INDEX
MACHINES
In general, index typewriters have a plate, dial or chart with the
letters
available, and a pointer or wheel used to select the desired letter.
Typing
is accomplished by moving the pointer to the desired letter, pressing
the
pointer, wheel or key, which presses a letter, either rubber or metal,
onto the paper (or sometimes onto an inked pad or ribbon and then to
the
paper).
Some of the more collectible index machines include the Hall
(left), Odell, Edison, World, Sun, American
Index and Visible.
My collection finally does include a couple index
typewriter,
an (incomplete) Odell No. 2, and an American No. 2.
Most
index machines that still exist are old and hard to find. The fact
that I found both my Odell No. 2 and my American No. 2 in antique
stores
rather than buying from another collector or on the internet is unusual.
Most
surviving index machines are already in someone's collection. Darn
it.
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Updated
07.27.06
