Usually it’s only portable typewriters that come with cases. But often unseen and unsaved are the “cases” that came with the larger standard typewriters. These are usually unseen because they were heavy wooden crates that standard typewriters were originally shipped in, but which the dealer discarded or recycled once a customer bought their typewriter.

The crate has the company logo and some advertising as well as a typewriter stamped/embossed with ink into the larger front and back sides as well as some unpacking instructions and a handle with care admonishment on the top. The two short sides of the crate have “handles” carved into the wood to make it easier to carry. But “easy” is a tough word to use as unloaded, the crate itself weighs in at 15.9 pounds which is roughly what a portable typewriter might weigh by itself. If you add the 34.2 pounds of my Woodstock No. 5 typewriter to it, you’re looking at an overall weight of just over 50 pounds.

Of interest, the top of the crate indicates that although it should be shipped “This side up”, to remove the typewriter, one should flip the crate over and remove the 12 wood screws holding the bottom of the crate on. This allows access to four cross braces that are locked into the crate by the bottom. The braces have four large screws in them which would have held the typewriter physically bolted into the case upside down. Presumably, one would have removed the typewriter and the cross braces as a unit and then removed the four bolts to allow the typewriter to be either placed onto or bolted into a desk depending on the desk type.

I’m unsure of the age of the crate and don’t have much in terms of provenance. The typewriter pictured on the case seems to be an early version of the Woodstock No. 5 between 1916 and 1931 when the typewriter had openings on the side of the machine. After 1931 these openings were supplied with covers and after 1936 they had removable hoods which covered the typebasket, a feature that isn’t depicted on this crate. 

My 1938 Woodstock only has two bolt holes on the bottom which presumably would have been used to bolt it into a desk (or in shipping). Looking at earlier models of Woodstock machines might help to narrow down the age range of this crate by finding machines which would have used all four bolts/screws in this crate to dovetail with the bottoms of those machines.

Condition

The crate isn’t in bad shape given that it’s likely an antique at this point. There is some obvious wear to the wood as well as patina, but the writing and images are fairly clear. The shipping label on the top is nearly worn off and only partially legible. The edges of some of the wood are worn and the top is missing most of its original nails, but this allows one to easily open up the crate and use a portion of the top as a “lid”. Only four of the original wood screws are present to hold the bottom of the crate on and the cross-braces locked into place.

Display in the collection

I’m not yet sure how I’ll use or display this crate with the rest of my typewriter collection. It has been sitting on the floor next to one of my reading chairs and it’s actually tall enough that it functions pretty well as a side table to hold a book, some notes, and the occasional glass of whisky. Once I’ve blown out the dirt and dust inside it and removed the four inconvenient packing screws, I might use the crate to store some books. It could probably also hold two or three 1970s era portable typewriters in their cases too… 

Do you have any crates in your collection? How do you display them? What alternate use cases do you employ them in?