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1907 Dupligraph Photos ]

Early Office Museum
Antique Check Protector Gallery
~ 1900-1920s ~

Book typewriters, which printed on flat platens, were sometimes used to type checks.  A 1906 book referred to the possibility of a flat typewriter "with special type covered with points, which will partially perforate the check."  (E. W. Thompson, Book-keeping by Machinery, New York, 1906, p. 109)  We do not know whether such a typewriter was marketed.

Ad Illustration
Click to Enlarge
Model, Years Patented, Years Advertising Observed, Manufacturer Photograph
Click to Enlarge
. Columbia Check Protector
Kruse & Weiss Motor Co.
New York, NY
Columbia_check_protector_OM.JPG (45970 bytes)
1902_Protectograph_adx.jpg (91662 bytes)
1902 ad
Letter_Clip_Protectograph_G_W_Todd__Co.jpg (52440 bytes)
Protectograph Check Protector
Patented 1896-1913 ~ Design Patent 1901 ~ Advertised 1902-24
G. W. Todd & Company
Rochester, NY
1901_Protectograph_G_W_Todd__Co_Richester_NY_OM.jpg (161855 bytes)
1902 ad
In 1910, the company claimed that 85,000 Protectographs were in use.
A 1913 ad stated "For fourteen years the Protectograph system has safeguarded the biggest bank accounts in the world," but the earliest ad we have found was 1902. This 1913 ad further stated: "Used by the U.S. Treasury and other Government departments, by at least 90 per cent of the commercial banks, and by some 150,000 progressive business houses, large and small." (System, Sept. 1913.) Two months later, a Protectograph ad stated that "nearly 250,000" Protectograph machines were in use. (System, Nov. 1913.)
Below machine in photo to right is a specimen of what the 
machine prints on checks. When the dial is set to 2000 as shown, 
the machine prints: NOT OVER TWO THOUSAND $2000*
Protectograph_Model_H_with_specimen.JPG (42804 bytes)
. Defiance Check Protector
Patent Application 1899 ~ Patent issued 1907
Defiance Machine Co.
Rochester, NY

This machine is 13" tall and weighs 30 lb.
1899_1907_Defiance_Check_Protector_front_OM.jpg (77943 bytes)
1899_1907_Defiance_Check_Protector_side_OM.JPG (37836 bytes)
1899_1907_Defiance_Check_Protector_rear_OM.JPG (53902 bytes)
1901_New_Improved_Beebe_Indelible_Check_Protector_Co_Minneapolis_MN_OM_.jpg (230704 bytes)
1901 ad

Insert image from System 1904
Beebe Indelible Check Protector
Patented 1896-97 ~ Advertised 1901-09
Beebe Indelible Check Protector Company
Minneapolis, MN

There is more than one model of the Beebe.  See the next row.  It is not clear to us when each was sold.
We may have attributed some advertisements to the wrong model, or both models may have been advertised in some years.
Also, we do not know when the company moved from Minneapolis, MN, to Rochester, NY.
Any information you have that might clear up these questions would be appreciated.
1896_1897_Beebe_Indelible_Check_Protector_top.jpg (64420 bytes)
1896_1897_Beebe_Indelible_Check_Protector_Co_Minneapolis_OM.JPG (49058 bytes)
1908_Beebe_Check_Protector_ad_for_OM.jpg (78577 bytes) Beebe Indelible Check Protector
Patented 1896-1905 ~ Advertised c. 1904-1924
Beebe Check Protector Co.
Rochester, NY
Subsequently, Todd Protectograph Co., Rochester, NY (1924)

Beebe_Indelible.JPG (56373 bytes)

Insert image from System 1903

1897_Baby_Defiance_Check_Protector_1909_adx.jpg (47705 bytes)
Baby Defiance Check Protector 
(a.k.a. Defiance Draft and Check Protector,  
Defiance Check Protector,
Indelible Slotted Cut Check Protector
)
Patented 1897-1904 ~ Advertised c. 1902, 1903-20
Defiance Machine Company, Rochester, NY
Some models advertised c. 1902-c.1904 had a lever rather than a plunger on top.
A model advertised c. 1906 had round dials on both sides of the machine.
Defiance_Check_Protector_OM.jpg (21773 bytes)
. The Challenge Check Protector
The Challenge Manufacturing Co.
Rochester, NY

