Serial No. X 154079 : Manufactured about 1917
This is the oldest typewriter in my collection, dating from about 1917 (according to The Typewriter Database). The only other typewriter I have that's nearly as old is a 1921 Underwood Number 5, making them roughly contemporary. Also, the comparison between the hulking, thirty-five pound cast iron Underwood handily illustrates why L.C. Smith and Corona thought there might be a need for a teensy-tiny fold-up travel typewriter.
To cram a whole typewriter into half the space of most others, the Corona's designers mounted the carriage on a pair of chrome steel arms that allow it to swing it up and store above the keyboard. Nothing locks it down. Just hook a finger under the platen and lift it, catch the underside and set it in place. It's ready to go.
Of all the typewriters I have, this is also the hardest to use, precisely because they had to cram so much into it. To give it a full alphabet and all the dots and dashes you'd need with just twenty-eight keys, each hammer had three figures. That means, of course, that you have to be able to shift the carriage three ways (down, up, and up-up) instead of the usual two (down and up). On the Corona No. 3 you hit the CAP key to get uppercase letters, and the FIG key to get the numbers, dots and dashes. It's not too difficult to get used to, except for the period. You have to shift to get a period. I just can't get used to that.
There's no carriage return lever at all, just a small ratchet to turn the paper up one line. When you get to the end of the line you have to ratchet the paper up, then gently push the carriage back to start the next line. And the carriage is only just as wide as a standard sheet of paper. You have to make darned sure you've fed it in straight.
That said, this is simply the coolest gadget of a typewriter in my collection, maybe in my house.
© 2009 Dave Okonski