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Archives Center, National Museum of American History
Guide to the Philadelphia Typewriter Company Records
Summary
- Collection ID:
- NMAH.AC.0123
- Creators:
-
Philadelphia Typewriter CompanyWatkins, J. Elfreth (John Elfreth), 1852-1903
- Dates:
-
1886-1902
- Languages:
-
English.
- Physical Description:
-
0.3 Cubic feet1 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
Archives Center, National Museum of American History
P.O. Box 37012
Suite 1100, MRC 601
Washington, D.C. 20013-7012
archivescenter@si.edu