Hammond Typewriter
History and Basic Info
The Hammond Typewriter was first invented in the mid to early 1880's. It is a very unique mechanism that uses interchangeable type shuttles to print on the page. Paper is inserted into the middle of the carriage, and is drawn up to by typed on. This machine has no platen, but uses a "hammer" on the back to imprint the paper into the ribbon and type shuttle.
Hammond Typewriters were designed to easily print even type. Instead of depending on the operator's skill, the machine automatically creates nice looking characters.
Later in the company's history, Hammond began to manufacture the Multiplex, which is one of the most common Hammonds. These often also have folding keyboards. There is even a special math keyboard version that uses special shuttles and has 2 extra shift buttons.
Common Issues
The mechanism of the Hammond typewriter requires a very tight mainspring, so these are often found with broken drawbands. Because they are old, expect a lot of dust. The Hammond type shuttles were made of hardened rubber, so watch out for broken shuttles and take much care to prevent them from breaking.
