1932 Remie Scout

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Depression Era “Little Typewriter That Could”

This delightfully colorful little bare-bones portable typewriter looks like a happy-times, cheerful machine, but actually it was marketed mainly to students during the dark days of the worldwide depression starting in the Unites States in 1929 and lasting until the late 1930s. It was advertised at the appropriately low price of $14.95, which in 2022 dollars would be the equivalent of about $340.

It is a simple typewriter without frills, reflecting the hardships of the depression. It had no ribbon-color selector, no margin or tab selector, no backspace key, only a right-hand platen knob, just one shift key and a minimalist open frame making no attempt at style or cosmetic beauty (except for its bright red paint)—and scrupulously using as little metal as possible,

Even the keys are left precariously exposed with no protection out front. A hard case for the typewriter was available at additional cost, but a simple oilcloth cover was often used.

While the keyboard displayed only lowercase letters, both upper and lower case characters could be typed using the shift key.

This Remie Scout was a new model in April 1932. A total of about 24,000 Remie Scout typewriters were produced until November 1934.

I always think of this machine as the little-typewriter-that-could. It makes me smile! It has a proven, good quality pop-up key mechanism first introduced by Remington in the early 1920s and I like to think it gave hope to many young people trying to make their way in a difficult world.
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The 1932 Remie Scout uses a 4-row, Qwerty, 42-key, frontstrike impact mechanism.
Overall condition: Good
Year: 1932
Serial No.: S8?
Type language:
Manufactured by the Remington Typewriter Company, Ilion, New York, USA