Courtesy of Larry Wilhelm

The Challenge Challenge Mfg Co Rochester NY OM.jpg (26720 bytes)
1903 New Printamount Wesley Mfg Co NYC OM.jpg (148396 bytes) New Printamount
Patented 1905 ~ Advertised 1903-04
Wesley Manufacturing Co., New York, NY (1903)
E. E. Angell & Co., Boston, MA (1904)
Embosses onto the check "NOT MORE THAN X DOLLARS  $X$"
1905_New_Printamount_front_OM.JPG (27629 bytes)
Insert image from System 1904

1903_Protecticheck_OM.jpg (22085 bytes)
1905_Protecticheck_Rochester_Metal_Mfg_Co_Rochester_NY_OM.jpg (66736 bytes)

Protecticheck
Advertised 1903-04 (top left), 1905 (bottom left)
Rochester Metal Mfg. Co.
Rochester, NY

Model advertised in 1903-04 stamps on the check "NOT OVER $X," where X is from 5 to 5,000.
.
Insert image from System 1904 D. & G. Check Perforator
Advertised 1904
The D. & G. Supply Co.
Chicago, IL
.
. Mahler Indelible Check Perforator and Protector
Marketed 1905
Louis F. Mahler, St. Louis, MO
.
1906_Defiance_Check_Writer_OM.jpg (40485 bytes) Defiance Check Writer
(a.k.a. Defiance Commercial Check Writer,  
Defiance Dividend Check Writer
)
Advertised 1906-24
Defiance Machine Co., Rochester, NY
.
International_Check_Protector_1909_adx.jpg (82462 bytes) International Check Protector
Patented 1896-1905 ~ Advertised 1909-24
G. W. Todd & Co.
Rochester, NY
Used principally for foreign exchange.
1896_1905_The_International_G_W_Todd__Co_Rochester_OM.jpg (25625 bytes)
. Universal Check Protector
Patented 1907-11
Universal Manufacturing Co.
Boston, MA
1907_Universal_Check_Protector_1b.JPG (73726 bytes)
.

Dupligraph Check Protector
Patented 1907 (US Patent No. 849,038) ~ Advertised c. 1909
Angell Mfg. Co.,Boston, MA

1907_Dupligraph_Mechanism_from_Front_OM.JPG (103250 bytes)

According to the patent, the object of this 'Printing and Embossing Apparatus' was to "emboss the figures or other characters on the sheet and at the same time deposit ink or other coloring-matter on both sides of the sheet, the embossing having the effect of somewhat stretching the paper over the area on which the color is deposited, so that the color will be more or less visible through the paper, whereby any attempt at erasure will cause an increased amount of color to be visible, and so such attempt will be frustrated and detected."

The inventor, Edwin E. Angell, obtained patents for a wide variety of items during the last decade of the 19th century and first decade of the 20th century.

We have seen Dupligraphs with the following serial numbers:  209  495  849  900  926  988  1273
1907_Dupligraph_Angell_Mfg_Co_Boston_MA.jpg (22527 bytes)
1907_Dupligraph_from_above.jpg (55103 bytes)
1910_Zono_Check_Protector_adv.jpg (107623 bytes) Zono Check Protector
Advertised 1910
Zono Manufacturing Co.
Pasadena, CA
.
. Safety Check Protector (a.k.a. New Safety Check Protector)
Patented 1907-09 ~ Advertised 1911 (Safety), 1924 (New Safety)
Safety Check Protector Co., Boston, MA
Subsequently, Todd Protectograph Co., Rochester, NY (1924)
1907_New_Safety_Safety_Check_Protector_Boston_1.jpg (45187 bytes)
MBHT_1911_Underwood_Check_Writing_typewriter.jpg (144044 bytes)
1911 ad.
Courtesy of the Museum of Business History and 
Technology.
Underwood Combination Check Writing and Perforating Machine
Advertised 1911

Typewriters with pin-point type were in use by 1910 and until at least 1955.
In 1910, the US Treasury Department purchased a Monarch No. 2 typewriter with pin-point type for $80. In 1914 ordinary typewriters with pin-point type were in use for production of stencils. A 1918 product directory indicates that typewriters with "Pin-Point Type" were on the market for use in writing drafts and vouchers.  In 1925, Elliott-Fisher marketed  its Simplex Accounting Machine with pin point type, pictured to the right, as a checkwriter. To prevent fraud, Accounting System and Office-Management Procedure for Medium-Size Metal Mines, 1934, p. 34, recommended "use of safety paper and a protective device or typewriters equipped with special pin-point type for writing checks."  In 1955, typewriters with pin-point type were used by the Maryland Department of Motor Vehicles and others to note the existence of liens.

