Typewriters

The company originated in 1886 when the Smith Premier Typewriter Company created the first machine to use both uppercase and lowercase letters. In 1903 it was reorganized as the L.C. Smith & Bros. Typewriter Company in Syracuse, New York. Separately, in 1906 the Rose Typewriter company marketed the first successful portable typewriter, and in 1909 renamed itself the Standard Typewriter Company. With the success of their Corona model in 1914 Standard Typewriter was renamed again and became the Corona Typewriter Company. Smith Corona was created when L.C. Smith & Bros. united with Corona Typewriter in 1926, with L.C. Smith & Bros. making office typewriters and Corona Typewriter making portables.

During World War II, Smith Corona made Springfield rifles and other small arms for the U.S. armed forces. After the war, the company concentrated on making its typewriters more convenient and efficient for use in business offices. Typewriter sales peaked after World War II; in response to a demand for typewriters capable of faster output, Smith Corona introduced electric typewriters in 1955. Electric portables, intended for travelling writers and businesspeople, but later widely purchased for general home use, were introduced in 1957. The new portable electric typewriters would become an essential tool for generations of U.S. high school and college students.

In a diversification move that later proved unsound, Smith Corona purchased Marchant Calculator in 1958. Smith Corona invented the typewriter power carriage return in 1960. In 1962, they changed their corporate name to Smith-Corona Marchant (SCM). In 1973 SCM introduced a cartridge ribbon which eliminated the long-standing problem of getting ink-stained fingers from hand-threading a replacement spool of inked ribbon. The calculator market was devastated by cheap electronic pocket calculators in the mid 1970s. By 1985, personal computers were being widely used for word processing, and SCM launched their first portable word processor, along with the first portable typewriter that included an electronic spelling function.

The company moved its typewriter manufacturing operations from Cortland, NY to Mexico in 1995. The company announced in 1995 it was cutting 750 jobs as a result of continuing sales declines, and shortly thereafter, declared bankruptcy. Since 1995, the company has concentrated on sales of portable electronic typewriters, as well as typewriter and word processor supplies. The company's current electronic models feature LCD displays, built-in dictionaries, and spell- and grammar-check features.