Typewriters on this page are in Jett Morton’s collection unless a courtesy is mentioned.
Standard
nickel, black char./black shift keys
nickel, black char./white shift keys
Presented to Chief Inspector Harry Cross
No. 2 decal on paper table
Early base casting
No base or No. 2 decal, late base casting
olive green, white char./black shift keys
nickel, white char./black shift keys
15" carriage
black char./white shift keys
18" carriage
12" carriage
Factory rebuilt, Alternate keyboard
15" carriage
ringed keys
black keys, B (12") carriage
black keys, C (15") carriage
Beginning in 1893, the Oliver No. 1 was manufactured exclusively in Epworth, Iowa, and is distinguished by its flat side handles and wooden spacebar. Production in Woodstock, Illinois began in 1896 with the Oliver No. 2, which introduced curved side handles. White key tops on an olive green base soon replaced the black key tops on a nickel base as the default finish, but any combination of keys and base could be furnished to order. Introduced in 1901, the Oliver No. 3 is very similar to the No. 2, but with a taller base. In 1907, the Oliver No. 5 introduced a larger base, graphite stick ruling device, and celluloid key covers. The ruling device was eventually updated to hold a pencil, and the keytops reverted to the former style with permanent legends. The No. 5 also introduced a tab key, backspacer, and an optional typeface called Printype. In 1914, the Oliver No. 7 introduced a new body style that inspired all succeeding downstrike models. The Oliver No. 9 soon replaced the No. 7 in 1915, featuring shift keys on both sides of the keyboard. In 1922, the Oliver No. 11 was introduced, abondoning the classic olive green finish and octagonal key tops in favor of a black finish, accented with gold pinstriping and round key tops. The ruling device and curved side handles are also noticeably absent from the No. 11.
Once production relocated to Croydon, England, The Oliver No. 15 was introduced in 1928 with pivoting ribbon spool covers and ringed key tops. Throughout production, the key tops transitioned to black or white composite (just like the No. 11), and the finish was updated from a gloss black to a crinkled black with blackened instead of nickel plated parts.
Derivative
Belgian keyboard
German keyboard
French keyboard
Dutch keyboard
Dutch keyboard
Dutch keyboard
The derivative Oliver models are even-numbered, 32-key versions of their odd-numbered predeccesors. Wider bases accomodate additional keys, utilized for accent characters of foreign languages. These models were thusly made available for sale in foreign markets. The first derivative model, the Oliver No. 4, was introduced three years after the No. 3. Oliver Nos. 6, 8, 10, 12, and 16 were sold alongside their respective odd-numbered models. The Oliver No. 16 was manufactured in England, just like the No. 15.
Remodelled (RM)
15" carriage
French keyboard
The Oliver Typewriter (Sales) Company rebuilt and refinished some olive green models in black with gold pinstriping, matching the style of Oliver Nos. 11, 12, 15, and 16. During this process, the carriages were stripped of their original serial numbers with no new number put in place, and a new serial number with an ‘RM’ prefix was stamped onto the base.
Woodstock
In 1898, the Oliver Typewriter Company manufactured an Oliver No. 2 variant known as the Woodstock for sale by department stores. From September 1898 to January 1899, Detroit’s Board of Education purchasing committee held meetings to discuss purchasing typewriters for use in public high schools. The Linotype Company of Montreal, also known as the Canadian Oliver Typewriter Company, published a pamphlet known as the Battle of Detroit which complied contemporary publications detailing these meetings. According to the pamphlet, an individual referenced as Inspector Marr showed the purchasing committee an advertisement for the Woodstock in the Fall and Winter 1898–99 Montgomery Ward Catalogue, questioning the fairness of the price at which Oliver typewriters had been offered to the Board. W. Waterbury, the general sales manager of the Oliver Typewriter Company, declared the Woodstock an unguaranteed, second-grade machine of which only nineteen were manufactured, all sold to Montgomery Ward. The Oliver Typewriter Company printed an advertisement offering to purchase twenty Woodstock typewriters for a substantial amount of money, reinforcing the fact only nineteen were manufactured. Manufacturing of the Woodstock ceased after it had been on the market for less than ten months.
