Overview
- Brief Narrative
- Typewriter used by Reverend M.E.N. Lindsay to compose the sermon that he delivered on November 21, 1937 to his parishioners at the South Britain Congregational Church, as part of his protest of the planned camp of the German American Bund in Southbury, Connecticut. The Bund, an American Nazi organization, were planning to set up a training camp to indoctrinate Nazi values in young people. The group had established at least 20 training camps in rural areas throughout the country and had 25,000 active members. With a camp already established in nearby Waterbury, the Bund purchased 178 acres in the Kettletown area of Southbury, then a farming community of just 1,200. Lindsay and another local pastor, Rev. Felix Manley, rallied the residents to protest the project. The protest was successful and the town prevented the camp from being built.
- Date
-
use:
1937
- Geography
-
use:
South Britain Congregational Church;
South Britain (Southbury, Conn.)
- Credit Line
- United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Lois Lindsay Brown, Carol Lindsay Hagy, and Joan Lindsay Redford
- Markings
- a. front face, painted, gold paint : CORONA
a. front frame, painted, gold paint : CORONA TYPEWRITER COMPANY INC. GROTON, N.Y. U.S.A. 3
a. back, painted, gold paint : PATENTED / JUNE 10 1913 APR. 27 1915 / JUNE 24 1913 JUNE 22 1915 / DEC. 9 1913 NOV. 30 1915 / MAR. 3 1914 JUNE 27 1916 / OCT. 13 1914 AUG. 8 1916 / DEC. 15 1914 FEB. 13 1917 / JULY 10 1917
b. outer edge, engraved : MADE IN U.S.A
e. outer edge, stamped : COR (ONA?)
f. latch, engraved : CORONA / TYPEWRITER CO / INC - Contributor
-
Subject:
M.E.N. Lindsay
Manufacturer: Corona Typewriter Company
- Biography
-
Mark Edgar Newson Lindsay (known as M.E.N.,1898-1987) was born in Hagerstown, Maryland and received a bachelor’s degree from Lynchburg College in Lynchburg, Virginia. He married Melcora Gruber (1899-1982) and they had three daughters Lois (1928-2017), Joan (b.1931) and Carol (b.1935). He received his Master of Divinity degree from Yale Divinity School in 1930, and was ordained as a minister in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). His first pulpit was that of a Congregational church in South Britain, Connecticut, where he, along with other town leaders, mobilized to prevent the establishment of a training camp for members of the German American Bund, a Nazi affiliated group, in 1937. In 1941 he and his family returned to Lynchburg, where he worked at Lynchburg College. In 1943, he was assigned as pastor of a Disciples of Christ congregation in Tazewell, VA, where he served during the 1940s and 1950s.
Physical Details
- Language
- English
- Classification
-
Office Equipment and Supplies
- Category
-
Writing materials
- Object Type
-
Typewriters (lcsh)
- Genre/Form
- Typewriters.
- Physical Description
- a. Portable, metal, manual typewriter painted black with a front folding carriage seated in a black carrying case (f). The typewriter is enclosed within a square, black metal frame. The front of the frame dips in the center and has large gold lettering. The back half of the frame is cut out along the sides and holds the carriage mechanism. The frame has four metal feet with rubber bumpers, two in the front and two in back. The metal frame curves forward at the base to form the open keyboard. The keyboard has three graduated rows of round glass front keys with ivory colored paper and black type inside. The two far left keys have black paper with ivory colored type. On the left is a curved silver colored metal shift lock key. The elongated, black metal space bar is centered at the front, behind a curved metal plate with a slot for seating the typewriter to a corresponding cleat inside the carrying case. All the keys are attached to metal type-levers that extend into the body and trigger the silver metal typebars that are parallel to one another. Silver colored metal hinged arms flank the typebars and unfold to flip the carriage forward. On the right is a round, ivory colored backspace key with black text. On the carriage mechanism, there are two black metal ribbon spool holders in front of the long cylindrical black rubber platen. Resting on the platen are a centered silver metal typeguide, a metal line indicator and measure with white lines and numbers and small rollers on curved silver metal paper fingers. Several silver metal release levers are located on either end of the platen and on the right end is a black rubber platen knob. Behind the platen is a long, curved metal paper guide with a manufacturer’s label on the left and two long, metal extension arms folded in on themselves on the back. On the rear of the carriage, below the paper guide are three narrow silver metal bars, the top is engraved with a measure and the bottom two hold evenly spaced screws. Below the bars are a silver rounded bell on the right and round spring drum with unwound cord hanging loose on the left. Imprinted in gold on the backside of the frame are a series of patent dates and at the bottom is a silver metal cleat for seating the typewriter in the case. The back left foot bumper is partially missing and black paint has worn off the surface in several areas.
b. Black, circular, metal ribbon spool holder cover with flat rimmed bottom and hollow stem that extends from the center approximately 1” in height. On the underside is a small curved arrow and lettering along the rim. There is a small remnant of black typewriter ribbon attached to the stem.
c. Small, thin, black colored metal clip with 180 degree curved ends.
d. Black, circular, metal ribbon spool holder cover with flat rimmed bottom and hollow stem that extends from the center approximately 1” in height. On the underside is a small curved arrow.
e. Small, semi-circular piece of black plastic with broken edges. This appears to be a broken piece of the typewriters back left foot. There is lettering on the rim and a shiny coating on the interior surface.