.1925_Elliott-Fisher_Simplex_Accounting_Machine_Check_Writer_OM.jpg (335570 bytes)
Elliott-Fisher Simplex Accounting Machine Checkwriter with pin point type, 1925.
Defiance_Pay_Roll_Check_Writer_OM.jpg (62044 bytes) Defiance Pay Roll Check Writer
Advertised 1912-19
Defiance Check Writer Corp.
Rochester, NY
.
. Sun Check Writer
Advertised 1913 (System, Sept. 1913)
Sun Check Writer Co., NY, NY.
"Built like a typewriter."
"It perforates each character and prints in indelible ink. Every letter is acid and knife proof."
.
Todd_Protectograph_Check_Writer_1917_adx.jpg (91774 bytes) Protectograph Check Writer
Patented 1913-23 ~ Introduced 1913 ~ Advertised 1913-30
(Patents listed for 1901-12 are for earlier machine)
G. W. Todd & Co., Rochester, NY
Subsequently, Todd Protectograph Company, Rochester, NY
Different models were known as the Exactly, Thoroughbred and Double Quick.
Todd_Protectograph_xx_OM.jpg (33919 bytes)
New_Era_Check_Protector_1914_adx.jpg (44757 bytes) New Era Check Protector
Introduced 1913 ~ Advertised 1913-14, 1919
New Era Manufacturing Company
New York, NY (1913-14)
1914_New_Era_Check_Protector_OM.JPG (39261 bytes)
New_Era_Check_Writer_1914_adx.jpg (52723 bytes) New Era Check Writer (a.k.a Smith Check Writer)
Introduced 1913 ~ Advertised 1914, 1919
New Era Manufacturing Company
New York, NY (1914)
C. E. Smith & Co., New York, NY (1919)
1913_New_Era_Check_Writer_MFG._Co._New_York_OM.jpg (32484 bytes)
1915 Peerless Check Writers Roch NY Medal OM.JPG (42437 bytes)
Peerless Senior
Picture coming
S1013
Peerless Senior Check Writer
Advertised 1913-24
Peerless Check Protecting Co., Rochester, NY (1913-14)
Subsequently, Todd Protectograph Co., Rochester, NY (1924)
1913 ad states "The Peerless forces acid-proof ink into the very fiber of the paper for each word it writes." System, Sept. 1913)br> 1914 ad states the Senior was sold in 1912.
Peerless_Senior_Check_Protector_2.jpg (70036 bytes)
. Peerless Junior Check Writer
Advertised 1914-30
Peerless Check Protecting Co., Rochester, NY (1913-14)
Subsequently, Todd Protectograph Co., Rochester, NY (1924)
1917_Peerless_Jr._checkwriter.jpg (26238 bytes)
. Simplex Check Writer
Patented 1904-15
Todd Protectograph Company
Rochester, NY
1904 1915 Simplex Check Writer Todd Protectograph Co Rochester OM.JPG (19411 bytes)
F_E_Check_Writer_1920_adx.jpg (40704 bytes) F & E Check Writer & Protector
Patented 1915-20 ~ Advertised 1914-24
Hedman Manufacturing Co., Chicago, IL
1915 Price $20.

