Well, here’s a fat, ugly, rusty thing.
But if you are an antique typewriter collector, your heart skipped a beat at the sight of it. This is an 1891 International no. 1, and it is rare, rare, rare. In 30 years of typewriter collecting, I have never seen one turn up for sale before.
This one was sold at auction on November 26 in Indianapolis—within easy driving distance for me—but I soon saw that I wasn’t going to be able to afford a competitive bid on it.
A ca. 1893 International Typewriter trade catalogue features “The Typewriter Edison,” Lucien S. Crandall—more famous for inventing the two-row, curved-keyboard, type cylinder-sporting Crandall typewriter.
Back when it was new, this was a fat, ugly, and shiny thing, with flowers.
The company offered “The Little Beauty Cabinet” to house the no. 1.
But Crandall seems to have been prouder of the model 2, with a progressive double keyboard. The catalogue describes it as “the handsomest typewriter in the world.”
The no. 2, though also extremely rare and desirable, may be a little more common than the no. 1. At least I have seen a couple of them come up for sale in my day. Here’s an example.
But how much did the fat, ugly, rusty thing sell for, you ask?
A cool $17,500 (including a 25% auctioneer’s fee).
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