Miss Longevity = Corona 3
The production of the Corona 3 is from 1912 to1941.
 Aluminum
predecessor
Rose Typewriter Co launches the first really portable typewriter in 1906: the
aluminum Standard Folding Typewriter with a
keyboard that folds down.
 A
group of investors sees the market potential and buys the company from engineer
Rose. In 1912 they launch the all-time hit: the number 3.
No longer aluminum, but black enameled steel plate. As foreign sales are also
going well, the name 'Standard Folding Typewriter', which does not sound right,
becomes the resounding 'Corona'. The beginning of a success story!
The world is in flames two years later so the timing of the launch is ideal.
War correspondents and soldiers are delighted by their little, indestructible
Corona 3. When the machine guns stop rattling, the typewriters, set on a
lightweight tripod, take over the rhythm.
Ironically, it is the Second World War that closes
down the production lines of the Corona 3 for ever, in favor of the production
of armaments.
Corona 4: new hit
  There
are many color variations of the Corona 3 such as the Corona Specials of the
late nineteen thirties. Dazzling, yet they cannot match the success of their
'big brother'.
This is because the Corona 4 has taken the
market by storm from 1924 onwards. The '4' in its name corresponds with its four
rows of keys, in contrast to the three rows of the Corona 3. Yet both have as
many characters: 84. The Corona 3 has 24 keys with three characters each, the
Corona 4 has 42 keys with 2 characters each.
The other big difference? The four does not have to be folded up any longer,
because the platen is behind the machine instead of on top. It comes onto the
market in various
Duco-colors with or without golden front.
The ideal couple
In 1926 the lightweight champion joins forces with the heavyweight designer
of the standard office machines: L.C. Smith. In
future, the perfect couple go through life as 'Smith Corona' and build excellent
machines for many decades to come ... and a few
(brilliant) blunders.
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