50 MOST WANTED TYPEWRITERS

Most collectors eventually find themselves questioning the desirability and rarity of the objects in their field of interest. The accumulated knowledge in any area of collecting is constantly evolving and prompting new dialog on the subject.  Typewriter enthusiasts have always welcomed the opportunity to dicsuss and debate the rarity and desirability of a given typewriter.  Anyone who has recently discovered an ancient typewriter is certain to be curious about its rariety and value.  A group of seasoned typewriter collectors were once polled for their opinions regarding the rarity and desirability of many collectible typewriters.  Since these two factors are key elements in determining the value of a typewriter, I thought I would present it here.  This may be the best formula to determine a particular typewriter's importance as a collectible.  Typewriters do not change hands often enough to establish price lists or a reliable value guide.  As the late typewriter collector and author, Paul Lippman often said, "trying to place a value on a typewriter is like trying to nail Jell-O to the wall". Presented here are the results of the typewriter rarity & desirability survey.  Typewriters that were omitted on the original list have been added.  It is based on a scale of 0 - 10 with 10 being the best.  The ratings presented reflect the average rating a machine received from the group.  Typewriters without a rating are my additions and will soon be updated with a rating.  A typewriter's condition and completeness is not factored into the evaluation and should always be considered when evaluating a typewriter.  Any of the typewriters listed below with a rating of 6+ would, in my opinion, qualify as a candidate for one of the fifty most wanted typewriters.  I would also add that the list of fifty is not etched in stone and could vary.   Typewriters with a rarity rating below 6 are still  collectible and worthy of preserving for posterity.  Feel free to browse the list & contact me with any questions regarding a typewriter you might have.  I look forward to hearing from you.

Typewriter Make & Model   Rarity / Desirability

Adler - thrust    1.64 / 1.81
Aktiv    5.71 / 4.92
Allen    5.63 / 2.69
American Index    4.31 / 4.38
American keyboard    5.10 / 4.27
American Visible    7.81 / 6.13
Automatic (Hamilton)   9.83 / 9.58
Bar-Let     3.12 / 1.94
Bar-Lock
Bennett    3.53 / 3.71
Bennington   9.38 / 7.74
Bing    4.05 / 2.08
Blick Ninety    5.21 / 2.79
Blickensderfer 5    3.02 / 5.19
Blickensderfer 6    3.02 / 3.89
Blickensderfer 7    3.02 / 3.75
Blickensderfer 8    3.23 / 3.89
Blickensderfer 9    3.62 3.89
Blickensderfer Electric    9.57 / 9.10
Blickensderfer Featherweight    3.44 / 3.71
Blickensderfer Oriental    7.24 / 4.03
Boston
Brooks    9.40 / 8.61
Burnett    8.62 / 7.01
Burns    9.66 / 9.19
Caligraph 1    9.14 / 8.33
Caligraph 2    4.48 / 4.44
Caligraph 3    4.27 / 4.19
Caligraph 4    4.27 / 4.19
Carissima       6.71 / 5.00
Cash     9.87 / 8.85
Century 10     4.06 / 3.06
Chicago (& name variants)     4.66 / 5.52
Chicago No. 3     7.84 / 7.15
Coffman     9.31 / 7.01
Columbia - (Bar-Lock) - shift key    5.26 / 4.81
Columbia Bar-Lock - fancy     6.29 / 6.88
Columbia Bar-Lock - plain     3.45 / 3.47
Columbia Index      8.49 / 7.99
Commercial No. 5
Commercial Visible No. 6    7.41 / 6.94
Corona folding - black    2.07 / 1.94
Corona Folding - colors    3.02 / 2.50
Crandall New Model      7.11 / 8.33
Crandall other models
Crown - round keyboard     8.16 / 8.46
Crown index      9.14 / 8.47
Dactygram     10.00 / 8.18
Dactyle     4.47 / 3.27
Darling     8.91 / 7.50
Dart Marking Machine     8.64 / 7.66
Daugherty     7.07 / 6.46
Dennis Duplex     8.36 / 6.82
Densmore 1     5.86 / 5.28
Densmore- others    4.40 / 4.44
Diamant     3.21 / 2.50
Diskret     5.94 / 8.06
Dollar     8.28 / 5.83
Eagle     8.65 / 7.21
Edelmann    6.25 / 5.81
Edison Mimeograph    8.10 / 8.26
Edland     8.57 / 7.88
Electromatic-original     3.44 / 1.43
Elliot-Fisher     4.22 / 2.36
Emerson     4.14 / 4.03
Empire     2.67 / 2.22
English     9.27 / 8.79
Erika - folding     2.41 / 1.81
Famos     6.72 / 4.67
Fitch     8.53 / 8.47
Ford     8.79 9.17
Fox - upstrike     4.57 / 3.89
Fox portable     5.26 / 4.17
Fox Sterling     5.52 / 3.87
Fox Visible     3.17 / 1.94
Franklin     5.43 / 5.14
Frister & Rossman     5.83 / 5.00
Garbell     7.73 / 5.00
Gardner     9.27 / 9.03
Geniatus     4.14 / 3.47
Granville Automatic     8.79 / 7.36
Graphic     7.97 / 8.04
Gundka     3.62 / 2.92
Hall     4.83 / 5.42
Hammond 1 - round     6.12 / 6.67
Hammond 1 - straight   7.76 / 6.53
Hammond 2 - round     3.79 / 3.68
Hammond 2 - straight   3.62 / 3.47
Hammond 12 - round   3.45 / 3.54
Hammond 12 - straight   3.45 / 3.33
Hammond Folding     3.28 / 3.19
Hammond Multiplex - round     3.28 / 3.13
Hammond Multiplex - straight   3.08 / 3.33
Hammonia     9.14 / 9.10
Harris Visible  4.21 / 1.35
Hartford - double keyboard    7.24 / 5.63
Hartford - shift key    6.73 / 5.00
Helios    6.12 / 5.90
Helios-Klimax    5.78 / 5.76
Horton    9.81 / 8.71
Ideal    2.71 / 1.94
Imperial - oblique fronstrike    5.63 / 5.00
Imperial A,B    3.79 / 4.03
Imperial D    3.79 / 3.61
Index Visible    10.00 / 6.82
International - double keyboard    9.58 / 8.96
International - shift key    9.57 / 8.23
International Index    7.86 / 6.73
Jackson    9.38 / 8.71
Jewett    5.10 / 4.76
Junior - Bennett type    3.79 / 3.85
Kanzler    5.83 / 5.24
Keystone    7.16 / 6.67
Kneist    8.82 / 7.62