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| MONARCH VISIBLE No. 2 The Monarch was one of the earliest "visible" machines that proved to be a success; the basic design remained in production under one name or another from about 1904 through 1939. The story behind this company and brand is most interesting, and is at the heart of the visible writing story. Click here to see it. |
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| L. C. SMITH & BROS. No. 8 Also introduced in 1904 was the first L. C. Smith standard. This machine was directly competitive with the Monarch seen above, and like the Monarch, offered both visible writing and basket shift. One slight difference was the front frame member on the L. C. Smith, not present on the Monarch; various makers took various avenues of design to "clear away" anything in front of the platen to offer the typist a clear view, and the L. C. Smith machine is about in the middle of the range. The example seen here is a later No. 8, serial number 469709-8, built in 1923. The story of the Smith brothers is inextricable from early visible machines. Click here to read about the Smith brothers and their companies and products. L. C. Smith & Corona, formed 1926, also later introduced portables which you can see by clicking here. |
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| HARRIS VISIBLE No. 4 This machine, which was designed by De Witt C. Harris, was manufactured from 1912-1916 in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin -- originally for Sears Roebuck only, but at the end for sale through agents. It was not successful, resulting in the selling of the company to new owners by 1917. This machine, serial number 106723, spurred an enormous research article which features contributions of many collectors around the world. It is one of the cornerstones of this website. Click here to see the Harris / Rex / Demountable story. |
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| FOX VISIBLE (Jim Dax Collection) Jim sends us this shot of his very early Fox Visible, which has serial number 0297 16297. The coding of the number seems to indicate that this is only the 297th 'visible' made by Fox; sharp-eyed collectors will already have noted the lack of a button on the left side of the front frame. Fox Typewriter Company, which was located in Grand Rapids, Michigan, originally began with upstrike machines in 1898, and these seem to have continued through 1914. The company introduced this visible machine in 1906, and production in various models lasted until the company was liquidated in 1921. The company did well enough for itself, although it was never an industry leader. The Fox Visible is notable for its staggered type-bar bearing arrangement and for having type bars of two different lengths. |
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| MOLLE No. 3 (Richard Polt collection) The corporate history behind John Molle's machine appears to be convoluted and protracted in a similar manner to that of the Harris. No fewer than four different corporations were formed to build this machine, a variant of which was patented originally in 1908 (filed in 1904) but apparently didn't appear on the market until about 1918. Three of these entities were titled "Molle Typewriter Company" and were incorporated successively in Langlade, Marathon and Kewaunee Counites in Wisconsin. The fourth, the Molle Typewriter Corporation, was incorporated in Winnebago County (which is where the factory was; this was in the city of Oshkosh.) This venture only appears to have made these odd, three-bank double shift machines until 1922; Molle had died, and the corporation was liquidated. The short-lived Liberty Typewriter Company of Chicago also failed with the design around 1922. Notable for crank-operated type bars, vaguely like the Smith Premier blind-writer. Molle No. 3 at left courtesy Richard Polt; s/n 2590. |
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| Here's an interesting aside for fans of Fox machines. As you may know, Fox produced a small portable with collapsible carriage called the Fox Baby, which supposedly was withdrawn following lengthy lawsuits for patent infringement which were filed by L. C. Smith & Corona. What is of interest is the fact that the Fox Baby was actually patented. Detail at left from US patent 1,337,563; developed by H. P. Nordmark, filed December 26, 1917 and patented April 20, 1920. Also patented in Great Britain at the same time. This is interesting due to the fact that, because the patent was never withdrawn, L. C. Smith & Corona must never have proven patent infringement. If they had won, the patent would have been pulled. Thus, if this litigation in part ended the company, it was by sheer monetary expenditure in defense coupled with development of a new non-folding machine. The somewhat complicated construction of the Fox standard probably didn't help either. |
