Underwood Typewritter #5. Condition is Used and NOT WORKING. This is a collectors’ item... an antique that I used as part of my decor. Note: This typewriter was used for decor in its current form. It looks aged - not clean (on purpose). I’m sure once the typewriter is wiped down and oiled it will look brand new. The keys stick but the ribbon is in tact. The Underwood typewriter is the creation of German-American inventor Franz X. Wagner. The name "Underwood" comes from John T. Underwood, an entrepreneur who bought the company early in its history. (The Underwood family was already a successful manufacturer of ribbons and carbon paper. It's said that when Remington decided to produce its own line of ribbons and carbon paper, Underwood responded, "All right, then, we'll just build our own typewriter!") Underwood Models 3, 4, and 5 were made from late 1900 until late 1931 or early 1932. The No. 3 is a wide-carriage machine, the No. 4 types 76 characters, and the No. 5 types 84 characters. The No. 5 was the quintessential Underwood. Millions of these machines were used by secretaries, journalists, government officials, and writers throughout the first half of the twentieth century. Later Underwoods were superficially modernized, but retained the same basic mechanism. The name "No. 5" was even given to some of these later typewriters, in honor of the model that made the company's fortune. The company was eventually bought by Olivetti, and in the early 1960s, the name "Underwood" finally disappeared from the typewriter world.