Archives Center, National Museum of American History

Guide to the Philadelphia Typewriter Company Records

Summary

Collection ID:
NMAH.AC.0123
Creators:
Philadelphia Typewriter Company
Watkins, J. Elfreth (John Elfreth), 1852-1903
Dates:
1886-1902
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
0.3 Cubic feet
1 box
Repository:
Chiefly correspondence of John E. Watkins, a key organizer and officer of the Philadelphia Typewriter Company.

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
The records contain correspondence chiefly of John Elfreth Watkins, a key organizer and officer of the company. Watkins was also a curator of Transportation at the Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., and later "accepted a salaried position…building up the technological collections pertaining to the transportation industry." The correspondence also concerns the organization and operation of the Philadelphia Typewriter Company.

Biographical / Historical

Biographical / Historical
The
Philadelphia Typewriter Company
was organized July 25, 1886, to manufacture typewriters designed by Byron A. Brooks. A year later, he sold his shares to the Philadelphia Typewriter Company (then under the management of
John Elfreth Watkins
, president, and John C. Edwards, both of Washington, D.C.; William H. Travis, secretary; and Edward F. Smith, treasurer, both of Philadelphia, Pa., and Cyrus Adler of Baltimore, Md.). They organized and operated the Philadelphia Typewriter Manufacturing Company, which was briefly called the "Moto-Cycle Manufacturing Company."
Sources
According to C.P. Keane and J. Emmerick, eds., "Marvyn Scudder Manual of Extinct or Obsolete Companies" (Vol. I, p. 968), the Philadelphia Typewriter Company went out of existence in 1900 when its stock lost its value.
Watkins was later a curator of Transportation at the Smithsonian Institution; he "accepted a salaried position...building up the technological collections pertaining to the transportation industry." (Dictionary of American Biography, Vol. XIX, 1936, p. 539.)

Administration

Author
NMAH Staff
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Immediate source of acquisition unknown.
Custodial History
Transferred to the Archives Center from the Division of Mechanisms (now the Division of Work and Industry), October 15, 1984.
Processing Information
Collection processed by NMAH Staff, undated

Using the Collection

Preferred Citation
Philadelphia Typewriter Company Records, 1886-1902, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
Conditions Governing Access
Collection is open for research.
Conditions Governing Use
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.

Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Typewriters -- 1880-1910 Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Philadelphia (Pa.) Geographic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Business records -- 1880-1910 Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Correspondence -- 1880-1910 Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Moto-Cycle Manufacturing Company Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Edwards, John C. Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Mechanisms Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Smith, Edward F. Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Alder, Cyrus Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Travis, William H. Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Brooks, Byron A. Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

Archives Center, National Museum of American History
P.O. Box 37012
Suite 1100, MRC 601
Washington, D.C. 20013-7012
archivescenter@si.edu