Canadian
vertical ribbon spools,
black char./white shift keys,
blocky type side panels
The Linotype Company in Montréal, founded by John Redpath Dougall in 1891, manufactured a typesetting machine known as the Linotype. In 1898, the company expanded to manufacture versions of the Oliver No. 2 and, in 1901, the Oliver No. 3, for Canadian and South American markets. In 1904, Dougall sold the Linotype division of his company to the Toronto Type Foundry, and rebranded the typewriter division as the Canadian Oliver Typewriter Company. The Canadian Oliver Typewriter Company eventually stopped manufacturing machines and by 1912, focused solely on nickel plating and polishing. Compared to their American counterparts, Canadian Oliver typewriters have smaller side handles, curved shifting brackets, and a different ribbon vibrator. Some Canadian Oliver No. 2 machines have vertically-mounted ribbon spools. Earlier Canadian No. 3 machines have black keys, vertically-mounted ribbon spools, and side panels displaying OLIVER in an unusual blocky type. These features, as well as the keyboard layout, were progressively updated to make the Canadian Oliver No. 3 more closely resemble the No. 3 produced by the Oliver Typewriter Company. Canadian Oliver No. 3 machines retained some Canadian Oliver No. 2 parts, including the shift lock lever. They also have different mounting hole locations than the American No. 3 machines.
Latin American
12" carriage
Most Oliver models were marketed in Latin America through Compania Parker S.A., operated by William Archer Parker, the Oliver Typewriter Company’s Latin American sales agent. These Latin American Oliver machines were usually nickel plated, with the olive green finish furnished on upon request for Nos. L-10 (the Latin American version of the No. 9) and earlier. The Oliver No. L-12 was the original Latin American version of the Oliver No. 11. Towards the end of production, the No. L-12 was replaced by the No. L-13 because the distributer changed from Compania Parker S.A. to Martinez y Rubio.
German
German-hungarian keyboard
Fabrik Stolzenberg, Deutsche Einrichtungs-gesellschaft mbH was the primary distributor of Oliver typewriters in Germany. Owned by Gustav Metz, this company was based in Oos, Baden-Baden, with subsidiaries in Berlin, Cologne, and Hamburg. Following Fabrik Stolzenberg’s success, Metz founded Oliver Schreibmaschinen (or Büromaschinen) Gesellschaft mbHin Berlin to handle Oliver distribution.
Oliver No. 2 machines distributed by Fabrik Stolzenberg were branded as the Monopol-Stolzenberg No. 2. They also have white margin release keys, a feature that carried over to later models under this distribution. The Monopol-Stolzenberg name initially carried over from the No. 2 to the No. 3., but the Monopol portion was eventually dropped, resulting in the Stolzenberg No. 3. Fabrik Stolzenberg also distributed the Oliver No. 4 as the Stolzenberg No. 4. Oliver machines distributed by Oliver Schreibmaschinen/Büromaschinen Gesellschaft mbH are branded with either Oliver Schreibmaschinen or Büromaschinen Ges. mbH, located at either Charlottenstrasse 19 & 23, Markgrafenstraße 76–77, or Markgrafenstraße 92–93.
Austrian
A bicycle manufacturer in Vienna, Austria known as A. Greger & Company produced the Oliver No. 3 as the Courier, Jacobi, and Jwic from 1903 to 1919. Pre-manufactured parts were assembled until 1927. When the Oliver No. 5 was introduced in the United States, the type guards and ribbon reverse of these Austrian machines used the new No. 5 style. In addition, a backspacer was added to the Austrian machines once it was introduced on the Oliver No. 5.
The olive green finish of these machines was eventually discontinued in favor of black. At this time, the Courier’s paper table decal was updated to display The Courier Typewriter as opposed to Courier. A variant was produced for a German office equipment dealer in Munich as the Jacobi, which was the name of A. Greger & Company’s sewing machine division. A Czech variant of the Courier was produced as the Jwic.
