/founder
Industry	Business machines
Products	Typewriters

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The Underwood Typewriter Company was a manufacturer of typewriters headquartered in New York City, New York. Underwood produced what is considered the first widely successful, modern typewriter.^[1] By 1939, Underwood had produced five million machines.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] History

From 1874 the Underwood family made typewriter ribbons 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 apparently decided to get into the business of manufacturing typewriters.^{[citation needed]}

The original Underwood typewriter was invented by German-American Franz X. Wagner, who showed it to entrepreneur John T. 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.^{[citation needed]}

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.^[2]

During World War II Underwood produced M1 carbines 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.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Underwood in pop culture

"Actors? Schmucks. Screenwriters? Schmucks with Underwoods." - attributed to Jack Warner^[3]
An Underwood typewriter is featured on Fionn Regan's 2006 album The End of History.
The poem Underwood Girls by Pedro Salinas 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.^{[citation needed]}
An Underwood typewriter is used by the main character in the 2001 musical film Moulin Rouge!.
The main character in the television show Murder, She Wrote, Jessica Fletcher begun her writing career using 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?.
David James Duncan 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.

[edit] Gallery

William Faulkner's Underwood Universal Portable in his office at Rowan Oak, which is now maintained by the University of Mississippi in Oxford as a museum.	A student's portable underwood 255 manufactured circa 1977 in Japan	The Underwood Touch-Master 5 was among the last desktop models produced at the Underwood factory in the early 60s	Early Underwood typewriter, from 1923 or later (probably 1923 to 1931). Note that it is missing some decorative touches and its serial number; judging from the number of keys, it's perhaps a No. 4, but it could be a No. 5.
During World War II Underwood produced M1 Carbines for the War Department.