HARRIS VISIBLE

Harris Visible and descendants. Page 5

Lynda Beckler sends us this shot of her Harris Visible No. 4 displayed next to her Underwood No. 5. Here, you can see one of the things about the three bank double shift Harris design that, from the other shots, you might not suspect; the fact that the machine actually is smaller, in all dimensions except overall height, than the vast majority of contemporary four bank single shift machines. The decorative quality, even with all original decals intact, is also quite a bit lower. The austere appearance of the Harris, as well as the size and the three row keyboard, all lend to its unique appearance.

National Portable No. 5, s/n 18218. (Courtesy Chuck & Rich.)

Many collectors are aware that there is a design of portable typewriter which fits into the Harris/Rex/Demountable story. It was apparently launched in about 1917, labeled the National Portable, and was purportedly produced either by the National Typewriter Co. or the National Typewriter Division of Rex Typewriter Company. It is likely that these are the same firm, of course, at first independent and then more integrated with Rex. Following this, the machine was made as the Portex, which is a clever combination of the word "portable" and the name "Rex." Later, perhaps during the period in which the Rex Typewriter Corporation existed, the operation was hived off again as the National Typewriter Company.

Portex No. 5, s/n 20140. (Courtesy Chuck & Rich.) Here we see the later variant, the Portex, which also happens to be a No. 5 model. There were preceding successive model numbers before the 5, although they do not give us much information as yet. It seems that the earliest machines labeled Portex appear in the very low 19,000 series of serial numbers. There are National No 5 machines above this Portex in serial number however, which does seem to correlate with the history as given earlier.

We are attempting to find more information about this design, and may in fact have one of these machines on the way here for further investigation.

We now know that the period of existence for Rex begins in very early 1916. Thus, none of these portables was produced during the Harris era. It also appears as if none was made during the Demountable era, making these machines occupy only a brief period in history, likely 1917-1921 or perhaps 1922. Click here for more on the National / Portex.

Smith Visible No. 6

One of the very first -- if not THE first -- acquaintances I had in typewriter collecting was W. Seaver, owner of the site called "Machines of Loving Grace," as well as being the owner/moderator of an internet typewriter forum by that same name. And he comes through again with what, at the moment, is the only known Smith Visible No. 6, as referred to on the fourth page of this article. While it's true that it's seen better days, Mr. Seaver notes that, because of its rarity, it was well worth the $15 he paid for it. Below, a blowup and enhancement of the frame clearly shows the labeling for the Harry A. Smith Typewriter Co., Chicago Ill. USA. SERIAL NUMBER 17019.

There appears to be nothing to discern this machine from the typical Harris Visible; I'm certain that investigation would show absolutely no difference whatsoever, since that's what this machine actually began its life as.

Patent information.

This is the first drawing included as reference in US Patent 1,115,311, filed April 1912 by De Witt C. Harris, assignor to the Harris Typewriter Manufacturing Company, Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, and which patent was granted October 27, 1914. This 18-page patent, along with four others subdivided from the original application, cover the Harris Visible.

DeWitt C. Harris apparently moved, eventually, to Pineland, Florida. While living there, he obtained three further patents, which were filed in March 1922 and granted in March and November 1924. These are the patents which essentially comprise the design of the Demountable Typewriter, which as we have seen briefly appeared as the Rex Demountable before the Demountable Typewriter Company was formed. Thus, we now know that the same man invented both the familiar three-bank double-shift machine and the later four-bank Demountable machine.

National Portable / Portex.

At right is one of the drawings from two patents which cover the National and Portex portable typewriters. Both are by Hubert K. Henry, a citizen of Detroit, Michigan. The original submission for machines of this design was filed February 4, 1915. That filing was divided and re-filed on January 18, 1918. The two filings were eventually granted patents in May 1920 and August 1921.

What is most interesting about these patents (aside from the very long time between initial submission and granting of the patents) is the listed corporate information.

The patent granted May 25, 1920 lists Henry as an assignor to the Rex Typewriter Co. of Chicago, Illinois, a corporation of Illinois. The second, granted August 16, 1921, lists Henry, and by mesne assignment (that means from group A, to group B, to group C, perhaps by way of merger, buyout, licensing, or whatever) gives rights to Rex Typewriter Company Incorporated of Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, a corporation of Virginia. THAT is a new one on me; the stock certificate we have here, dated 18 March 1921, clearly states that the Rex Typewriter Corporation was a corporation of Wisconsin. Yet another corporate entity? Perhaps. This is certainly one very complicated corporate history, and clearly indicates that the operation was "on a shoestring" almost all of the time until relative stability during the Demountable Typewriter Company, Incorporated era. Note that D. C. Harris was responsible for the design of all of the standard typewriters built by any of these concerns over the entire history. Only the portable is not of his design.

It turns out that Harris had some fairly advanced ideas about the design and manufacture of typewriters. His vision was largely toward unitization of assmblies of the typewriter, and in fact the Harris Visible incorporates numerous design qualities that became more fully realized in the Demountable. In other words, the Demountable is actually not a brand new machine in terms of concept, but rather a more full realization of concepts begun in the design of the Harris. It is true, though, that a great number of design differences appear between the two machines (quite apart from the change to four rows of keys) which may be attributable to further advancement in design toward unit construction.

One wonders whether or not this has any bearing on H. M. Ballard's claim that the Rex was "as expensive to build as any $100 typewriter." This certainly was not in the plan of D.C. Harris. Rather, Harris wanted the machine to be very easy to assemble, and to test; the Harris Visible No. 4, for example, had two main mechanical sections (referred to as upper and lower,) which were fully assembled and aligned prior to installation in the body frame. This was said to vastly reduce the time and effort needed for final acceptance testing. It also made maintenance much easier, according to the original patents.

As we have seen, the full story of the Harris machines is much larger than would immediately appear possible on the surface. It is just one example of many stories in which the full breadth of the human and corporate involvement remains hidden for many years, only to surface later, allowing collectors to view the surviving machines in an entirely new light. It has been my pleasure to present this story to you, and I thank all of those who have given me the assistance that made this article possible.

Click to continue on to the DEMOUNTABLE

Click to read about the BETZ VISIBLE -- a "one of a kind" relabeled Harris Visible.

NEW May 6, 2007: More Harris/Rex info, and serial number mystery possibly solved!