For All People and Tongues
I have added a page on common issues and repairs. This will be updated as time permits. The Hammond company produced a repair manual for their sales offices. While the original is extremely rare, The AntikeyChop sells a really nice reproduction which can be found here: https://www.ebay.com/itm/155276281985
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I am cleaning and mostly restoring a Hammond multiplex that will be on eBay later this summer. For this I am using a wonderful toolset from the Chapman Manufacturing company of Duram, Connecticut. This is not a paid endorsement or anything, I just really love their product. If you’re looking for tools to work on […]
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A key feature of the Hammond typewriter is that it strives to provide the same visual impression for each character. It accomplished this through a spring-action mechanism that got its energy from a mainspring, not the fingers of the typist. In modern, non-electric typewriters the impression of the character is dependent upon the physical force […]
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John Jonathan Pratt, the first American to invent a typewriter for sale to the public, was absolutely instrumental in the development, sale, and success of the Hammond typewriter. He may be the most overlooked inventor in typewriter history. From his home in Centre, Alabama in 1860 he invented a type writing machine, capitalizing on his […]
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In reviewing patent 267367, which lists the inventor as John Jonathan Pratt, and assigns it to the Hammond Typewriter company, I noticed a statement about the reversibility of a carriage mechanism. The patent, which was applied for on February 19th, 1879, and was granted on November 14, 1882, is notable for several reasons but I […]
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Many assume that typewriters have always had a key to go back one space, to add a missed character, or perhaps to strike an error. However it was many years before the backspace became mainstream. Pre-1900, very few typewriters had a backspace key, notably the Burns typewriter, photo courtesy of Tony Casillo, had one that […]
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The Hammond Typewriter Company sold much more than just typewriters. They sold supplies too! This is a very large PDF file and may take several minutes to load.
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For about thirty years the Hammond company used wooden cabinets, boards, and veneers to support their machines. Sadly we don’t know who built these but it was likely another company. The early No. 1’s had a mahogany, walnut, or oak. From left to right: Mahogany, Oak, and Walnut. (Courtesy of Dr. Hammond) Mahogany, Oak and […]
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The life of James Hammond has slowly revealed its secrets, but few details have been more elusive than those surrounding his stay at the Wylie Sanitarium in 1907. In court records, numerous lawyers, alienists, and doctors referred to it as “Mrs. Wylie’s Sanitarium” at 246 West 76th St, but looking at city directories it was […]
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Queen Elisabeth of Romania, who was also a prolific author of poetry under the penname “Carmen Sylva.” Born Pauline Elisabeth Ottilie Luise of Wied on December 29th, 1843 she was the first queen of Romania, and wife of King Carol I. She was said to be very skilled s a musician, and painter, but her […]
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