f. Black, faux leather clamshell carrying case for typewriter (a). The case is made of lightweight wood covered with a black patterned material on the exterior. The case is joined at the rear with two ornate, silver metal hinges. On the same end are four small, rounded, black painted wooden feet. The front has a silver metal locking latch with lettering in the center flanked by silver metal brackets, each with a circular silver ring to attach the black curved handle. The interior is lined with a light tan cloth. The typewriter is held into place with several metal and wooden elements attached to the base and lid. The base has a silver metal cleat in the center front and back and the lid has two square wooden columns, two small round bumpers, one metal and one wood, four silver metal prongs on the right side panel, and a long, thin, silver metal strip attached in the center. Two additional bumpers, now missing, left dark circular stains and pin holes near the lower corners. The bottom front flap has detached from the case and is secured to the top flap by the latch. Black marks and circular stains are present on the interior lining. - Dimensions
- a: Height: 8.250 inches (20.955 cm) | Width: 8.500 inches (21.59 cm) | Depth: 6.125 inches (15.558 cm)
b: Diameter: 1.375 inches (3.493 cm)
c: Height: 1.000 inches (2.54 cm) | Width: 0.125 inches (0.318 cm)
d: Diameter: 1.500 inches (3.81 cm)
e: Height: 1.000 inches (2.54 cm) | Width: 0.500 inches (1.27 cm)
f: Height: 9.125 inches (23.178 cm) | Width: 11.375 inches (28.893 cm) | Depth: 4.375 inches (11.113 cm) - Materials
- a : metal, plastic, rubber, paint, thread, adhesive, glass, paper, ink
b : metal, cloth
c : metal
d : metal
e : plastic
f : wood, cloth, metal, paint
Rights & Restrictions
- Conditions on Access
- No restrictions on access
- Conditions on Use
- No restrictions on use
Keywords & Subjects
Administrative Notes
- Legal Status
- Permanent Collection
- Provenance
- The typewriter was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2015 by Lois Lindsay Brown, Carol Lindsay Hagy, and Joan Lindsay Redford, the daughters of Rev. M.E.N. Lindsay.
- Record last modified:
- 2023-08-25 08:08:09
- This page:
- https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn97472
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Also in Rev. M.E.N. Lindsay collection
The collection consists of a typewriter, boxed typewriter ribbon, broadsides, correspondence, leaflets, serial publications, and a typescript related to the role of Rev. M.E.N. Lindsay in leading the protest against the planned camp of the German-American Bund in Southbury, Connecticut in 1937.
Date: 1933-2012
Rev. M.E.N. Lindsay papers
Document
The M.E.N. Lindsay papers consist largely of correspondence that he received in the aftermath of the publicity that was generated by the anti-Nazi protest in Southbury, Connecticut in November 1937. While most of the correspondence originated from either Connecticut or New York, letters received from as far away as Tennessee, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and California showed that the story of the Southbury protest had been picked up by newspaper wire services and published around the country. Some correspondents simply sent letters or postcards expressing either their support or opposition to the actions in Southbury. Others, however, included newspaper clippings, as well as fliers, leaflets, and other printed material illustrating political viewpoints that ranged across the spectrum, from liberal mainline Protestantism, labor unions, and progressive political organizations; to anti-Communist and pro-American organizations, as well as groups that promoted anti-Semitism and segregationist views. Most of this material came unsolicited to Lindsay, and he apparently did not respond to most of those who sent him such materials. In one case, though, he responded to a letter writer who repeatedly sent him the anti-Semitic and racist publication The New Liberation, attempting to reason with this person and help him question the views espoused by this publication (see file 1:2, Anderson, Ebba). In addition to the correspondence and printed material received by Lindsay, the collection contains the typescript of a sermon that Lindsay delivered from the pulpit of the South Britain Congregational Church in November 1937, titled “Nazism: An Anti-Christian Menace.” Also included is a flier, signed “The Kettletowners,” that was placed in the mailbox of every resident of Southbury, along with a reprint of a magazine article about the German-American Bund, as an incentive to get residents to turn out for the town hall meeting of November 1937, at which Reverend Lindsay and other town leaders urged residents to mobilize in opposition to the planned Bund camp. A photocopy of a master’s thesis, written by Lillian Hicock, the niece of Judge Harold Hicock of Southbury, examining the events surrounding the Southbury protests, is also included (the original is located at the University of Virginia). For an event commemorating the 75th anniversary of the Southbury protest in 2012, a group of local residents researched these events, and made photocopies of documents that are held by the Southbury Historical Society in South Britain, Connecticut. These documents include correspondence sent to local leaders, including Judge Hicock and Jennie Hinman, as well as additional correspondence sent to Reverend Lindsay, as well as newspaper clippings. Although these photocopies were not a part of the M.E.N. Lindsay collection, they have been added to this collection because of their topical relevance.
Ribbon and box for a Corona typewriter used by a US clergyman for an anti-Nazi sermon
Object
Ribbon and box accompanying the typewriter used by Reverend M.E.N. Lindsay to compose the sermon that he delivered on November 21, 1937 to his parishioners at the South Britain Congregational Church, as part of his protest of the planned camp of the German American Bund in Southbury, Connecticut. The Bund, an American Nazi organization, were planning to set up a training camp to indoctrinate Nazi values in young people. The group had established at least 20 training camps in rural areas throughout the country and had 25,000 active members. With a camp already established in nearby Waterbury, the Bund purchased 178 acres in the Kettletown area of Southbury, then a farming community of just 1,200. Lindsay and another local pastor, Rev. Felix Manley, rallied the residents to protest the project. The protest was successful and the town prevented the camp from being built.
