I lately acquired a Dayton Portable Typewriter, and I’ve been contemplating its logo, which strikes me as unique. Most logos or emblems are stately, businesslike, but the Dayton’s is sporty, suitable for any baseball franchise. I can see the Dayton Typers or, better yet, the Dayton Sluggers, battling for the pennant. Apple pie and cracker jacks, that’s what it is all about.
It is evident the company was catering to the common man, not the upper crust. The Dayton is a plain and simple machine that declares, “I am within reach.” The one embellishment on the machine is the logo — this is a machine the ordinary man can be proud of owning.
Ultimately, however, the Dayton Portable Typewriter Co. of Dayton, Ohio, did not succeed. Only a few hundred typewriters were manufactured. Only seven known machines are in the hands of collectors today. Yet the Dayton embodies the indefatigable spirit of the American dream: we might not make it, but you can be damn sure we’ll die trying.
Dayton, I tip my hat to you.
© 2013 – 2014, Mark Adams. All rights reserved.
I love their logo too. Yes, it does look like the logo of a baseball team.