J. is a local typewriter enthusiast who brings me problem typewriters from time to time. She doesn’t just admire her lovelies on a shelf, she works them hard, typing daily. Her Olympia SM3 below is beloved. Not only does it look truly scrumptious with that box-o-chocolates keyboard, it types like an Olympia—that is to say, like a mechanical dream.
Diversions: SCM Electra 120
I am friendly with a local gal who loves typewriters and writing. J. has a really nice collection of typers, and I have worked on a couple of them. She had had a beat-up Olivetti Lettera 22 I fixed up a couple years ago. It eventually became a favorite typewriter for her. She gave it to a friend and now misses it very much.
Super Duper: Smith-Corona Super-G
I’m a Facebook lurker, and a recent post on the Facebook Mid-Atlantic Typewriter Collectors Group caught my attention. The poster was having trouble finding time to work on a distressed S-C Super-G, so he was giving it away:
Platens, Writers, Readers, and Livers
I’ve been getting some questions about platen recovering recently. Last year, I recovered a Remington Portable #2 platen and an Underwood 5 platen that were in sorry shape. In their cracked condition, the bad platens made the typewriters unusable. I thought: well, what’s the worst I can do?
Don’t Fear the Junker
We interrupt this typewriter blog post for an important public service announcement:
Royal KMM: Broken Things and Fixes
A local lady heard through the grapevine that I liked to tinker with old typewriters. K. had purchased a Royal KMM at a yard sale and was hoping to get it typing. I was glad to take on the project since it would be a distraction from my Twitter horror scrolling and my hand-wringing over the broken state of the world. She brought it over a couple weekends ago, and here it is on my porch on arrival:
Foster-Child of Silence and Slow Time: 1917 Oliver 9
I have recently been thinking a lot about this three-axle End Times van my son spotted in San Mateo a couple years ago.
Garage Band
The marathon of holiday events that stretch from Thanksgiving to New Year’s is pounding along, and I am gamely holding my own. Others may drop out from exhaustion; but I am a solid long-distance runner, and I will win this holiday season. To that end, I hosted a Holiday Typewriter Open House.
Party On
In mid-October, I attended the Typewriter Jamboree at Herman’s in West Virginia. This is my third time there, and I get so much out of it. I had a really good time re-connecting with those I’ve met before, meeting new typewriter people, geeking out over interesting typewriters and repairs, laughing my fool head off over typewriter-related antics. Really, where else would you get all that kind of typewriter-related fun?
Platen Regeneration: Remington Portable #2
A fellow typospherian entrusted this 1925 Remington Portable #2 to me. It looked pretty good from a distance with nice decals and intact paint, but it had seen some action:
You’re So Vain: 1956 Underwood De Luxe Quiet Tab
Look at this 1956 Underwood De Luxe Quiet Tab, serial number AA2633478. He’s so handsome! Underwood flexes for us and displays the bulging muscles of America’s postwar abundance. Gold accents! He’s living large – the embodiment of industrial designer Raymond Loewy‘s quip: “The loveliest curve I know is the sales curve.”
Freak Out: Remington Portable No. 1
Last week, I got a text from a local typospherian about a couple typewriters that needed a clean-up and fix. Was I interested? Of course!
A Makeshift Paper Mache Cover for a Consul 232
Some time ago I pulled out my Rheinmetall to type up some stuff, and I said to myself, “How sweet it is!” The typing was perfect. I love the way this thing rolls – serious surfin’ swagger.
Grist for the Mill from Herman’s
Last weekend, I drove out from DC to West Virginia to attend the Spring Typewriter Jubilee at Herman’s. About 50 typewriter enthusiasts were getting together, and how could I say no to that kind of good times energy?
Crushes and Crushed Lettera
I have some messy hobbies that junk up the house, and one of them is amateur typewriter repair. Some people garden or crochet, but I enjoy the sweet thrill of finding the fix that makes a broken typewriter sing again. I try not to collect typewriters, but a few have worked their way into my heart.
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