Typewriter

Object/Artifact

Swedish American Museum

2024.3.2_Front1

Typewriter case and lid

Name/Title

Typewriter

Entry/Object ID

2024.3.2

Description

"Hermes Baby"-brand travel typewriter. Grey case with black handle and detachable lid. Typewriter has black keys and special characters from Swedish alphabet. Above keyboard is a red stripe that goes through the typebars. Top left-hand corner of typewriter reads "HERMES" in faded yellow script and "Baby" in red cursive. Also contains 2 sheets of paper still in the paper carriage which contain gibberish and some writing by Hasso.

Use

Typewriter belonging to Swedish actress Signe Hasso (1915-2002).

Context

Signe Hasso was born Signe Larsson in Stockholm, Sweden in 1915. She began her acting career at age 12 at Sweden's famed Royal Dramatic Theatre, where she became their youngest acting student at age 16. She acted in many plays in Sweden throughout the 1930s and married German film director/cameraman Harry Hasso in 1933. They had a son the next year in 1934. She and her husband would divorce in 1942. After gaining fame in Sweden's theater world, she was convinced to move to the U.S. by Hollywood's Howard Hughes. She would go on to act in Broadway plays and then transition to a career in Hollywood once she signed with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in the mid-1940s. She starred in many Hollywood films and acted alongside leading men such as Cary Grant, Gary Cooper, and Ronald Goldman. After her son was killed in an automobile accident in 1957, she paused her career in Hollywood. She focused on her stage career and would act in occasional Swedish films and televisions series throughout the 1960s. Hasso also composed music and wrote lyrics and poems; in a 1994 interview she said that she would rather be remembered for her writing than her acting. She translated Swedish folk songs into English and wrote a novel about her childhood called "Momo." In 1994, Hasso was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. She would continue acting in her final years, with her last role being in a 1998 film. She passed away from cancer-related pneumonia in 2002, at the age of 86.

Acquisition

Accession

2024.3

Source or Donor

Wooten, James

Acquisition Method

Gift

Credit Line

Gift of James Wooten

Ethnography

Cultural Region

Country

Switzerland, United States

Region

Central Europe

Continent

Europe, North America

State/Province

California

Notes

Typewriter was made in Yverdon-les-Bains, Switzerland and sold at Acme Adding Machine & Typewriter Company in Hollywood, California.

Inscription/Signature/Marks

Type

Label

Location

Left-hand side of typewriter

Transcription

"Acme Adding Machine & Typewriter Company in Hollywood, California 7505 1/2 Sunset Blvd at Gardner Hollywood, California ; SALES - SERVICE - RENTALS ; EST. 1934 ; 876-5400 ; Southern California Office Machine Dealers Association"

Language

English

Material/Technique

Printed

Type

Manufacturer's Mark

Location

Back of typewriter

Transcription

"HERMES ; Made in Switzerland by Raillard S.A. ; Yverdon "

Language

English

Type

Inscription

Location

Left-hand side of typewriter lid

Transcription

"Signe Hasso ; 467 C.P.W.N.Y 35 N.Y. ; USA."

Material/Technique

Ink

Type

Inscription

Location

Writing on paper

Transcription

Kära SigbeHasso den här apparat en funkar mycket bra / jag tror at att denhär / jag kan bara / I dont know / ppp / Jag tycker om att skriva på den här maskinen. Det är så / Det är så roligt att sitta här och seccccccccccccc / 23456789ü´-poiuytrewqasdfghjkl,.öåämnbvcxz / A SIGN FROM SIGNE / swe

Language

Swedish

Translation

[Rough translation with corrected grammar] Dear Signe Hasso, this apparatus works very well / I think that this / I can just / I don't know / ppp / I like writing on this machine. It is so / It is so fun to sit here and seccccccccccccc / 23456789ü´-poiuytrewqasdfghjkl,.öåämnbvcxz / A SIGN FROM SIGNE / swe

Lexicon

LOC Thesaurus for Graphic Materials

Communication devices, Communication, Writing, Letters, Correspondence, Office machines

Relationships

Related Person or Organization

Person or Organization

Signe Hasso

Reproductions

Notes

Reproduction of the Museum's artifacts for publication, commercial use, or distribution requires written permission.