‘The Shimer Typewriter’ – An illustrated article
The Shimers were a prominent business family in Milton, Pennsylvania during the second half of the 19th century and into the 20th century. Samuel Shimer was the senior member of Samuel J. Shimer & Sons, who made their fortune by owning large tracts of heavily timbered land, which they cut and processed into lumber at their sawmill. They operated a small machine shop connected to the mill that produced cutter heads for wood moulding. When the sawmill burned down in 1880, it was replaced with a much larger machine shop that specialized in cutter heads and other tools for the lumber industry. At that point, the company ceased harvesting and milling lumber. Shimer cutter heads were regarded as the best on the market and were sold throughout the United States and internationally.
With capital, a well-equipped machine shop, and inventive minds, Samuel Shimer and his son Elmer undertook the significant effort required to develop a typewriter during the 1890s. The Shimer typewriter received its first patent in 1891 and reached the market in 1899.
As an under-strike typewriter, and similar in size to early Remingtons, it is often described as having “more than a passing similarity to early Remingtons.” However, the implication that it is essentially the same machine is incorrect. While it does share a similar overall appearance, it features uniquely designed components and is, in fact, a distinct typewriter.
Early Shimer typewriters, such as the one pictured here, include a typebar basket shift for uppercase characters and are fitted with white keys. Interestingly, no two known Shimers are exactly alike. Variations in frame design are evident, and later Shimers adopted a carriage shift mechanism, similar to that found on early Remingtons. These differences suggest that the Shimer typewriter never achieved the status of a fully standardized production machine.
The Shimer general catalogue from 1900, shown below, features a cutter head on the cover and includes a two-page advertisement for the typewriter. This is the only known advertisement for the Shimer typewriter. On the back of the catalogue, one can see a beautifully detailed illustration of the Shimer factory. A loose price sheet inserted into the catalogue lists prices for various items, with the final entry reading: “Type Writer at $75.00.”
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