DEMOUNTABLE Typewriters

The Demountable: The final chapter of the DeWitt C. Harris story. by Will Davis

Readers are advised to consult the Harris Visible / Rex Visible article on this site for complete historical and technical coverage including all corporate entities and machines prior to the Demountable.

In 1922, DeWitt C. Harris began to make his second round of applications to the U.S. Patent Office concerning typewriters; they would be his last. The new machine, to be produced by Rex Typewriter Corporation, would not only be a fully competitive four-bank front strike machine with segment shift, but would also be one that could quickly be taken apart into major sections for cleaning, repair or interchange. The design was constructed in prototype form and demonstrated as the Rex Demountable Typewriter. Almost immediately after that, Rex Typewriter Corporation went bankrupt.

At left, an extremely rare illustration. This is from a February 1922 circular, or prospectus, issued by Rex Typewriter Corporation showing the Rex Demountable Typewriter and also containing many statements made by persons who had already invested in the company. One of the men quoted, William Mauthe, actually ended up being involved in the company at the highest levels; when Rex shut down for good, new investors bought the factory and rights to the design, renaming the company as the Demountable Typewriter Company and making William Mauthe its president.

Demountable Typewriter Company immediately began production of the new Demountable; none of the earlier Harris/Rex or portable designs were continued (Demountable probably did not acquire rights to these anyway.)

The design seen above with top-mounted ribbon spools required the operator to remove the ribbon from the vibrator when disassembling the machine (much more later) and a new design with internal ribbon spools was developed. We are not certain of the date of introduction of the new No. 2 Demountable, but it seems to have been after 1924 since official correspondence from late in that year still shows all machines being No. 1. From this point, the standard carriage width machines were built to the new design for a time, while wide-carriage machines continued to be built to the No. 1 design. Eventually, prior to 1929, all carriage widths were constructed in the No. 2 body. There was also a very late No. 5 Demountable; only two are known to still exist. (In point of fact, the Demountable in any model today is far more rare than the Harris or the Rex.)

Design and Construction of the Demountable No. 2 using an original instruction manual and an actual Demountable No. 2.

The design of the Demountable was very clearly an extension of the ideas incorporated in the design of the Harris Visible. The machine was to be manufactured so that individual units could be assembled, tested and aligned prior to assembly into a complete typewriter; the units were so designed that any possible misalignment with one would not transfer to the others (exactly as stated in the case of the original Harris.) However, the Demountable's operative sections were also immediately and quickly separable by anyone, with no tools.

The names of the sections of the Demountable are the ACTION UNIT, the FRAME UNIT and the CARRIAGE UNIT. The fourth section is a subassembly of the last named and is actually the PLATEN.

On the left we see a rear view of the machine, and a locking lug. Pulling this out allows the FRAME UNIT to be lifted vertically off of the ACTION UNIT.

On the right, we see the frame unit of a Demountable No. 2 lifted off of its action unit. On the earlier No. 1, which was attached similarly, the ribbon had to be removed from the ribbon vibrator prior to removing the frame unit since the ribbon spools came off with the frame unit. This has been corrected in the No. 2 by the use of internal, side-mounted ribbon spools.

Above, patent by DeWitt C. Harris showing the key lever / type bar mechanism of the Demountable. Notable is the retention from the Harris Visible of bifurcated, or cleft, key levers which can yield or open slightly when struck, altering the resistance to the key strike and thus making a touch regulator unnecessary. The rest of the mechanism design is totally new.

Above and left, the action unit of the No. 2 Demountable in illustration and in actual example. The frame section is guided up and down by two shafts mounted vertically on the action unit which mate with corresponding indentations in the frame making misalignment impossible. The machine is designed so that all operative functions that relate to separate parts are brought into "operative alignment" automatically and perfectly. For example, in the above illustration a lever can be seen sticking up on the left side of the action unit. This is the operating lever for the margin release mechanism; the button in the frame, when pressed, will push on this lever, but when not pushed is clear of it -- thus no direct link is employed. All other separable functions are similar.

We see here the action unit, the frame unit and the platen, removed from the carriage. The paper feed rollers and tray are also quickly removable for total ease in cleaning out every last bit of eraser crumb, dirt or grit.

The carriage is removed simply by moving it all the way to the left, employing carriage release and margin release functions, after having turned down a little stop on the carriage rail assembly. A special tang intercepts a specially hooked drawband connection when the carriage is most of the way to the left; it re-hooks the carriage when it is reinstalled. Enough drawband is on any machine for any carriage size.

Further illustrations from the manual, illustrating the No. 2 available with four different carriage widths, and showing the quick interchange of carriages which of course could be purchased separately.

In actual operation, the Demountable No. 2 quickly proved itself the equal of any standard four-bank typewriter and in fact quickly moved itself into the very top rank of machines in terms of ease of action and operation. The key touch is smooth, with relatively light resistance, allowing long operation with little fatigue. The segment shift, which on this machine moves the segment down for shift to capitals or figures, is in fact the easiest ever tested here. Its operation is smooth and flawless with no segment bounce either on shift or return. One of the most pleasant machines we've ever operated.

Disassembly and reassembly of the operative sections proved extremely easy and impossible to do incorrectly. Access to the margin stops and tabulator stops is easy from the front since the paper table folds all the way over forward and flat. On the reverse of the paper table is found the decal labeling seen below.

Like the Harris and the Rex, the Demountable never had a large following, even though unlike the other two a major effort was made to market the Demountable literally everywhere around the world. The company actually came out of the short recession in the early 1920's that killed off so many typewriter manufacturers to find itself with several fewer competitors than prior. Manufacture of the Demountable continued through the decade, and in fact the company survived the worst part of the Great Depression. However, against much larger and richer companies the Demountable could not hold on forever. Production ceased sometime around 1934 or 1936, and the company was bankrupt. Demountable Typewriter Company, Inc. (which was the official title at the end) was apparently liquidated finally and completely in 1939. None of the designs of standard or portable was bought or placed in production elsewhere, meaning that DeWitt C. Harris' machines had been produced, in all models, for approximately 25 years.

FOOTNOTE: Discussion with Mrs. Charles Wharton, descendant of DeWitt C. Harris' wife Jeannie Wharton Harris, reveals that DeWitt C. Harris was born in 1875, and passed away in June 1941 in Tampa, Florida. He is buried at Myrtle Hill Memorial Park, Tampa Florida. There is no record of Harris having worked for any typewriter manufacturer prior to the development of the Harris Visible which began about 1908. There is evidence of some experience in the field in the patent material filed by Harris himself, but what is more evident in these patents and the machines actually examined is his brilliance in conception, execution and manufacture. These pages on the Harris Visible, Rex Visible and Demountable are dedicated to his memory. -Will Davis, November 2006.

Demountable No. 2 tested by the author.

One further point of interest; the Demountable is among the few machines ever made to have both right hand and left hand carriage return levers. They are connected by a reach rod; the right side mechanism is that of the Harris!