Historical information
The Remington Typewriter Company originated from the firearms manufacturer E. Remington and Sons which was founded in 1816 in Ilion, New York. After the American Civil War, the company diversified into farm implements, sewing machines and typewriters.
Remington started production of their first typewriter on 1st March 1873 with their first commercially successful typewriter, the Sholes & Glidden being produced in 1874. Key milestones include the 1878 Remington No. 2 which was the first typewriter to have both upper and lowercase. They were also the first typewriters to feature the QWERTY keyboard layout.
E. Remington and Sons sold the typewriter division to Wyckoff, Benedict, and Seamans, who formed the Remington Typewriter Company in 1886. In 1927 a further merger created the company Remington Rand. It later became one of the biggest computer manufacturers in the United States. Production of Remington typewriters eventually ceased after a 1986 merger that formed the Unisys Corporation.
The Remington Standard No.7 typewriter was manufactured by Wyckhoff, Seamans & Benedict of Ilion, New York, U.S.A. Remington typewriters were originally made by the Remington Typewriter Company but in 1893 Wyckhoff, Seamans & Benedict obtained sole distribution rights for Remington typewriters and sole manufacturing rights in 1896.
It is an up strike class typewriter in which the typebars rest in a semicircular vertical type basket and rotate upwards to strike the paper and platen from below. As a result the printed characters are not immediately visible to the operator. The platen had to be pivoted upwards and backwards for the operator to check their work.
Remington persisted with the upstrike design until 1908 when they introduced the Model 10 which was a visible writer where the work could be seen as it was typed.
Significance
This item is significant because typewriters such as were used widely throughout businesses in Wodonga and internationally.
Physical description
A Remington upstrike typewriter. It features a black-finished metal frame with gold decoration. Type-bars are arranged in a vertical circular basket with cylindrical platen on top. The 1.5 inch (38 mm) ribbon carried between spools on horizontal axes. QWERTY keyboard with 42 keys in four rows, including one shift key. Keys are circular, with black lettering on a light background. Black spacebar along front of keyboard.
Inscriptions & markings
On trade mark
To Save Time is to Lengthen Life"
Standard
Remington
On frame below keyboard, in gold lettering: "Remington Standard Typewriter No. 7
