Quirks and Questions of Early Caligraph No. 2 Serial Numbers

Last month I acquired my oldest typewriter: a Caligraph No. 2 with serial number 5899, from ca. 1882. Now, this makes it the second oldest recorded Caligraph 2 on the Typewriter Database.  I began to wonder if it's possible that it really is one of the oldest surviving examples of the first double keyboard typewriter.  This led me to dig deeper into the records of the serial numbers and records of all other surviving early Caligraphs.

It's suggested based on the research by Al Sumrall in Old Hoodoo's Blog that serial numbers for the Caligraph 2 continued on the same range as the No. 1 and likely began in the 5000s.  This is reflected in the TWDB and the earliest documented surviving machine is in Martin Howard's collection with a serial number 5592.

Finding records of serial numbers for early machines proved challenging, as resources like museum collections don't often list the serial numbers.  I focused my search on two main sources: collector inventories and auction records.  Neither were incredibly fruitful, as collector's don't always have neat lists easily published online and only some auction houses actually list the serial number of typewriters in their catalogues.  This is further complicated by the fact that the ones that do don't usually provide photographic proof of the claimed serial number.

The results, however, were still surprising and turn the current understanding as published on the Typewriter Database on its head.  I managed to find three relevant records for Caligraph No. 2s that exceed or match the current serial number range.  However, I also found two records that are highly curious and go beyond that (more on this later).

Caligraph No. 2, serial number 5746
Auction Team Breker Lot 50, October 2022

To start, there was one auctioned by Auction Team Breker in Germany in their May 2022 auction with serial number 5746 (Lot 50), which splits mine and Martin Howard's machines on TWDB.  But, in the same auction, there were two more in separate lots with serial numbers 4467 (Lot 67) and 4702 (Lot 141).  This would interrupt the current notion that the serial numbers for the No. 2 began in the 5000s.  Overall this isn't outlandish, since I believe the highest known serial number for the No. 1 is in the low 4000s.

Caligraph No. 2 with table, serial number 4467
Auction Team Breker Lot 67, October 2022

Caligraph No. 2, serial number 4702
Auction Team Breker Lot 141, October 2022

Now on to the more interesting records.  While digging through resources on collector inventories, I stumbled upon an archived copy of ETCetera No. 23 from June 1993.  Published in that edition was the complete collection of the eminent collector Dennis Clark which was on long-term loan to the now-closed National Office Equipment Historical Museum in Kansas City.  In that list, he includes an "early" Caligraph No. 2 with serial number 2148.  This is significantly earlier than even the 4467 machine from the Breker auction in 2022.

Finally, the most curious record I found was from another Breker auction in October 2019 where the listed serial number is 877 (Lot 21).  As with all the previous machines, there isn't photographic evidence of the listed serial number for verification.  The one available photo does confirm that it's a No. 2 via the 6 x 12 key keyboard, but it does have the odd distinction of being a double QWERTY configuration instead of the standard Caligraph layout.  Additionally, it has the later "vegetable ivory" key tops instead of the original nickel-ringed paper under celluloid.  I don't know if these changes are relevant.  My guess is the machine was remanufactured sometime after the 1890s when these features would have been more common.  Perhaps in the early 1900s, once the American Writing Machine Co. had become the primary remanufacturing company within the Union Typewriter Company trust.

Caligraph No. 2 with table, serial number 877
Auction Team Breker Lot 21, October 2019

So where does this leave things?  Well, I know the Caligraph 2 came out right on the heels of the original Caligraph, so perhaps they shared serial number ranges.  In fact, collector Tony Casillo filled me in that apparently the No. 1 "Ideal" model (which was somewhat larger and more robust than the original No. 1) was released at or around the same time as the No. 2, so they were definitely produced concurrently.  Dennis Clark's machine with serial number 2148 certainly fits this understanding.  But if that is indeed the case, then the Breker machine with serial 877 highlights just how few original Caligraph 1s were made in that first one to two years of production before the next iterations debuted.

In closing, thanks for reading all the way to end of the first real post on my blog!  They probably won't all dig in this deep, but this is something I've been very interested in recently since acquiring my own Caligraph No. 2.  If you have any information that might fill in some of the gaps or add a nugget of detail to these mysteries of the first double keyboard typewriter, please share either in the comments or by reaching out directly!

References

1. Caligraph Typewriter Serial Numbers, The Typewriter Database
2. IDENTIFYING AND DATING ANTIQUE CALIGRAPH WRITING MACHINES Nos. 1-4, Old Hoodoo's Blog
3. May 2022 Special Auction Catalogue, pages 32, 38, 66, Auction Team Breker
4. October 2019 Office Antiques Special Auction Catalogue, pages 23-24, Auction Team Breker
5. The Clark Collection, ETCetera No. 23, pages 5-6, June 1993