The American Typewriter Co. 265 Broadway New York
Initially patented by Louis Phillipe Valiquet, the American Model No.1, a capitals only index machine operated with both hands. One guides the pointer over the desired letter while the other hand presses the lever for spacing, or printing.
Though Valiquet attempted to market the machine himself, he was unsuccessful in selling it and sold the production rights to Halbert Edwin Payne.
Mr. Payne, president of the American Typewriter Company, stated in an interview with Printers’ Ink (May 1897), roughly 2,500 No.1’s were sold before the No.2 was introduced in 1895
The American No.2
More commonly found is the American No.2. Operating the same way as the No.1, the improved American No.2 featured an extended top plate, and type element to allow room for lowercase letters.
In the same interview mentioned above, Mr. Payne says they had sold just under 22,000 No.2’s within 2 years of its release.
The American Typewriter Company was famous for having multiple different name variants. The No.2 was no exception. It was sold under names like Boston Crown, Globe, Sterling, The Practical, Globe (U.K.) and Champignon (France). While other variants may be out there, I don’t know of them quite yet.
Speaking of name variants, I am working on building a complete collection from The American Typewriter Co.
While I’m lucky enough to have one of the most complete collections ever assembled, there’s still many more to chase
If you’ve got an American or any of its name variants for sale, please let me know! There’s a contact form at the bottom of the page, or you can contact me directly via email, or phone.
This Boston Crown is out of my personal collection. Note the floral decorations where the manufacturer decal is normally found. They were also sold with a beautifully decorated lid which my machine unfortunately did not come with.
The American Models 3 & 4 were essentially the same. They were marketed as both the Young American, and the American Index Visible.
The American No.5, No.7, and No.8
Patented in 1900, and assigned to Halbert Edwin Payne, President of the ATC, the American Models 5, 7, and 8, were all based off of this basic design.
One piece, from key, to type. The solid steel typebar was a great idea. Almost every other typewriter manufacturer in the day had multiple pieces from the keytop to the typebar. This drove up production costs, and made servicing more difficult. Because of the simple, and low-cost design, American was able to sell the typewriter at a low price. They focused their advertising around that.
The typebar Americans were sold under a large variety of different name variants, including and not limited to, Armstrong, Europa, Mercantile, Pullman, Herald, Fleet, Surety, The Congress, Willard P. Smith, and Englewood Jr.
The Armstrong, Europa, and Herald were all marketed for domestic markets. The Armstrong was England’s, the Herald was for France, and the Europa was German.
Roughly 30,000 machines were produced between the Model 5, 7, and 8.
The Model 5 and 7 were produced in Derby, CT, at the Williams manufacturing plant until 1908 when the ATC moved production to their production to their own factory in Bridgeport, CT. This went alongside the release of the American No.8
American No.7 - Serial Number 10932
Armstrong No.7 - Serial Number 11423
Mercantile No.7 - Serial Number 15032
American No.7 - Serial Number 15318
American No.8 - Serial Number 23901
Pullman Model A - Serial Number 24891
Armstrong No.8 - Serial Number 25937
The Willard P. Smith Co. New York - Serial Number 29203
Surety Model A (No.8) - Serial Number 29308
Boston Crown - Serial Number 5147
The Sterling Typewriter - No Serial Number
Do you have an American, or any of its name variants? Email me at tampatypewriter@gmail.com or text (813) 992-9799
