British Olivers

The first models manufactured by the Oliver Typewriter Manufacturing Company in England were the Oliver Nos. 15 and No. 16. These British Oliver models have the same gloss black finish introduced on the Olivers 11 and 12. A greatly needed improvement was made to the ribbon holder lids; they are now flat, pivotable, and attached to the machine so that they do not go missing.

The Oliver No. 16 is the export version of the Oliver No. 15 (Generation I) and the first export model produced by the British Oliver Manufacturing Company. Just like the export models that were produced in the United States by the Oliver Typewriter Company, this machine is identical to its previous odd-numbered counterpart, the Oliver 15 (Generation I), with the exception of the four additional keys and wider base. The most noticeable improvement on Oliver models 15 and 16 was a revision of the ribbon holder lids; they are now flat and pivotable such that they remain attached to the machine and do not get lost.

The Oliver No. 16 serial numbers are intermixed with the Oliver 15 (Generation I) numbers. However, The Oliver 16s have an "R" prefix instead of "LC" or "L".

The Oliver Four Bank is a rebranded Fortuna IV that was offered for sale by the British Oliver Manufacturing Company. These were sold concurrently with Oliver models 15 and 16.

Over 5000 Oliver Four Bank machines were manufactured until the Oliver No. 20 was introduced in 1935. The Oliver Four Bank serial numbers were part of the Fortuna IV serial numbers starting at 50001. The Antikey Chop's Oliver Four Bank is the first example I have seen.

In 1935, the British Oliver Manufacturing Company began selling the Halda-Norden 5 rebranded as the Oliver No. 20. Some Oliver 20 machines are olive green but most are black.

It is unknown exactly how many Oliver 20 machines were produced. This is because the serial number count restarted every year. Note that the first two digits of the serial number determine the year of production ("35" for 1935, "36" for 1936, etcetera).

During production of the Oliver No. 21, the Oliver Typewriter Manufacturing Company reintroduced the Oliver No. 15 for the British Government. (Note that the Oliver No. 16 was not reintroduced.) This second generation of Oliver 15 machines were painted matte black with a crinkle finish, which is sometimes referred to as the "war finish".

This second generation of Oliver 15 machines started a new line of serial numbers, each with a two-letter prefix. The known prefixes are listed in the table below.

The Oliver No. 21 was the last desktop typewriter offered by the British Oliver Manufacturing Company. It is a rebranded Halda 6. Most Oliver 21 machines are black but some are grey.

The Oliver No. 21 serial numbers incorporate the year of production and model number. The first digit corresponds to the last digit of the year of production. The second and third digits are always 21. In 1950, the serial number count reset from 1949 and began at zero. From then on, the count continued over from each previous year.

At some point, the British Oliver Manufacturing Company was remodelling Oliver No. 9 machines in the style of Oliver 11 machines- black with gold pinstriping. They most likely remodelled these machines anywhere between shortly after they opened in 1928 to the end of production of the Oliver Nos. 15 (Generation I) and 16 in 1933. I have never seen any other Oliver remodelled besides the Oliver 9.

The remodelled Olivers were given a new serial number in place of the old one. The new number has the prefix "RM", meaning "remodelled". I only know two serial numbers of remodelled Olivers, both listed in the table below. It is possible they started at serial number RM10001.