The Giant Underwood Master Typewriter

[Grond]

Somebody posted this pic on Facebook, which I found pretty cool:



At first I thought this was just ancient photoshop, but turns out the giant Underwood actually existed – and worked! It was built for the 1940 Universal Exposition in New York.

http://www.historybyzim.com/2013/04/the ... ypewriter/

I wish IBM had built a giant Modem M!

[Muirium]

Use your trunk! Goddamn hunt 'n peckers.

[vivalarevolución]

I want to jump my way around those keys so bad.

[Grond]

I wonder where the giant typewriter ended up. Apparently it took three years to built it, so I don't think they just torn it down after the show. I wonder if it still lies forgotten in some warehouse.

[PaiCrai]

That looks like an awesome bouncy castle.

(Also, hello cool dudes. Just signed up on here, and some of you may recognize me from GH. Can't be arsed to do a proper intro)

[Brian8bit]

I wonder where the giant typewriter ended up. Apparently it took three years to built it, so I don't think they just torn it down after the show. I wonder if it still lies forgotten in some warehouse.

They made two of them. One in the 1910s and the one posted here in the late 30s.

It was last shown in 1939/1940. A year later the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbour. The US enacted scrap drives to gather metals for building ships, planes and munitions. As far as I've seen from searching the internet, both Underwoods ended up broken / melted down for the wars.

This link shows a picture of the first one from 1915 and the second from the late 30s.

From the above link...

The Underwood Typewriter Company produced M1 carbines for the war-effort. In the late 1930s, it manufactured a gigantic, working typewriter as a marketing stunt for the World’s Fair:

Just like in 1915…this too, was melted down for the war-effort! This typewriter was a giant version of the Underwood Master standard typewriter:

[Muirium]

Granted, it would have been bad public relations to hold on to a giant marketing gimmick at a time when people were dying in war. It was certainly an interesting artefact, but not quite what the 1940s would recognise as art:

Of course, our definitions have changed quite a bit since. No global shortage of formaldehyde will be enough to free a certain shark.

[Grond]

Yeah, I also read on Wikipedia that Underwood produced weapons during WWII, so possibly the second giant typewriter ended up there. Too bad! I also noticed that the Underwood brand is still used on some Olivetti POS. Quite a lousy end for a once glorious brand. I have a Underwood no. 5 from the 20s and it looks like it could still work.

P.S. I also found a tap dancing scene on a giant typewriter from a 1937 musical!

[vivalarevolución]

I wonder what the actuation force was on those. One elephant leg, or two?

[mr_a500]

P.S. I also found a tap dancing scene on a giant typewriter from a 1937 musical!

I kept expecting them to slip off and get stuck in between the keys. (damn those manual typewriters)

A type bar jam would also be quite a mess - all those legs tangled together.

[Halvar]

Which links to Bollywood's version

[Grond]

Yeah, I had seen that as well, but preferred to spare you!

[PaiCrai]

This stuff is awesome.