Typewriter used by Orson Welles: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

Typewriter used by Orson Welles in the 1930s and 1940s. The Underwood 4-bank portable typewriter is housed in a leather case with handle that bears the inscription "ORSON WELLES / HOTEL DE LA / TREMOILLE / PARIS 8 FRANCE". The theater, radio, and film writer, director, and actor used the typewriter throughout the 1930s and 40s, perhaps including work on the 1938 War of the Worlds radio broadcast and other works of the Mercury Theatre, 1941 film Citizen Kane, and 1946 film The Lady from Shanghai.

The typewriter has four rows of round glass keys, a decorative wood grain finish on case surfaces, and a nickel-plated shift lock lever. The paper table bears a label that reads, ''Standard Four Bank Keyboard'' in gilt lettering beneath the printed ''Underwood'' brand name. Underwood sold 1.2 million of this model typewriter between 1926 and 1947 when production ceased.

Materials, dates and provenance

• date made: 1926
• user: Welles, Orson
• maker: Underwood Corporation
• Object Name: typewriter
• Physical Description: metal (mechanical components and fixtures material)
• Physical Description: leather (case material)
• Physical Description: fabric (ribbon material)
• Measurements: case: 5 1/2 in x 12 in x 12 1/4 in; 13.97 cm x 30.48 cm x 31.115 cm
• Measurements: typewriter: 4 1/4 in x 11 1/2 in x 10 1/2 in; 10.795 cm x 29.21 cm x 26.67 cm
• place made: United States: Connecticut, Hartford
• place used: France: Île-de-France, Département de Ville-de-Paris
• Subject: Radio
• Subject: Motion Pictures
• Subject: Writing
• ID Number: 2021.0169.01
• accession number: 2021.0169
• catalog number: 2021.0169.01
• Credit Line: Steve Soboroff
• Data Source: National Museum of American History

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of American History through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed.