General Information

Serial #

4C153528

Part Number

1

Total Parts

3

AKA

N/A

Patents

N/A

General Description

All metal machine has finely wrinkled texture flat black finish on exterior; silver metal parts have flat and bright finishes; off-white characters appear on round black synthetic key faces on QWERTY keyboard; selected flat black synthetic fittings include space bar and platen knobs, and feet; fabric ink ribbon in metal spools is present; rubber roller

Dimensions

Note: These reflect the general size for storage and are not necessarily representative of the object's true dimensions.

Length

33.3 cm

Width

32.5 cm

Height

13.4 cm

Thickness

N/A

Weight

N/A

Diameter

N/A

Volume

N/A

Lexicon

Group

Printing

Category

Typesetting

Sub-Category

N/A

Manufacturer

AKA

SCM

Country

Canada

State/Province

Ontario

City

Toronto

Context

Country

Canada

State/Province

Ontario

Period

1950's

Canada

Manufactured in Toronto, ON this typewriter belonged to Mrs. Charlotte Louisa McGee (donor's aunt). Originally from Belleville, McGee was a human resources office manager for Ontario Hydro. She purchased this typewriter for home use, although it is thought she may have used it to type work-related documents from home. [Ref. 1]

Function

To mechanically print characters on a piece of paper, both rapidly and uniformly.

Technical

The L.C. Smith & Corona Typewriter Company was formed in January, 1926 when a merger between L.C. Smith & Bros. and Corona occurred. The Smith-Corona portable line of computers emerged after the stock market crash of 1929, introducing a variety of brightly-coloured models as well as the "Clipper" brand name in 1935. In 1938, the company introduced the "speedline" body which was characterized by a sleek design with a matte finish (to reduce glare). The first model introduced with the "speedline" design was the "Standard", a characteristic workhorse of the time. Typewriter production was discontinued during WWII when the government ordered the company to assist in war efforts to manufacture rifles. However, by 1943, a sudden need for writing eq. forced L.C.S. & C. to recommence the assembly of typewriters. The "speedline" body was resumed and became the main distinguishing feature of Smith-Corona typewriters from 1938 to 1949. Post-war, the "speedline" decreased in popularity and was only seen in "Sterling", "Silent" and "Clipper" models. This body variant was used until the mid 1950's when it finally gave way to the decade's newer line of portables. The Standard/Clipper model continued in popularity and was produced well into the 1950's: by then, it bore the company's new name- "Smith-Corona". The Standard/Clipper model lacked some of the newer and more impressive features available at that time; however, it greatly outsold other costly models. Many people were convinced that it gave them the most value for their money. [Ref. 1]

Area Notes

Unknown

Details

Markings

"Smith - Corona/ Made in Canada" and "Clipper" appears in gold tone print on coverplate. Serial number "4C153528" stamped into inner surface of frame, on right side. "L C Smith & Corona Typewriters/ OF CANADA LIMITED" appears in goldtone print on frame back. Typewriter keys are labelled. "Floating/ Shift" stamped within circular border into face of type guide.

Missing

Appears complete.

Finish

All metal machine has finely wrinkled texture flat black finish on exterior; silver metal parts have flat and bright finishes; off-white characters appear on round black synthetic key faces on QWERTY keyboard; selected flat black synthetic fittings include space bar and platen knobs, and feet; fabric ink ribbon in metal spools is present; rubber roller

Decoration

Stylized illustration of airplane (Boeing B-314/ Pan-Am Clipper) decorates coverplate.