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Home » Underwood » Western Union Special » 1912 #WU1755
1912 Underwood Western Union Special Serial # WU1755 1912 Underwood Western Union Special typewriter, Serial # WU1755 Brian Decker's 1912 Underwood Western Union Special typewriter. 2026-07-09 From the Virtual Typewriter Collection of Brian Decker: 1912 Underwood Western Union Special Serial # WU1755 2026-JUL-09, Gallery Creation. Sighting of a new eBay listing as of 7/9/2026. Seller is "stavrostuff" located in Klamath Falls, OR. Starting bid is $199.99 - regular auction format, no "Buy It Now". This is now the earliest S/N for a Western Union Special on TWDB. The serial number image is not very good. In fact, the seller claims in the description for the listing that it's WU1722. I call bunk on that. I looked through a few galleries for Underwoods from around 1912, and found a gallery for a 1911 Underwood 4, #388567, formerly in Richard Polt's collection, that looks like it used the same punches, or at least punches in the same style, for the numerals in the serial number. Based on this, I'm reasonably confident that the serial number is WU1755, not WU1722, nor WU1733.

1912 Underwood Western Union Special #WU1755

Status: Sightings
Hunter: Brian Decker (bkdecker66)
Created: 07-09-2026 at 06:35PM
Last Edit: 07-09-2026 at 06:46PM

Description Hunter 19 Photos 0 Likes  Find on Ebay #AD  Find on Etsy #AD

Description:

2026-JUL-09, Gallery Creation. Sighting of a new eBay listing as of 7/9/2026. Seller is "stavrostuff" located in Klamath Falls, OR. Starting bid is $199.99 - regular auction format, no "Buy It Now". This is now the earliest S/N for a Western Union Special on TWDB. The serial number image is not very good. In fact, the seller claims in the description for the listing that it's WU1722. I call bunk on that. I looked through a few galleries for Underwoods from around 1912, and found a gallery for a 1911 Underwood 4, #388567, formerly in Richard Polt's collection, that looks like it used the same punches, or at least punches in the same style, for the numerals in the serial number. Based on this, I'm reasonably confident that the serial number is WU1755, not WU1722, nor WU1733.

Typeface Specimen:

Photos:

Front closeup.
Front closeup.

Typebars.
Typebars.

Keyboard.
Keyboard.

Serial number.
Serial number.

Serial number from Richard Polt's gallery for Underwood 4 #388567 (1911) for comparison.
Serial number from Richard Polt's gallery for Underwood 4 #388567 (1911) for comparison.

Raised casting of a number "4" on the underside - model number?
Raised casting of a number "4" on the underside - model number?

Another casting of the numeral "4".
Another casting of the numeral "4".

Carriage.
Carriage.

Carriage with typing sample inserted.
Carriage with typing sample inserted.

Top-down view of ribbon spools and carriage.
Top-down view of ribbon spools and carriage.

Ribbon guide and typebar guide.
Ribbon guide and typebar guide.

Right, strange point of view (hey, it's an eBay listing photo!).
Right, strange point of view (hey, it's an eBay listing photo!).

Right broadside, frame opening.
Right broadside, frame opening.

Rear.
Rear.

Underside.
Underside.

Left broadside, frame opening.
Left broadside, frame opening.

Left, weird point of view (hey, it's an eBay listing photo!).
Left, weird point of view (hey, it's an eBay listing photo!).

Right spool closeup.
Right spool closeup.

Main eBay listing view.
Main eBay listing view.

Hunter: Brian Decker (bkdecker66)

Brian Decker's Typewriter Galleries [ My Collection ] [ My Sightings ]

Status: Typewriter Hunter
Points: 3552

My interest in typewriters started in 1997, when I was in graduate school at the University of Georgia. I purchased and read Darryl Rehr's book, joined ETC, and started reaching out to known collectors. I had several email interchanges with Richard Polt dating from that period. I also bought some of my first machines from Bob Aubert, and visited him at his home twice. After marriage and relocation to New England, I continued visiting antique shops and eBay, until other priorities put my typewriter hobby on hiatus around 2008.

In late 2024, I started up again, working on my machines and having some of them serviced professionally by New England Typewriter (NET) LLC (Merrimack, NH), until they closed their doors in December of 2025. Since mid-2025, I have been adding to my collection again, first with a Hermes 3000 purchase from NET, then with various auctions and purchases on eBay, when I find something that catches my eye.


RESEARCH NOTE: When researching the Underwood Western Union Special on a computer with lots of screen real estate, you may find that launching the Underwood Serial Number page and the Underwood Western Union Special By Model/Year/Serial page in new browser windows can give you interesting perspectives on changes throughout the model series.

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