Monarch Pioneer Typewriter with ROMAN BOLD typeface (1932)

MONARCH PIONEER TYPEWRITER  —  1932

Original red and black two-tone finish

Uncommon Roman Bold typeface/font

A Monarch Pioneer typewriter manufactured in the United States in 1932, in its original red and black two-tone finish and accompanied by its original oil-cloth cover. It carries the uncommon Pica Roman Bold typeface, a heavy serif letter that gives a typed page a dark, emphatic appearance; most machines of this type were supplied with Art Gothic, a light sans-serif face. The Pioneer was one of Remington’s responses to the Depression: a portable reduced to its essentials and sold at a fraction of the usual price.

The Monarch Pioneer is a name variant of the Remington Remie Scout Model, produced by Remington Rand from April 1932 to November 1934. Remington introduced it in the summer of 1932 as a simplified machine priced below thirty dollars, aiming to widen the use of the typewriter when few households could afford one. It sold at $29.75 on introduction, about $725 in today’s money; a standard Remington portable of the time cost $60 to $65. To reach that price, Remington omitted several conveniences, for instance, the machine has a margin stop on the left only, and only has a shift-key on the left side. It uses the folding typebar mechanism of Remongton’s first portables of the early 1920s, in which a lever raises the typebars to the printing position and lowers them again for carrying, allowing a smaller and less costly frame. In place of a case, the machine was supplied with an oil-cloth cover that snaps to its base.

The original red and black two-tone finish is in overall very fine condition with a couple of points of wear on the corners. The mechanical elements are all working as originally designed. The keyboard is QWERTZ but can be converted to QWERTY layout at no additional cost. The original oil-cloth cover is in generally good condition although worn in some areas and there are a couple of small tears in the cloth where the snaps attach to the base. The snaps that would attach the cloth to the base are missing on the right side of the base.

This typewriter has been restored by Acme Type Machine Company. The mechanism has been carefully cleaned, adjusted and calibrated; the original finish, keyboard and oil-cloth cover are unaltered. It bears the permanent Acme Seal, attached discreetly on the mechanism, identifying restoration within our workshop and providing enduring provenance.

SPECIFICATIONS

Maker: Remington Rand, for the Monarch Typewriter Co., New York

Model: Monarch Pioneer (Remie Scout Model type)

Year: 1932

Place of manufacture: United States

Keyboard: QWERTZ (also available in QWERTY layout at no additional cost)

Typeface: Pica Roman Bold, 10 characters to the inch

Finish: Original red and black two-tone

Platen: Reconditioned with a durometer reading of 95 (A new platen can be ordered, if desired.)

Case: Original oil-cloth cover with snap fastenings; a couple of small tears at the snaps