Historical information

This box contains typewriter equipment for a Remington typewriter. The Remington company was founded in U.S.A. and it produced the first typewriter for commercial use in 1873. In 1886 the Remington family business was sold but the name was retained and typewriters with the Remington Rand brand name were sold from 1927 on. Typewriters have now been replaced by computers. This box of equipment belonged to Dr Horace Holmes who would have used a typewriter in his medical practice in Warrnambool in the first half of the 20th century and perhaps would also have used a typewriter in the activities of the many community groups with which he was associated. Horace Iles Holmes (1877-1959) was born and educated in Tasmania and completed a medical degree at the University of Melbourne. He commenced a practice at Warrnambool in 1906 and was the honorary Medical Officer at the Warrnambool Hospital and Warrnambool’s Health Officer. His practice was at ‘Ierne’, at the corner of Spence and Kepler Streets. He was an early member of the Royal Australian College of Surgeons and was prominent in community affairs (foundation President of the Warrnambool Rotary Club, a member of the Warrnambool Masonic Lodge for over 50 years, a Warrnambool Hospital Committee member, a long-term Trustee of the Warrnambool Methodist Church and President of the Lyndoch Hostel for the Aged Committee. Dr Holmes also had agricultural interests and enjoyed fishing, bowls and golf.

Significance

This box of typewriter equipment is of interest as an item in the collection of Horace Iles Holmes, a doctor who was prominently associated with the professional and community life of Warrnambool for over 50 years.

Physical description

This is a rectangular-shaped black cardboard box with the name ‘Remington’ on it. It is heavily stained inside. The box contains nine objects, most identified as relevant to typewriter maintenance and cleaning:- a paint brush with a wooden handle and bristles – perhaps used for dusting the typewriter keys, two glass bottles which once contained typewriter oil but which are now empty, a red and black typewriter ribbon in a metal container, another metal container with a plunge mechanism for ejecting oil, a metal stick with a sharp end, possibly for cleaning the typewriter keys and three other unidentified small metal objects.

Inscriptions & markings

Remington