1926 Corona 4 #2K13611
Status: My Collection
Hunter: Brian Decker (bkdecker66)
Created: 01-05-2025 at 09:26AM
Last Edit: 01-11-2026 at 02:53PM
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Description:
I am updating this gallery 1/10/26 with additional and better photos and description. I acquired this Corona "Four" at an antique store that now no longer exists, "This Olde Stuff" in Amherst NH, on 3/29/2008. Apparently at 1:55pm, according to the receipt (see below). The price was only $8.00, which is the least I have ever paid for a typewriter still in my collection, outside of gifts (I did pay only $5 for a Royal HHP that is no longer in my collection). Today, I reinstalled the platen, which was quite a hassle on this old model. The platen has not been resurfaced, so I still want to do that, and it was my initial intention for removing it in the first place. However, I wanted to create a typing sample and update this gallery.
The machine types in Pica, and the typeface looks identical to my Corona 4 #4L00355 (linked gallery). When I acquired it, the gold coloring had faded to silver on the front "Corona" decal, and I tried to use amber shellac to rejuvenate it. It sort of worked, but I could have done much better. Oh, well. Both this machine, and my Underwood 5 #1590029, I found on the same day, 3/29/2008, at two separate antique shops. I'm pretty sure I bought the Underwood later in the afternoon than the Corona. They were the last two typewriters I bought, for more than 17 years, until 11-21-2025, when I bought my Hermes 3000 from Matt Snyder of New England Typewriter LLC (see linked gallery).
Both this Corona 4 (#2K13611) and #4L00355 came with their warranty cards. The warranty card for #2K13611 indicates it was purchased at Littleton NH in August 1926. The warranty card for 2K13611 also has a line of text that possibly indicates a manufacture or receipt date: "268 7948 21M 4 26"; I am tempted to believe the final "4 26" indicate April 1926. #2K13611 has a "Corona Four" decal and no reference to L.C. Smith on the body or warranty card, while #4L00355 drops the "Four" on the front decal, and includes the L.C. Smith reference on both the front edge of the frame and the warranty card.
I read the name on the warranty card for #2K13611 as "A. H. Ericsson". I have no way of knowing whether that's correct, but there was an August Hjalmar Ericsson (1873-1936) who lived in Littleton NH for much of his adult life, and died there at age 62. Littleton NH was a small town with population about 4,000 back in the 1920s and 1930s, and it seems unlikely there were a lot of people named "A. H. Ericsson" in the town at the time. It's possible that I'm reading the last name on the warranty card incorrectly. Also, August Ericsson was an Advent Christian minister, who was considered to be intellectual and did a lot of writing. It might well be that he wrote sermons on this machine.
Typeface Specimen:
Links:
Photos:
Hunter: Brian Decker (bkdecker66)
Brian Decker's Typewriter Galleries [ My Collection ] [ My Sightings ]
Status: Typewriter Hunter
Points: 1440
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. I still have my collection of around 57 machines, and now I have a renewed interest in getting some of them in good working and cosmetic order.
RESEARCH NOTE: When researching the Corona 4 on a computer with lots of screen real estate, you may find that launching the Corona Serial Number page and the Corona 4 By Model/Year/Serial page in new browser windows can give you interesting perspectives on changes throughout the model series.
