Oliver Typewriter Company

This article is about the typewriter manufacturer. For the tractor manufacturer, see Oliver Farm Equipment Company.
The Oliver Typewriter Company
Company typePrivate
IndustryTypewriter manufacturing
Founded1895; 129 years ago (1895)
FounderThomas Oliver
Defunct1928 (1928)
FateDissolved
SuccessorBritish Oliver Typewriter Company
Headquarters
Chicago, Illinois
,
United States
Area served
United States
Key people
ProductsSee Typewriters section
Number of employees
875
Footnotes / references
[1]
Thomas Oliver
Oliver 2 typewriter, 1896

The Oliver Typewriter Company was an American typewriter manufacturer headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. The Oliver Typewriter was one of the first "visible print" typewriters, meaning text was visible to the typist as it was entered.[2] Oliver typewriters were marketed heavily for home use, using local distributors and sales on credit. Oliver produced more than one million machines between 1895 and 1928 and licensed its designs to several international firms.

Competitive pressure and financial troubles resulted in the company's liquidation in 1928. The company's assets were purchased by investors who formed The British Oliver Typewriter Company, which manufactured and licensed the machines until its own closure in the late 1950s. The last Oliver typewriter was produced in 1959.[3][4]

  1. ^ Brockman, Paul (April 9, 1999). "Delavan Smith Papers, 1868-1921". Indiana Historical Society. Archived from the original on June 10, 2007. Retrieved November 11, 2007.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Rutherford was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ "Sale to British investors, licensing and production during WWII". AllThingsTypewriter.com. April 25, 2018. Archived from the original on August 25, 2021. Retrieved August 25, 2021.
  4. ^ "Rebranded Desktops". OliverTypewriters.com. Retrieved August 25, 2021.