Crandall 1 typewriter - 1883

This beautiful Crandall 1 features a rich, hand painted, Baroque style decoration (see detail below) with square nickel rimmed glass keys and with serial number 125, is the second earliest Crandall 1 known.

This was the first typewriter to use a single type-element (no type-bars) well before IBM's Selectric typewriter, with its "Golf ball", that appeared in 1961. Like the Selectric, the font style could be changed with ease on the Crandall. With the single type-element the Crandall also became the first typewriter to have visible writing, allowing the typist to see their work as they typed.

You can read more about the Crandall and see my antique typewriter collection at antiquetypewritrers.com