Franklin

According to an article by Dickerson in issue No. 1, 1987, of ETCetera Magazine, this machine must be a model 7, Type IVa. First, the front decal says "Franklin" in script and has a ribbon spool partially blocking the paper, the defining features of a Type IV. Next, it has a paper table with a "New Franklin" shield without a picture of Benjamin Franklin, the distinguishing feature of the Type IVa. If it is a Type IVa, it must be a model 7 since it has 40 keys, as opposed to 42 found on the model 8; however, this is where it gets interesting. There is no model number printed on the machine, which several sources have said is a distinguishing feature of the model 7. Furthermore, the survey from which data in the article was pulled suggests that the Type IV started around serial number 10000, whereas our typewriter is only serial number 8444, a number between the two serial numbers cited in the article as Type IIIb. The article suggests that while two models of the same Type (e.g., models 7 and 8) were manufactured at the same time, the Types did not overlap. It is possible the sample set was too small to draw that conclusion, and this typewriter was actually manufactured at the same time as the Type III typewriters. Furthermore, although the Typewriter Database, citing the same article, suggests by serial number the year of manufacture is 1898, the base of our machine lists the Franklin Typewriter Mf'g Co as the place of manufacture. This means that at least the base must be from stock of 1897 or earlier since the company incorporated in 1897 and was renamed the Franklin Typewriter Co., listed on the base of other model 7 Franklins shown across the Internet. When looking at advertisements in Newspapers.com, those from 1897 show pictures of the Type III make while those in 1898 are of the Type IV make. It is likely that ad pictures with the new logo would be shown a year or so after they started selling, so it is very likely the year of manufacture of this machine was 1897. (Read about the fire on Purchase Street in the article to your left, taken from the Boston Globe on November 16, 1893.)