Oliver 3 Nickel base

First year of production:

1899

Company:

Oliver Typewriter Company , Woodstock, Ill. , USA

Serial nr:

The variable could not be found

General information about the Oliver 3 can be found in the entry for the regular Oliver 3. This page is dedicated to a rare variation: the nickel-plated Oliver.

The first two Oliver models were both plated with nickel. Nickel plating was obviously done for both esthetic and practical reasons. Nickel plating looks spectacular and gives excellent protection against rust.

Beginning with the Oliver 3, all machines were painted with an olive green lacquer. However, the company made one exception. Machines that were produced for exports to warm and damp regions, like Latin America, were still nickel plated. The company apparently trusted the plating more than the paint.

Time has shown that this may not have geen a very good idea. Today, on most antique typewriters, the paint is usually pretty much intact, but the plating is often eaten away by rust.

Note picture 6: a group portrait of several Olivers, including the nickel-plated Olivers 2 and 3.

Courtesy of: Costa collection