General Information

Serial #

N/A

Part Number

1

Total Parts

19

AKA

N/A

Patents

N/A

General Description

metal casing, working parts/ synthetic spacebar, key caps, parts/ rubber? feet

Dimensions

Note: These reflect the general size for storage and are not necessarily representative of the object's true dimensions.

Length

68.0 cm

Width

45.0 cm

Height

32.0 cm

Thickness

N/A

Weight

N/A

Diameter

N/A

Volume

N/A

Lexicon

Group

Printing

Category

Typesetting

Sub-Category

N/A

Manufacturer

AKA

Varityper

Country

United States of America

State/Province

New Jersey

City

Newark

Context

Country

Unknown

State/Province

Unknown

Period

circa 1960 +

Canada

An American made machine used in Canada and elsewhere.

Function

A device used in printing to create text used in the preparation of copy for offset reproduction.

Technical

An example of a typewriter based on the Hammond design, sold under theVari-Typer name from 1927 until the 1970s. Vari-Typers were not ordinary typewriters but composing machines that made professional-looking, camera-ready masters for offset (photo-lithographic) duplication. As on the Hammond machine, the user could easily change the type-shuttles on the Vari-Typer to type in different fonts and languages. The Vari-Typer added right justification (1937), variable letter spacing (1947), and variable line spacing (1953). Lines were justified by typing them twice: the first typing determined the number of letters on the line, which was set on a dial; this altered the word spacing to align the right margin for the second typing. Thousands of copies could be printed on a small offset printing press from a Vari-Typer original. (Early Office Museum web site, Ref. 2). The Vari-Typer was the first cold type composing machine for use in office duplication. It was successful in the graphic arts and in inplant and compositions and duplicating departments, providing business and industry new and less expensive means of communicating in print. Vari-Typers were used in World War II because they could be operated where bulkier machines could not. A Vari-Typer was used to compose the Instrument of Surrender signed by the Japanese on board the battleship Missouri (Ref. 3). This electric Vari-Typer is equipped with a drawer in front of the keyboard to hold a selection of type-shuttles (18 included).

Area Notes

Unknown

Details

Markings

plate on front contains green and silver logo reading 'VariTyper' and silver lettering reading "MODEL 610'/ plate on sinister side reads 'VARI-TYPER CORPORATION/ NEWARK, N.J. - U.S.A./ MODEL 610F/ VOLTA 115 FRWQ 60 CY/ AMPS 1.2/ Vari-Typer [logo]'/ greenlettering on plate on back reads ''VARI-TYPER CORPORATION/ NEWARK, N.J. U.S.A.' / cast lettering on chassis reads 'MADE IN U.S.A.'/ gold and black label inside casing back reads 'TRADE MARK/ REGISTERED/ U.S. PATENT OFFICE/ Vari-Typer [logo]/ MARCA REGISTRADA/ MARQUE DEPOSEE/ VARI-TYPER CORPORATION NEWARK N.J. U.S.A/ MANUFACTURED UNDER ONE OR MORE OF THE FOLLOWING PATENTS' with patent numbers for the U.S., Great Britain, Canada and France and 'OTHER PATENTS PENDING IN U.S. FOREIGH COUNTRIES'

Missing

unknown

Finish

textured light grey painted casing/ flat light grey painted casing top and parts/ plated parts/ green space bar and dial indicators/ white knobs/ white key caps/ black power cord and feet

Decoration

N/A