Imperial Model B Typewriter
- Item No.
Print Page
Item Details
- Width:
12 1/4 Inches - Height:
7 1/8 Inches - Depth:
9 1/4 Inches - Period:
20th Century - Origin:
England/Ireland
This rare and outstanding Imperial B portable typewriter, by the Imperial Typewriter Company of Leicester, England, was a technological breakthrough in its day. This intriguing machine first appeared in 1915 and features a curved QWERTY keyboard, a removable and changeable downstrike typebasket, a backspace lever, two keys for capitals, figures and punctuation, and a shift key that when pressed, moves the entire type basket instead of just the platen! The stunning typewriter is housed in its original domed leather carrying case, embossed with the initials "M. D. J.-H."
The Imperial Typewriter Company was founded by Hidalgo Moya in 1908. The Imperial B appeared seven years after the launch of the basic model, the Imperial A. The most striking aspect of the Imperial B is the curved keyboard that comes off completely, together with the type. Within seconds, the typeface of the machine could be replaced. The Imperial B appeared with a number of small variations, like two shift keys, a backspace and an aluminum name shield over the type. The machine was built and marketed in different countries under different names, including Lloyd and Typo. To find an early, revolutionary model for this innovative company is extremely rare.
Circa 1915
12 1/4" wide x 9 1/4" deep x 7 1/8" high
The first practical, commercially-made typewriter was introduced by E. Remington and Sons, the famed maker of firearms. Engineered by the company's sewing machine division, this model was called the Sholes & Glidden, after Christopher Latham Sholes and his assistant Carlos Glidden, who receive patents in 1867 for a prototype that was said to have "looked something like a cross between a small piano and kitchen table." These patents were later sold to James Densmore and George W. N. Yost, who contracted with Remington to make the machines, and who later went on to found their own companies. The Remington model was the first to introduce the QWERTY keyboard. Though not quite successful, it paved the way for typewriters to be accepted and used in the workplace, and thus forever transformed the creating of print media.
The Imperial Typewriter Company was founded by Hidalgo Moya in 1908. The Imperial B appeared seven years after the launch of the basic model, the Imperial A. The most striking aspect of the Imperial B is the curved keyboard that comes off completely, together with the type. Within seconds, the typeface of the machine could be replaced. The Imperial B appeared with a number of small variations, like two shift keys, a backspace and an aluminum name shield over the type. The machine was built and marketed in different countries under different names, including Lloyd and Typo. To find an early, revolutionary model for this innovative company is extremely rare.
Circa 1915
12 1/4" wide x 9 1/4" deep x 7 1/8" high
The first practical, commercially-made typewriter was introduced by E. Remington and Sons, the famed maker of firearms. Engineered by the company's sewing machine division, this model was called the Sholes & Glidden, after Christopher Latham Sholes and his assistant Carlos Glidden, who receive patents in 1867 for a prototype that was said to have "looked something like a cross between a small piano and kitchen table." These patents were later sold to James Densmore and George W. N. Yost, who contracted with Remington to make the machines, and who later went on to found their own companies. The Remington model was the first to introduce the QWERTY keyboard. Though not quite successful, it paved the way for typewriters to be accepted and used in the workplace, and thus forever transformed the creating of print media.
