Tag: Underwood typewriters

Acquired 1947 Underwood SS Rhythm Touch Standard Typewriter (Underwood Corporation)
Serial Number: 11-6139621
Underwood Pica typeface, 10 pitch, 6 lines/inch; bichrome, segment shift, American keyboard, 42 keys, 84 characters
in black crinkle paint with black plastic keys and Art Deco chrome trim
Manufactured in the U.S.A.
Acquired at Goodwill Southern California for $20.28 including tax on 2026-05-06. Needs a full clean, oil, and adjust, but not in generally bad shape. Two or three mechanical issues to sort out, but it’s got some new ink and a quick wipe down/dusting has helped immensely. 

I’m in love with the Art Deco chrome styling. This was manufactured sometime between January and June 1947.

Typewritten sample of a 1947 Underwood SS standard typewriter with layouts of the upper and lower case slugs as well as the machine details and the pangram "the quick red fox jumps over the lazy dog."

Acquired 1966 Underwood Touch-Master Five Standard Typewriter (Olivetti-Underwood)
Serial Number: 13-9707863
Distinctive elite typeface, 12 CPI, 6 lines/inch, standard, bichrome, segment shift, tabulator, American keyboard, 44 keys
Body: light gray in steel; Keys: dark gray with white letters in plastic
Manufactured in the U.S.A
Acquired used at a second hand store for the As-Seen-On-TV price of $19.99 and in stunning condition. It’ll need a clean, but this is in almost perfect cosmetic condition. It’s my first Underwood and technically also my first Olivetti as it was manufactured after the merger. The touch and speed are truly stunning and may be the best in my collection even before being cleaned, oiled, and adjusted.

As William Forrester admonished Jamal to do on his Touch-Master Five, I’ll “Punch the keys, for God’s sake!”

A 1966 Underwood Touch-Master Five standard typewriter sits at an angle on an oak library card catalog.

View onto the keyboard of a 1966 Underwood Touch-Master Five standard typewriter featuring dirty, dark gray plastic keys with white lettering. At the top is a long tab key flanked by "CL" and "SET" keys. There are shift lock keys on both sides along with a "BK S" key on the left top and a "M-R" key on the right.

A close up of the hood and carriage of a 1966 Underwood Touch-Master Five standard typewriter. It has a massive chonky feel.

Angle on the left side of a 1966 Underwood Touch-Master Five standard typewriter.

Angle from the right hand side of a 1966 Underwood Touch-Master Five standard typewriter sitting on a library card catalog.

Close up of the typing point of a 1966 Underwood Touch-Master Five standard typewriter spooled up with a black and red bichrome tatty ribbon. The basket is a bit on the dusty and dirty side.

View into the typebasket of a 1966 Underwood Touch-Master Five standard typewriter from the rear. We also see the ribbon spools on either side.

Rear of a 1966 Underwood Touch-Master Five standard typewriter with a sticker on the rear of the carriage with a "U" logo and the words: underwood touch-master 5 U.S.A

Type sample of a distinctive elite typeface on a 1966 Underwood Touch-Master Five standard typewriter typed on a yellow library card catalog index card.

“I’m always trying to get back to the 20s a little bit.”
—John Dickerson, in Field Notes interview (2016) 

Perhaps lamenting too much technology, Dickerson says he’s got two screens on the computer in his office as well as an iPad and a phone. But he’s also got “a notebook [that] does only one thing”. He’s also got an old black lacquer Underwood standard typewriter (No. 4, 5, or 6?) on his office desk. Typewriters only do one thing too.

Wonder if he still uses it?