[NavySEAL F-16]

The Executive still didn't have a way to make the "th" smaller, it would have been the same size, just rolled up using the paten.

[Cboldt]

The Executive still didn't have a way to make the "th" smaller, it would have been the same size, just rolled up using the paten.

On that point, I can't come up with evidence. But, I did find tha the Executive model was designed to have replaceable type-bars, and keys, so as to facilitate alternate languages, etc. There may have been a set of "ordinal" keys offered by IBM.

The following geocites weblinks have been getting hammered since I linked it here, but it might come up in a day or two. I'd love to get my hands on an old IBM catalog for these typewriters.

On the Executive, you could optionally have removable type-bars. This is somewhat like later Smith-Corona portables which have removable type-slugs on the two outermost type-bars, with corresponding changeable keytop caps. In this case, though, it's the whole type-bar.

http://www.geocities.com/wbd641/TypeManuals2.html

[XBob]

795 - "The Executive still didn't have a way to make the "th" smaller, it would have been the same size, just rolled up using the paten."

I don't remember what year it was introduced, but one of the early Selectrics had proportional fonts (depending on the ball) and 'mini-line' spacing (a single line was divided into about 6 or 8 small line spacings (so as to give the capability to do this - as you say). However, it cost a lot more, and the only one I remember was the Secretary of the Big Boss who had one, and it made beautiful output with a carbon ribbon and ball.

There was one called the "Composer", I think that did this.

[XBob]

795 - "The Executive still didn't have a way to make the "th" smaller, it would have been the same size, just rolled up using the paten."

And there were some font balls which would do that, make the small type and move it up or down for certain specialties - like the 2 for square in square feet, common fractions like 1/4 and 1/2, and some small things lower down, like markings for footnote annotations. But these depended on which 'font ball' you used. My secretary had about a dozen different ones.

[XBob]

795 - "The Executive still didn't have a way to make the "th" smaller, it would have been the same size, just rolled up using the paten."

One ball had a small font "TH" and a small "ST" which printed high up

[PhiKapMom]

Bingo! There was no small th!