The popular Oliver was manufactured in the U.S. from 1896 to 1928,
and even later in England. The no. 9 was made from 1916 to 1922.
All Olivers are distinguished by their U-shaped
typebars that hover over the platen.
Most are painted olive green (get it?) and have curious "ears"
or "teaspouts" on the sides --
probably meant as handles.
The Oliver has a 3-bank keyboard with double shift.
The #9 usually features "Printype" -- a beefy typeface meant to
resemble printing in books (it's a bit of a stretch).
The mascot for
Printype, for reasons obscure to me, is a cheery little policeman who
looks like a Keystone Kop. Could it be that he, like the typeface, is beefy?
Tip: look for an Oliver in the film "Naked Lunch," disguised
as a "Mojahedin." Watch as it transforms into an obscene
hallucination ....