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| SECOR No. 2 (Richard Polt collection) This is a rare one. According to Michael Adler, only about 7000 units were produced. This is a No. 2; the No. 1 differed in that it typed 76 instead of 84 characters. They were noted at the time for a number of novel design features, which included a highly precise but totally removable escapement mechanism. They also incorporated a design of decimal tabulator of some note for its day. The Secor Visible appeared around 1905 or 1906, No. 2 and No. 3 in 1908, and all production ended by 1916. The factory was in Derby, Connecticut, and had formerly been the Williams Typewriter Company's plant. This is a good example of a machine that attempted to be opportunistic, was well reviewed in contemporary publication, but which failed quickly. Secor No. 2 at right courtesy Richard Polt; s/n 5380, manufactured 1913. |
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| MERCEDES STANDARD (Tilman Elster collection) This is an example of the kind opposite to that above; a well-made, first class typewriter that survived for many years in successive models. The design was first introduced about 1906 or 1907 by Mercedes Bureau-Maschinen Gesellschaft, Berlin (this 1907 example from Tilman Elster carries exactly that label), with production immediately being successful enough that a new factory was built in Zella-Mehlis. The company sold many thousands of machines until, in 1930, it was bought entirely by Underwood. This arrangement continued until the Mercedes operations were closed down in 1951. One wonders if this were as much due to the poor condition of Underwood by that time as it was the glut of machines on the market by then. This very early example is notable for absolutely wonderful labeling and trim; the design is notable for quickly removeable action including type basket and key levers, making changing typeface relatively easy. |
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| ...on to page two |
| At left, Monarch Visible No. 2 s/n 66988, manufactured 1912. Below, ca. 1911 view of Monarch Typewriter Company plant at Syracuse, New York. |
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| As an aside, printed sources differ on the changeover from Williams Typewriter Co. to Secor Typewriter Co. Some list the end of Williams' original production as 1905 or 1906; one lists sellout to Secor in 1909. However, we have here crops from two patents granted to Jerome Secor, who was filing patents for frontstrikes as an assignor to Williams Typewriter Co. as early as 1903, with grant dates though 1907. |
| What does this mean? Well, for starters, it means that Williams was working on frontstrike visible standards before it failed and was sold to Jerome Secor. The relevant dates on the patents are the "grant" dates, which means that the assignor must be officially filed by that time. We see the grant dates through 1907, which seems to indicate that the company was still Williams Typewriter Co. as of that time. This makes the one printed reference of the changeover, Williams to Secor, having been 1909 seem correct --- meaning that there should be early Secor machines either built officially as Williams products, or else simply not labeled, or subcontracted. If that isn't the case, then Secor Typewriter was simply using Williams' factory space during the overlap period, and was separately funded. Interesting, isn't it? |
| This page: Monarch, L. C. Smith & Bros., Harris Visible, Fox Visible, Molle, Secor, Mercedes. Includes links to various related in-depth articles. |
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| Emerson, Woodstock, Oliver, Wagner Underwood, Royal. Includes links to related in-depth articles. |
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| Stearns Visible, Visigraph / Federal. |
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| by Will Davis |
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| SECOR No. 1 Thomas Fuertig Collection This is the rare No. 1 Secor, notable immediately by its oddly shaped frame in front of the space bar, which carries decals not only on its front but also on its top. Serial no. B-3964. |
| SECOR No. 2 Thomas Fuertig Collection Tom sends along also this shot of his No. 2 Secor for comparison. The lever for operating the decimal tabulator is immediately obvious, and distinctive, on the left front of the machine. Serial no. 6168. |
| VISIBLE WRITING MACHINES |
| This section of my site features articles on the range of early "visible" typewriters. Use the links below to locate various machines or companies, and associated articles and galleries. |
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| Sun Typewriter Company 'visible' machines |
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| Victor Typewriter Company (multiple pages) |
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| Moyer / Blick-Bar |
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| European early 'visibles' |