While it seems like a short amount of time, many changes were made to the design of Sears typewriters between 1959 and 1961. Before 1959, Sears typewriters resembled Smith-Corona typewriters that were slightly changed. By 1959, Sears typewriters took on a new identity, with new space-age styling. Their ribbon covers stayed the same, but they received larger knobs, a larger space bar, and a new lower-body, that was more angular than the previous generation, which had a lower body that was identical to that of the Smith-Corona Silent-Super.
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| 1959 Sears Christmas Catalog page, courtesy of WishBookWeb.com Notice the curved ribbon cover, and carriage surround. |
By 1961, the ribbon cover had been changed to a more angular design, with a curved facing. The President XII was renamed "Constellation," and the two-tone color schemes were redesigned. By 1962, a new model, the Citation 88 was introduced, and the chrome-laden carrying case of the 1958-1961 Tower President XII and Constellation models had been replaced with the case that is most familiar to collectors. Known by Smith-Corona as the "Trimline" case, it had a small chrome band in the middle. The case was covered in black or brown vinyl.
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| My 1961 Tower Constellation (Nick Bodemer Collection) |
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| 1962 Sears Christmas Catalog page, courtesy of WishBookWeb.com |
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Late in 1962, the carriage surround was changed from the 1950s-era metal surround that was seen on the Silent-Super, to the 1960s-era plastic surround that was seen on the Galaxie. This feature would remain unchanged until the mid-1970s, when Smith-Corona stopped making typewriters for Sears. In the 1964 catalog below, the Constellation has been replaced by the Sears President 12. This typewriter was painted black, with a brushed stainless steel front panel, similar to that on the Tower Constellation. It was the first Sears typewriter to offer Changeable Type. Mechanically, it is a Smith-Corona Classic 12.
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1964 Sears Christmas Catalog page, courtesy of WishBookWeb.com
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