After officially joining the war, first declaring war on Japan and then on Germany, in December 1941 the United States turned its attention to the war effort. We’ve heard about people enlisting or being drafted, war bonds, Rosie the Riveter image of women in the factories, victory gardens, and rationing, but let's talk about typewriters!
In 1942, the War Production Board assessed that the armed forces needed 500,000 typewriters for war work. Businesses and institutions (such as the American Museum of Natural History) were approached with this proposition, will you trade in some of your typewriters for the war effort?
As part of this process, every department in the museum was given the above survey and asked to list the make and model of every typewriter purchased on or after January 1, 1935. The War Production Board needed to purchase a lot of typewriters but had committed to only purchasing one third of them new, due to cost restrictions and limitations on production supplies for the typewriter manufacturers. The above form covers the Planetarium’s machines and, if you look closely, there is a red dash to the right of four machines. Those typewriters were identified as ones the department could potentially do without (ultimately three were surrendered).
In total, 32 of the museum's typewriters were turned over to the War Production Board through the program. This honor badge, as a letter from the War Production Board describes it, was meant to be displayed as a sign that the museum was doing its part for the war effort. The back does have an adhesive film, like an envelope, but it was never used.
This entry was written by Lauren VanDenBerg, Shelby White & Leon Levy Project Archivist.