Underwood Typewritters

The Underwood Typewriter was created through the genus of a German-American inventor named Franz X. Wagner who owned   The actual "Underwood" name comes from John T. Underwood, who was funding and eventually purchased Wagner's company early in its history.

The first production typewriter was produced in 1865 and went into full production in 1870.  It was created by Rev. Rasmus Malling-Hansen of Denmark.  He invented what was referred to as the Hansen Writing Ball.  It look nothing like what people refer to as a typewriter, looking more spherical in shape.

In 1874, Underwood started a manufacturing company producing ribbon and carbon paper and one of their clients was  E. Remington and Sons.  When Remington started producing ribbons and carbon paper themselves, Underwood made the jump into the typewriter business funding the Wagner Typewriter Company, which eventually became Underwood.

The first typewriters produced under Wagner/Underwood where in 1896 and 1900,  these early typewriters had "Wagner Typewriter Co." printed on the back.  When looking for Underwood Typewriters, finding a model # 1 or 2 is an amazing find indeed.  There were only about 12,000 of these models produced, so they are very rare.  Later versions, like the one I purchased (Model 6-11), were made in the early 1930's can be found for $50-$200 depending on condition.  My fiance (Kathleen), purchased mine for $50, which is a heck of a deal considering the condition it was in.

Pictured above and below is my Underwood typewriter model 6-11.  The number 6 and 11 are displayed to the left and right of the Underwood logo