Typewriter used by Cortez W. Peters, Sr.
date: label: Date
content: ca. 1958
name: label: Manufactured by
content: Royal Typewriter Company, American, founded 1904
label: Used by
content: Cortez W. Peters Sr., American, 1906 - 1964
notes: label: Caption
content: Cortez W. Peters, Sr. was the first African American to win and hold the title of the World’s Accuracy Typist upon winning the World’s Amateur Typing Contest in 1925.
label: Caption
content: Born in 1906 in Baltimore, Maryland, Peters taught himself to type at the age of 11 after his father, a watchmaker, received a used typewriter as payment for his services. His self-taught style accounted for his unique typing methodology for developing accuracy and speed.
label: Caption
content: In 1934 Peters, Sr. opened the Cortez Peters Business School in Washington, D.C. Over the next seven years two more locations opened, in Baltimore (1935) and Chicago (1941), and remained in operation until the mid-1970s. The schools were among the only privately owned African American schools in the nation, and were among the first to teach the professional skill or typing to a black audience. In addition to typing, the schools also taught shorthand and other clerical skills to help African Americans break into white collar professions. Eventually the school expanded to cover 22 subjects and taught an estimated 100,000 students across all three locations.
label: Caption
content: Cortez W. Peters, Jr. helped his father run these institutions, eventually taking over after his father’s death in 1964. Peters, Jr. was an accomplished typist in his own right, winning several awards for both speed and accuracy. Together the pair honed and taught the Cortez Peters typing methodology in their schools and later through books and online. This method is knows as an “individual diagnostic/ prescriptive method” and focuses on identifying issues with an individual’s typing methods and developing personalized strategies to create new learned behaviors. This method is seen as the foundation of modern typing instruction.
label: Description
content: A Royal FP Elite Typewriter used by Cortez W. Peters, Sr. The typewriter has a tan on gray body with an off-white keytop. The typewriter has a “QUERTY” keytop. Just above is a red Royal logo that it also a button for the latch release for the top cover. Under the top cover has forty-three (43) typehead bars. Stamped model initials and serial number on the interior left reads [FPE-6154101]. A black ink ribbon is mounted on the ribbon spool (2019.30.2.2ab) and threaded behind the type guide. The typewriter has two off-white platen knobs, a black rubber platen, a silver carriage return lever, and two silver carriage release levers. Stamped on the left and right carriage release levers is the text [MAGIC/ TRADEMARK / MARGIN]. The typewriter body has two (2) rectangular access panels on the sides and a large one on the back. Stamped and enameled on the pack is the brand of the typewriter [ROYAL ?], underlined by a flourish from one of the legs of the [R]. Under the lid of the typewriter is a black label with gold text that identifies the maker and relevant patents. A stamped metal plate on the left side of the interior identifies the model and serial number as [FPE-6154101]. Nestles on either side of the typebar are two (2) spool guards with a mounted spool (2019.30.2.2ab). Printed on the side of right spool guard is white text that reads [TOUCH CONTROL ? / 654321] printed between an encircled [+] on the left and an encircled [-] sign on the right. A small lever on the front right side of the typewriter, allows the user to toggle between red, black, and white ink.
place: label: Place made
content: Hartford, Connecticut, United States, North and Central America
topic: label: Topic
content: African American
label: Topic
content: Business
label: Topic
content: Communication
label: Topic
content: Education
label: Topic
content: Labor
setName: label: See more items in
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
label: Classification
content: Tools and Equipment
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Joanne Peters King and Darryl Wayne Joyce
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture
identifier: label: Object number
content: 2019.30.2.1
objectType: label: Type
content: typewriters
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: No Known Copyright Restrictions
label: Restrictions & Rights
content: Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
physicalDescription: label: Medium
content: enamel on metal with plastic
label: Dimensions
content: H x W x D: 9 1/2 × 17 1/8 × 17 1/16 in. (24.1 × 43.5 × 43.3 cm)