Shanghai Weilv Mechanism Company
The Shanghai Weilv Mechanism Company, based in China, is one of the few companies still manufacturing manual typewriters in the millennium.
Compared to older vintage and antique typewriters, Shanghai Weilv Mechanism Company is mass producing poorly made manual typewriters with poor quality control. They're often sold in the US$200-300 range, but can be regularly found on thrift sites like ShopGoodwill.com for US$5-20, often still new in their boxes.
They sell primarily to the crafting market in the United States through big-box retailers like Michael's, Target, and Home Depot as well as online vendors like Amazon under a number of brand names including:
- The Rover
- The Royal Epoch
- We R Memory Keepers (Michaels, Home Depot)
- Royal Classic
- Maplefield (Target, Walmart, Michaels)
- The Oliver Typewriter Company
Will Davis has suggested their design is based on the Olympia Carina manufactured by Nakajima in Japan.
