Russ Jackson wrote:
How rare is this typewriter?
Close to a million of them were made, and plenty of examples have survived, so from a North American's perspective it's not at all rare.
Russ Jackson wrote:
Should I take it apart or leave it in as is condition?
Why would you want to take it apart? Do you have experience with tearing down machines? If it's working properly, and it's clean, I'm not sure why anyone would want to disassemble a typewriter other than to alter it in some way.
Russ Jackson wrote:
Have you ever seen chrome feet on an Underwood of this era?
No, not that I can recall, but looking at your photos I doubt that they're original to the typewriter.
I'm pretty certain that your typewriter is an example of a rebuilt/refurbished model given that an early '30s Underwood should have smooth paint. Considering the cost of typewriters back then, it was common for manufacturers to refurbish and resell older models, and those machines were often updated a little, particularly their paint.
Your Underwood looks to have been previously owned by someone who probably did a little "restoration" work of their own, and who might have decided to chrome the otherwise bland looking feet. The worn decal on the back of the machine and the state of the spacebar belies the seemingly pristine condition of the typewriter; this is not a typewriter that is in exceptional original condition, but one that has been worked on a lot to create that illusion.
Russ Jackson wrote:
Were there different levels of Model 6's?
I'm not certain what you mean by levels, but there were different features available such as the tabulator and carriage width. If you were referring to aesthetic finishes, I don't think so.
Russ Jackson wrote:
Any guess no the value?
It would depend on where you live, how you're selling it, the day of the week, and who happens to be interested in it. For example, for me it's a clean, refurbished Underwood 6 and I would never pay more than $75-100 CAD for it. The wealthy person walking behind me at the antique market might not know a thing about typewriters and might want it as a prop for a bookshelf and think $400 is a bargain. In short, its value is what someone is willing to pay for it. I regularly come across $50 typewriters being sold for $500, and they're being bought by those who don't know better. It's the reason why a large number of typewriters being sold in my area are those being flipped by middlemen who don't add any real value to the machines they're selling.
