Typewriter Dusting Brush

Typewriter Dusting Brush

Typewriter manufacturing companies of the early twentieth century often paired the machines with a manual and a cleaning kit, providing consumers with two cleaning brushes, an oil can, and a small screwdriver. This "Typewriters Companion" dusting brush, made in France, would have been paired with a shorter, stiff-bristled brush that was used first to remove the hardened grime from between the type keys. The dusting brush was typically used after the type brush to wiping the typewriter clean of loosened dirt and dust without harming it. The handle was originally threaded with horsehair bristles, creating a much softer surface than the wire bristles of its partner, the type brush. With its long, curved handle and its wide set of soft bristles, the Typewriters Companion played a significant role in maintaining typewriters in the early twentieth century.

Recovered from excavation prior to construction of Rutgers-Camden dormitory at 330 Cooper Street, Camden, N.J.

Rutgers University-Camden

c. 1880-1930; photographs, March 2018.

McKenna Britton (Graduate Student, American Material Culture, Spring 2018)

Collection of Rutgers-Camden Center for the Arts

Affleck, Richard, George Cress, Ingrid Weubber, Rebecca White, Kimberly Morrell, and Thomas Kutys. Phase II and Data-Recovery Archaeological Excavations of the Smith-Maskell Site Cooper Street Development Camden, New Jersey. Archaeological Excavation Report, Burlington: URS Corporation.

Bone brush handle, 14.5 cm (length) x 0.5 cm (width).

Photograph