Electric Typewriter
Maker and role
IBM Australia Limited, Manufacturer
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Object detail
Accession number
2007.165
Maker
Production period
Description
A green and black coloured metal and plastic IBM brand typewriter, model 670X, Selectric typeball variety. In-built keyboard at front, face opens to allow adjustments, long grey plastic covered power cord extending from reverse. Whitcoulls and IBM stickers at top left reverse. Sticker on base for recording installation and maintenance details. Sticker on right front stating FULL FRAME PHOTO LIBRARY PO Box 136, Napier, New Zealand Telephone (06) 835-1143. Sticker on base with IBM logo, stating Electric Typewriter Model 670X 240V 0.3A 50Hz IBM Australia Limited Incorporated in New South Wales Wangaratta, Australia
Brief History
The golf ball-shaped type head in this IBM Selectric III 670X typewriter is an innovation developed in 1961 by an IBM engineering team led by Horace “Bud” Beattie.
The Selectric took IBM seven years to design and manufacture. It featured a rotating ball-shaped type element and cartridge ribbon that traveled from side to side while the paper remained in one position, making for faster typing.
The golf ball-shaped type head replaced the conventional typewriter’s basket of type bars, eliminating the jamming of type bars. The pivoting typeball could also be changed to allow the use of different fonts in the same document.
The aesthetic design of the Selectric was the responsibility of Eliot Noyes, an architect and industrial designer who served as consulting design director to IBM for 21 years.
The Selectric took IBM seven years to design and manufacture. It featured a rotating ball-shaped type element and cartridge ribbon that traveled from side to side while the paper remained in one position, making for faster typing.
The golf ball-shaped type head replaced the conventional typewriter’s basket of type bars, eliminating the jamming of type bars. The pivoting typeball could also be changed to allow the use of different fonts in the same document.
The aesthetic design of the Selectric was the responsibility of Eliot Noyes, an architect and industrial designer who served as consulting design director to IBM for 21 years.
Marks
IBM Maker's Mark
Whitcoulls Sticker
Whitcoulls Sticker
Media/Materials
Credit Line
IBM Australia Limited. Electric Typewriter, 2007.165. The Museum of Transport and Technology (MOTAT).
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