It was this day in 1957 that a report in The Progress-Index out of Petersburg announced the introduction of the first electric portable typewriter in the area. Smith-Corona’s representative for the area, Ben Lum, said that “the new machine was the most significant development in the portable field since the first successful portable was introduced 50 years ago.”
The new electric portable comes to market after five years of intensive research. It was developed to meet the growing demand for a lightweight machine that would produce precise, uniform and distinctive typing with a minimum of skill. The new machine is expected to find a ready market among small businesses, doctors, dentists and other professionals as well as housewives, students and others who use a typewriter for personal typing.
The electric portable was available in four colors: alpine blue, coral pink, sea foam green and beige. It was priced at $197.50 plus tax, and – as a bonus – it came in a light gray vinyl-covered aluminum case.
Smith-Corona was the leading manufacturer of portable typewriters by 1914. The typewriter mentioned above featured a scientifically sloped keyboard fitted to natural finger movements, more controls in the keyboard area than any other electric typewriter, and automatic repeat actions on all keys. Despite the focus on business people as a market, the new portable electric typewriters would become an essential tool for generations of U.S. high school and college students.
Continuing to branch out into other areas, Smith-Corona merged with Marchant Calculators in September 1958; the resulting company, Smith-Corona Marchant Inc. (SCM), became world renowned as an aggressive and diversified corporation throughout the 1960s. Read more about Smith-Corona’s history on their timeline.
