Smith and Corona Standard Typewriter
date: label: date made
content: 1935
notes: label: Description
content: This Corona Standard typewriter was produced by L.C. Smith & Corona Typewriters Incorporated of Syracuse, New York around 1935. This typewriter has an interesting variation on the standard QWERTY keyboard, as each key has an image of an animal, along with the alphabetical character. This special keyboard was available on three different models of Corona’s —the Silent, the Sterling, and the Standard—for a $2.25 charge. The keyboard was designed to help teach children how to type, and came with a set of nine rings, four on each hand and one on the thumb. Each ring had the image of an animal that corresponded with an animal on the key—you hit the bear with the finger that had the bear ring, the rabbit with the finger that bore the rabbit ring, the spacebar with the thumb that bore the elephant ring, etc. This typewriter is rare, as the Great Depression made an extra fee for a child’s keyboard difficult for many families to afford.
label: Description
content: The success of the Standard Typewriter Company’s Corona model typewriter prompted the company to change its named to the Corona Typewriting Company in 1914. In 1926 the company joined with the L. C. Smith & Brothers Typewriting company to become Smith Corona. Smith Corona manufactured typewriters and typewriter accessories throughout the 20th century, becoming Smith Corona Marchant in 1958. After two bankruptcies, Smith Corona returned to operation in 2010 as a thermal paper manufacturing company.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
setName: label: See more items in
content: Work and Industry: Office Collection
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content: Typewriters
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content: Computers & Business Machines
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Marjorie J. Glassco
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: 1986.0082.01
label: catalog number
content: 1986.0082.01
label: accession number
content: 1986.0082
label: serial number
content: 1C19988
objectType: label: Object Name
content: portable typewriter
physicalDescription: label: Measurements
content: overall: 4 1/2 in x 12 1/2 in; 11.43 cm x 31.75 cm