The Densmore Typewriter Company only produced typewriters from 1891, to 1910 but during their time they produced some of the highest quality typewriters of the day.

The quality is no doubt, a testament to the inventors of the machines. Amos, and Emmet Densmore were the younger brother of James Densmore, who was crucial to the development of the Sholes & Glidden, which was the first commercially successful typewriter. Franz Wagner also contributed to Densmore, and later went on to create the one of the most successful typewriters of all time, the Underwood Standard.

The example you see here is from my personal collection, and formerly resided in the Clark Collection, which was famously displayed at the NOMDA museum in Kansas City. Dennis Clark curated a collection of over 500 of the finest antique typewriters one could ever find. I am lucky enough to have small collection of Clark’s typewriters, this being the highlight.

You may have already noticed one of the most striking features of this typewriter, which would be the ringed typebar linkages. These peculiar loops were in place for the fine adjustments of the typebars. The ringed Densmores are coveted machines by collectors, and for very good reason. Only the earliest examples feature these linkages, and few survive today.

Less than a thousand Densmore No.2’s featured the rings, as they were very quickly phased out of production. Due to the limited production, this is an exceedingly rare typewriter today, with less than five known to me.