F & E stands for Fesler & Evans

1915 Hedman Check Writer OM.JPG (16076 bytes)
. Sentinel Check Writer (a.k.a. National Check Writer)
Patented 1916-25 ~ Advertised 1924
Hall-Welter Company
Rochester, NY
Sentinel_Check_Writer_x_OM.jpg (35843 bytes)
1929 Arnold Check Writer Co. Inc Flint MI ad OM.JPG (41847 bytes) Arnold Check Protector
Patented 1916 ~ Advertised 1929-39
Arnold Inc.
Flint, MI
1916_Arnold_check_protector_front_OM.jpg (21878 bytes)
. Safe-Guard Signature Check Writer Model N
John Whitaker Mfg. Co.
North Wales, PA
Signature_Safe_Guard_Model_N.jpg (51204 bytes)
1917_Safe-Guard_Check_Writer_adx.jpg (51643 bytes) Safe-Guard Check Writer Model Y
Patented 1917-18 ~ Advertised 1917-28
Safe-Guard Check Writer Company
Lansdale, PA & New York, NY
Safe_Guard_Check_Protector_Model_W_Lansdale_PA.jpg (20034 bytes)
1919 Defiance Dividend Check Writer Rochester ad OM.JPG (30827 bytes) Defiance Dividend Check Writer
Advertised 1919-24
Defiance Check Writer Corp.
Rochester, NY
.
. F & E Lightning Check Writer
Patented 1918-20 ~ Advertised 1920-24
Hedman Manufacturing Company
Chicago, IL
1918 1920 F&E Lightning Check Writer Hedman Mfg Co OM.jpg (27614 bytes)
1920 F&E Lightning Hedman OM.jpg (9639 bytes)
. Checkometer Check-Writer and Protector
Patented 1919-25 ~ Advertised 1925
Checkometer Co.
Chicago, IL
1919_1926_Checkometer_adx.JPG (44255 bytes)
1919_New_Era_Checkwriter_illustration.jpg (37099 bytes) New Era Checkwriter No. 4
Advertised 1918-19
New Era Manufacturing Co.
New York, NY
New_Era_Checkwriter_Model_4_sold_1919_front_OM.jpg (30860 bytes)
. New Era Checkwriter No. 5
Patented 1920
New Era Manufacturing Co.
New York, NY
1920 New Era Check Writer OM.jpg (65008 bytes)
. National Check Writer Model D
National Checkwriter Co.
Chicago, IL
National_Check_Writer_x_OM.JPG (13157 bytes)
Defiance Dimunette Check Protector.jpg (84113 bytes) Defiance Dimunette Check Protector
(
a.k.a. Grammes Check Protector)
Patented 1915 ~ Advertised 1920-24
Defiance Check Writer Corp.
Rochester, NY
1915_Defiance_Dimunette_Check_Protector.jpg (67977 bytes)
MBHT_1923_Wright_check_protector.jpg (136194 bytes)
1923 ad.
Courtesy of the
Museum of Business History and 
Technology.
Wright Check Protector
Patented Feb. 15, 1914 ~ Advertised 1923
Wright Co., Chicago, IL

Wright_Check_Protector_Chicago_4_specimen.jpg (68139 bytes)
Specimen

Wright_Check_Protector_Chicago.jpg (51676 bytes)
Image coming, Horder's 1928 catalog, p. 293. Protectograph Personal Check Writer Model 1500 (a.k.a Todd Personal Check Protector)
Patented 1923 ~ Advertised 1925-30
Advertised with gray crinkle finish in 1961
Todd Protectograph Company
Rochester, NY
1923 Todd Protectograph Personal OM.JPG (14409 bytes)
. Securograph Junior Check Writer
Todd Protectograph Company
Rochester, NY
SECUROGRAPH_MODEL_JR_Todd_Protectograph_Rochester.jpg (51918 bytes)
. Crescent Check Writer
Crescent Check Writer Co.
Chicago, IL
Crescent_Check_Writer_Co._Chicago_IL.jpg (18329 bytes)
. Check Protector Check_protector_au_OM.JPG (28218 bytes)
. Sampson Permagraph
Patent Application 1929 ~ Introduced Patent Issued ~ Patented 1934
Sampson Permagraph Co., Inc, Rochester, NY
Larry Wilhelm (ETCetera, Issue 18, Mar. 1992) and Rehr (1997) provide photographs and descriptions of this machine, which resembles a large, wide-carriage, single-element electric typewriter with an outboard motor.  It weighs 52 lbs. Rehr reports that it was "created as an electric checkwriter for use in banks," where it may also have been used to print other types of financial documents.  The type perforates the paper on which the typing is done.
.
  Electric Check Writing Machine
c. 1936

The photo to the right shows an electric check writing machine in use at the Agricultural Adjustment Administration in Washington, DC, in 1936.  
The AAA was a New Deal agency established in 1933 to restore farmers' incomes to Pre-World War I levels by paying them not to produce.

1936_Check_Writing_Machine_AAA_Checks_Washington_DC_OM.jpg (147322 bytes)
1936 photo

~ Check Protector Imposter! ~

.

Cummins' Initial Machine (a.k.a. Junior Initial Perforating Machine)
Patented 1889-92 ~ Advertised c. 1907
Cummins Perforator Co., Chicago, IL
The B. F. Cummins Co., Chicago, IL
This is NOT a check protector. A c. 1907 ad states that "This machine is the leading hat marker in the U.S." This machine perforated owners' initials in leather hat bands. On some of these machines, the label states that it was manufactured exclusively for J. B. Mast Co., NY, or for International Hatters Supply Co., NY.

Specimen of letters punched.
Why did people have their initials perforated into hats?  Many people, men in particular, wore similar or identical hats and wanted to make sure they got their own back when they checked them at restaurants and elsewhere.

1889_Cummins_Initial_Perforating_Machine_OM.JPG (29860 bytes)

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