Oliver No. 5 (1912)

Oliver 5 Mint Condition
 
First year of production:  1907
 
Company:  Oliver Typewriter Company , Woodstock, Illinois , USA
 
Serial No. 351342
 
“The Oliver Typewriter No. 5, which is now being placed on the market, is the ‘last word’ in typewriters—a Symphony in Steel. It is scientific in principle, flawless in construction, accurate in adjustment, splendidly efficient in operation.”—Oliver Typewriter Co. catalog, 1908
 
Innovations added over the production lifespan of the Oliver No. 5 included a new bell clap, the addition of a tabulator and simple pencil carrier, the first backspacer, an updated shifting mechanism, and the arrival of the famed “Printype” typeface, which was designed to look like traditional book print.
 
The Oliver No. 5 was produced between 1907 and 1914 and was the last offering from Thomas Oliver himself.
 
The inventor of the “standard visible writer” died of a heart attack in 1909, leaving behind well over 1,000 co-workers at his plant in suburban Woodstock and dozens more at the company’s new home office on Dearborn Street in Chicago.
 
Fortunately, Oliver’s enterprise carried on gallantly without him, producing several more popular models of bat-winged typewriters right up until a surprising downturn led to a buyout from British investors and a shutdown of the Woodstock plant in 1926.
 
Back in its day, this machine would have sold for something in the $100 range, which translates to roughly $1,500-2,000 in today’s money. It was a huge investment on par with our own high-end computers. 
 
In the days before radio and television and most other electronics, a typewriter like this would have been one of the prized possessions in a home; a critical vessel for communication and a centerpiece for both work and amusement.
 
Each machine was also an impressive testament to quality American engineering and manufacturing, as the tiny town of Woodstock, Illinois—home to both the Oliver Typewriter Co. and Woodstock Typewriter Co.—became the unlikely producer of nearly half the world’s typewriters.
 
History:
 
Canadian Rev. Thomas Oliver felt the need for a typewriter to write his sermons and decided to design his own. The result was one of the best known brands in the history of the typewriter. The first model appeared in 1895.
 
The typebars were placed like wings on the top sides of the machine, constituting a major step in the direction of visible writing.
 
The Oliver 3 was produced between 1900 and March 1907, while at the same time an identical Oliver 4 was produced with foreign keyboards for the export market. 
 
The machine would live to be one of the most lasting alternatives of the regular front stroke typewriter. Although production in the USA ended in 1928, the British Oliver Typewriter Mfg Co would continue production of the downstroke until after World War II.
 
Because of the relatively greater power of their striking, the Oliver was used by most companies as a stencil maker or "manifolder". By 1920 or so other machines, especially those made by Underwood, were regarded as better for "business correspondence". Thus, for commercial sales, it was the original design that kept the company going until 1928. However, that very design limited the number of machines sold, marginalizing the Oliver to a "specialty" work typewriter.
 
More than one million Olivers were produced until the late 1920s, and the machine is fairly common even today, although complete and rust-free specimens are quite rare.
 
In 1903, the A. Greger company of Vienna acquired the rights to produce the Oliver 3 in Austria, using the Courier brandname. Earlier they had made courier bicycles and sewing machines.