Hammond typewriter 2

Last year, I sold all my antique typewriters. I gradually lost interest and I wanted to free some space. Recently, however, I started to look for typewriters again, focusing mostly on the typewriters I never had. I bought a Remington Standard 2 and, last Friday, a pristine Hammond 2.

Almost ten years ago, I wrote a little article about Hammond typewriters in The Netherlands, see: https://etconline.org/backissues/ETC095.pdf. Hammond was a fairly popular machine here. I wrote about the importers of Hammond typewriters. According to the shield on the right side of the machine, this specimen was imported by G.H. Voorhoeve. This was several years before Ruys splitted the import of typewriters from the main company in 1904. Later, Ruys became the importer of Underwood and Olivetti.

The serial number of this machine is 27766, which makes it a very early model 2, from around 1895. Several details, like the paper basket, the line spacer, the paper table and the carriage wheel, are the same ones as used on models 1a and 1b. The metal tab on the front is the most obvious sign it actually is a model number 2.

Under the metal tab is a mysterious part that I haven't seen before. It holds the shuttle down, so the written text could be read without having to hold the finger on the metal tab. But I am open for other suggestions.

I bought the machine in Bergambacht, a small Dutch village on the border of the river Lek. The seller is the grandson of Pieter Vos, born in 1876, who was tailor in a village nearby: Lekkerkerk. Apparently, Pieter Vos sailed regularly to the city of Rotterdam (20 kilometers over the river Lek), so it is possible he bought the typewriter there. G.H. Voorhoeve sold Hammonds in Rotterdam, so that's possible.

However, according to his grandson, tailor Pieter Vos used the Hammond in the 1920s and 1930s as a secretary of the local shopkeepers association in Lekkerkerk. As this machine was made around 1895, I don't think Pieter Vos was the first owner; he would have been very young by than (19 years). Pieter Vos died in 1967. His son inherited the Hammond and kept it till he died himself in 2013 (98 years of age). The seller was the next in line to receive the typewriter, but his children didn't want it, so I could buy it.

I made a video to show how it works:

It is the best conserved Hammond 2 I have seen so far. Everything is there and shiny: the original ribbon spools, the little metal part on the paper table that activates the bell, even the original impression strip is still doing its job. The keys are not damaged and the case is still beautiful.

It is the third Hammond I own (after an ideal Multiplex and a Folding Multiplex), and I am amazed by the quality of this machine. Everything seems made to last forever. A lot of small parts seem custom designed for this machine, it's all very ingenious and well thought. The pictures don't do it justice, but I hope you enjoy them anyway.