The Pearl is a beautiful index typewriter, featuring a handsome celluloid dial for selecting characters. It typed only in uppercase.
The inventor, Theodore W. Searing of New York, N.Y., stated his intention for its design: “… its object being to make the operation of the machine automatic by the action of one key and cause a direct movement of the type characters against the paper destined to receive the impression.”
Despite his success in achieving these goals, the Pearl did not sell well. Its wooden box, shown below, is labeled: “The Pearl, a Practical Typewriter, only $5.00.”
An 1892 advertisement promotes the Pearl as a promising business opportunity for sales agents:
“A Profitable Business on Limited Capital – THE PEARL TYPEWRITER! – For business and private correspondence. Simple, durable, accurate. Not a toy, but a practical machine. Does not get out of order. No practice required to operate it. Price $5.00. A responsible agent wanted in every town, to whom liberal inducements will be made.”
Despite this optimism, the Pearl Typewriter Company was out of business within about a year. The first two advertisements from 1893 list a price of $5.00. By 1898, later advertisements on the secondary market show the price reduced to $3.50, then down to just $1.98.
Shown below are two very rare Pearl letterheads. The first, from Mr. Delacy F. Hoxi, president of the Pearl Typewriter Company, is dated just one day before the Pearl’s patent was granted. The second letter, also from Mr. Hoxi, refers to an advertisement seeking “an experienced and practical machinist as Forman, willing to invest $500.” (Both letters courtesy of the Peter Weil Archive.)
