Index Typewriter

Q: I’d like to sell our Hall Type Writer. It’s in a wooden case and has this plate that says “Manufactured for National Typewriter Co.” and serial number 8648. It doesn’t have the traditional typewriter letter keys. What is it worth?

A: You have an index typewriter. The letters are selected from the index on the front of the machine and a stylus is used to push through the hole to print the letters. The first index typewriter was invented by Thomas Hall of Brooklyn, New York, in 1881. Hall moved his company to Salem, Massachusetts, in 1887, and to Boston in 1889. Your typewriter is the Boston model, made by the National Typewriter Co. in Boston from 1889 to the 1890s. The Boston model was the last of the Hall typewriters. Hall typewriters have sold for $500 to $1,500. The oldest Hall typewriters sell for the most money.