Last October, I was lucky to finally be able to acquire a rough but mostly complete Annell' typewriter from Herman Price in a trade. I have been wanting to compare this machine to a Woodstock forever, considering the normal story one reads about this machine's heritage.
In a new 20 minute plus video (our longest to date) you'll see this machine in considerable detail, as well as some other family members.
Click this link to see the new Annell' video on our YouTube channel. Learn about the machine, about Woodstock typewriters, about ephemera, "trade papers," and more in this new video. We certainly enjoyed making it, and hope you enjoy it.
Good to see you posting. I'll check out the video.
ReplyDeleteThanks for looking, Richard! And thanks for the 'welcome back.' We're open to speculation on the Annell' if you have any. We have some more ideas on it too - probably for another video.
DeleteThe video was eye-opening both about the Annell' (or A'nnell'??) and about early Woodstocks. Very interesting. Do you think the Annell' was made at the Woodstock factory, by the Woodstock company, or at some completely different factory by people who bought up a stash of parts? I'd love to know the story.
ReplyDeleteThis is a dumber remark but I can't help saying: maybe they were so concerned about the accent on Annell' so people wouldn't pronounce it "Anal."
Well, what I can tell you is that I have seen (but do not own) some Annell Typewriter Company letterhead that stated "Factory - Woodstock, Illinois." So my guess is they were assembled at the Woodstock Typewriter Co. factory. My working theory is that the Annell Typewriter Company may have included an interest by Woodstock in order to hold it at arms length, but we know that it was indeed a separate company with separate capital.
DeleteWe are hoping that someone who sees this has some further information specifically by way of paper / ephemera. Or observations about other Annell machines in other collections.
Glad you watched, Richard, and also glad you liked it!
Will, enjoyed the video. My hypothesis is that Smith bought parts from the same supplier as the woodstock people. That is, there was a common supplier of certain basic parts, frames and decks. Then Smith had his own cheaper parts made for the frames and decks he had in common with Woodstock. So, we are looking at three companies, Smith, Woodstock, and whoever supplied parts to both.
DeleteI'm not sure that jives with what we're seeing, Martin, although it's a very interesting theory. My belief is that Woodstock itself was manufacturing its own frames (there's evidence in the complete Typewriter Topics volumes, as I recall) and that the frames (and top decks and so forth) for the Annell were outsourced. The castings and their finishing are a whole order of magnitude less well done in the Annell than they are on any Woodstock I ever saw. I think Woodstock was trying to get into the $60-$75 standard machine range, by mail, and did so by using cheap castings to enclose leftover, spare, and some new parts.
DeleteNow, before I dismiss your theory out of hand ... I LIKE IT. It contains all the dubiousness of Harry A. Smith's known actions. The thing that really convinces me that Woodstock was directly involved instead of snookered is that I've got an image of Annell Typewriter Company letterhead that states "Factory - Woodstock, Illinois." That tells me the machines are being assembled in Woodstock's plant, at least as the most likely locale. (There was one other typewriter manufacturer in town, but its name eludes me. Wink.)
However I will now begin to investigate your theory because -- as I said -- it interests me very much. And I like to deliberately disprove my theories before I put them out there and yours would definitely do that. Scientific method and all that rigamarole.
Thanks for reading, watching, and commenting!