Prior to 1889, the Smith Brothers had been concerned only with the manufacture of firearms; however, in that year, production of a double-keyboard standard typewriter was begun by this firm based upon the designs of a consulting engineer under contract to the firm. The machine was quickly successful; this was the SMITH PREMIER. The machine was actually so well received that the four brothers set up a new company, Smith Premier Typewriter Co., to build it. Shortly thereafter, in 1893, this company came under the umbrella of the Union Typewriter Company, which was a trust including Remington, Densmore, Yost and Caligraph -- and one which would not be legal today, considering the anti-trust laws. Business for all of them was booming, especially with the price fixing that the trust allowed. Before the end of the century, though, the new Underwood machine appeared which offered visible writing. The Smith Brothers knew that this was eventually to be the way of the future, but were not permitted by the trust to produce a different machine that would have been directly competitive point-for-point with the Underwood. They then decided that the old business, and the trust itself, were dead ends, but that visible typewriters were not. They sold out their shares in the Smith Premier Typewriter Company and resigned. As we now know, the Smiths did not plan to leave the business -- they planned to go head to head not only with Underwood, but with all of the Union companies. They established a new company, L. C. Smith & Brothers Typewriters Inc., bought new land and built a brand new factory -- in the same city, Syracuse, New York, as the Smith Premier factory. By 1904, the new L. C. Smith & Bros. Standard was on the market, offering not only visible writing, but basket shift. The success of the machine was augured both by the soundness of the design and the experience of the Smith Brothers. Ultimately, this company developed the typewriter brand Smith Corona. This Smith typewriter became one of the preeminent typewriter brands in the United States in the middle of the twentieth century.
Electric Smith typewriters were developed and sold beginning in 1955. These Smith typewriters were designed to be mobile typewriters. Before this, all Smith typewriters had been much heavier and designed for use in one place. The portable Smith typewriters were marketed for both business and home use. Typing became much more widespread with the availability of the Smith typewriter. More businesses relied on them and students began to use the Smith typewriters for schoolwork.
Smith typewriters utilized new technology as it became available. Smith typewriters developed the use of "typeballs" instead of the key strike method that had been popular. Smith typewriters also developed the concept of a paper roller, replacing the moving carriage. In these Smith typewriters, the carriage stayed in place while the typeball moved. Typeballs on Smith typewriters enabled the typist to change fonts and use characters not found on a traditional keyboard. Smith typewriters enabled the typist to produce high quality printed pages.
Smith typewriters also redesigned the keyboard typists used. The Smith typewriter keyboard was more ergonomic. The Smith typewriter used a standard QWERTY style keyboard. The Smith typewriters also used the standard typing ribbons, but ultimately transitioned to ribbon cartridges.
Smith typewriters were popular well into the 1980's, when the invention of the computer and word processing drew people away from the typewriter. Smith typewriters had a following of people who found typewriters easier to use than the newly created word processors. Smith typewriters developed some word processing abilities. Memory and dictionary functions were added. Smith typewriters remained popular with many people who found it frustrating to keep up with the every changing word processing technology. Smith typewriters were a much more affordable than the expensive desktop computers available at the time.
Many people kept their attachment to Smith typewriters long after the word processing and computer era was in its prime. Smith typewriters became almost a nostalgic item, bring memories to some of a simpler time. Some people took great satisfaction in un- mistakable note the Smith typewriter keys made when they struck the paper and the whirring sound the Smith typewriter would make when it turned on. Many people also found it satisfying to see the words on the paper as they typed on a Smith typewriter – much more satisfying than seeing the words on a computer screen.
Smith typewriters have a long and rich history in this country and have stood the test of time. Many people still use the Smith Typewriter to this day.
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