Many modern politicians use the concept of war economy to justify or criticize certain actions, but the expression is more complex than it seems. A war economy requires rationing, buying bonds, arbitrary allocation of resources, and the conversion of industries, giving rise to very strange situations. That brings us to the typewriter manufacturers, who in the 1940s launched a campaign to buy their customers' typewriters, a "patriotic contribution" destined for the war effort.
On December 7, 1941, the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service attacked the naval base at Pearl Harbor, marking the formal entry of the United States into World War II. From that point on, the life and economy of Americans changed completely. Already in August of the same year, President Roosevelt had created the Office of Price Administration, which became an independent agency thanks to the Emergency Price Control Act in January 1942.
Ration books did not take long to appear. Fuel, coffee, sugar, butter, milk and canned meat, rubber, tires, shoes, nylon, automobiles… metal. Everything was redirected to feed soldiers and create weapons, reaching different markets. Typewriters were not the exception, and that led to the creation of an unusual advertising campaign: the repurchase of units from the public.
Typewriters to win the war
Parth Parikh explains on his personal blog that he collects posters and recently acquired one based on a Smith-Corona advertisement: "But we’ll buy it back ... for Uncle Sam!". The company indicates that at that time (the ad appeared in Life magazine, September 1942) it was not manufacturing or selling typewriters. The three giants (Underwood, Smith-Corona, and Royal) had changed their production lines to contribute to the war effort, but there was a problem: The US armed forces had an estimated deficit of 600,000 typewriters.
For that reason, the manufacturers sought assistance from their own customers, buying any standard typewriter made from January 1935 onward, and paying 1941 trade-in prices regardless of condition. The machines would be reconditioned and immediately sent to the armed forces, but at the same time, the manufacturers took the opportunity to expand their repair services, aimed at owners of those machines that could not be handed over.
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