Frontstrike Desktop
The first commercially available four-bank desktop Oliver was the Oliver Four Bank, a rebranded Fortuna IV sold by British Oliver beginning in 1931. Parts were manufactured in Berlin by Fortuna Büromaschinen GmbH, but the machines were assembled at the British Oliver factory. in 1935, the Oliver Four Bank was replaced by the Oliver No. 20, a rebranded Halda-Norden No. 5, manufactured in Svängsta, Sweden. When the No. 20 was first introduced, it was sometimes advertised as Oliver Four Bank without a number designation. Introduced in 1949, a rebranded Halda No. 6 was introduced as the Oliver No. 21. Initally black with a debossed model number above the keyboard, the Oliver No. 21 was later offered in gray and labeled with plaque that reads Model 21.
Portable
Oliver Portable (Europa/Fortuna/Italy/SIM)
Italian keyboard
German keyboard
British keyboard
Czech keyboard
In the early 1930s, manufacturing began for the first of many four-bank portable typewriters by Europa Schreibmaschinen AG and Fortuna Büromaschinen GmbH, both based in Berlin. In Italy, these machines were manufactured by Oliver Typewriter (Italy) Ltd. of Milan and Società Industriale Meccanica (SIM) of Turin. These machines were branded and marketed under a plethora of names, including Oliver.
Oliver Portable (Patria)
black
gray
From 1948 to 1954, the Oliver Portable was a rebranded Patria produced by August Birchmeier’s Söhne in Canton of Aargau, Switzerland. Early iterations were only offered in black with ring-and-glass keys and an Oliver decal above the keyboard. The portable was updated with a cutout logo above they keyboard and a decal of Oliver Cromwell, a 17th century English political leader. The Oliver typewriter was often compared to Oliver Cromwell, exemplifying each as a successful Oliver of their respective eras. The ring-and-glass keys were soon changed to black composite keys. A gray color option was also introduced. In 1954, the Oliver Cromwell decal was no longer added.
Oliver Courier
gray, earliest logo badge
gray, mid-production logo badge
beige, latest logo badge
maroon, latest logo badge
The successor to the Oliver Portable (Patria), branded as the Oliver Courier from 1954 to 1959, was manufactured by August Birchmeier’s Söhne in Canton of Aargau, Switzerland. They originally produced this machine as the Swissa Piccola. In France, it was sold as the Byron, Japy P68, Japy Personelle, Patria, Typo, and Select. The French watch company Japy Freres & Cie manufactured this machine through a licensing agreement. Guillermo Trúniger, S.A. distributed this machine in Spain under the names Amaya, Florida, Königer, Patria, and Pulasatta, and exported it in small quantities. Voss sold this body style as the Privat in Western Germany.
Early production Oliver Courier machines, produced in black or gray with round, black keys, feature a recessed badge toward the right of the cover. The next iteration of Oliver Courier adorns an updated badge featuring an embossed script, while the last iteration of the Oliver Courier features a badge centered above the keyboard.
The Oliver Courier was sold in Canada by the T. Eaton Company as Eaton’s through department store. Another Canadian variant was sold by the Robert Simpson Company through Simpson's department stores. The Oliver Courier was also sold in the United States as the Tower by Sears, Roebuck, and Company. The Tower Collegian (branded as Collegian) is another Canadian variant distributed through Simpsons-Sears, a partnership formed by the Robert Simpson Company and the Sears, Roebuck and Company. Additional variants include Conqueror, Monitor, and Steelmaster.
Oliver Consort
The Oliver Consort, manufactured by Voss Schreibmaschinenfabrik GmbH in Wuppertal, West Germany, forms a family of rebranded Voss machines of two distinct body styles. Both body styles were marketed under the name Oliver Consort, but branded as MT 10, MDT 10, MT 13, or MDT 13, depending on tabulator and carriage combination.
References
(1941) Liste der Herstellungsdaten Gangbarer Schreibmaschinen, Wochenschrift für Papier, Otto Hoffmann Verlag
(1953) Liste der Herstellungsdaten deutscher und auslandischer Schreibmaschinen, Hans Burghagen Verlag
Schramm, H. F. W. (1962) Liste der Herstellungsdaten Deutscher und Auslaendischer Schreibmaschinen mit Wichtigen Technischen Daten, 11 Auflage, Hans Burghagen Verlag
Morton, Jett. The Oliver Typewriter: The Standard Visible Writer. 2025.