Typewriter twin spool assembly used by Cortez W. Peters, Sr.
date: label: Date
content: mid 20th century
name: label: Manufactured by
content: S.S. Company, American
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: 2019.30.2.2ab
label: Description
content: A typewriter twin spool assembly for a half inch ribbon used by Cortez W. Peters, Sr.
label: Description
content: 2019.30.2.2a
label: Description
content: A typewriter left spool for a half inch ribbon used by Cortez W. Peters, Sr. The spool is constructed from black metal. It has two round plates connected by a circular shaft. The top plate has three (3) petal-shaped cut outs and a “V” shaped opening that extends from the center of the plate to the outer edge. There is also a circular cut out, a recess for a finger, between two of the petal cutouts. The bottom plate has two (2) small cut outs, two (2) lugs, and a small spring trigger. Text stamped along the outer edge of the bottom plate reads [U.S PAT NO. 2486473] and [MFG BY S.S. CO. INC.U.S.A.].
label: Description
content: 2019.30.2.2b
label: Description
content: A typewriter right spool for a half inch ribbon used by Cortez W. Peters, Sr. The spool is constructed from black metal. It has two round plates connected by a circular shaft. The top plate has three (3) petal-shaped cut outs and a “V” shaped opening that extends from the center of the plate to the outer edge. There is also a circular cut out, a recess for a finger, between two of the petal cutouts. The bottom plate has two (2) small cut outs, two (2) lugs, and a small spring trigger. Text stamped along the outer edge of the bottom plate reads [US Patent No. 2486 473].
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: 2019.30.2.2ab
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: metal
label: Dimensions
content: H x W x D (Left spool): 13/16 × 2 3/8 × 2 3/8 in. (2 × 6 × 6 cm)
label: Dimensions
content: H x W x D (Right spool): 13/16 × 2 3/8 × 2 3/8 in. (2 × 6 × 6 cm)