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26-6-2018 07:56:59  #1621


Re: Recent Acquisitions Thread

Also picked up a Lettera 22 for $20 the same week I got the two Royals.

 

03-7-2018 19:04:36  #1622


Re: Recent Acquisitions Thread

I felt a bit guilty about not posting for  a while, and, to add to that, I have not bought a new machine since 
Jan of 2018, so, that is what will have to do. My most recent purchase is a 1960 Olympia SM4. As I am typing this on my lunch break at school, I have not got the machine handy to check the serial number. It seems to be a great machine, although I think that even though $100 seemed to be a bit too much for a machine, I figured that it was worth it for an SM in the condition that it was in.


I am a dangerous man when turned loose with a typewriter.
- Charles Bukowski
 

11-8-2018 17:01:54  #1623


Re: Recent Acquisitions Thread

Haven't posted here in a little while, but my most recent  purchase is a late 60s or early 70s Hermes Baby with a French keyboard. I like the design of it visually but find typing on it a chore, it's very stiff (even after cleaning) and doesn't leave a consistent imprint. I am also not a fan of the carriage shift compared to the basket shift on my Smith Corona Galaxie XII. Hopefully I can get my Olympia on working order to have a second machine that has a smoother typing action than this Hermes.

 

22-8-2018 07:39:00  #1624


Re: Recent Acquisitions Thread

Recently I picked up one of those rolling typewriter tray tables off Craigslist. The listing came with a Royal HH standard that is in overall good physical condition with a working carriage and tabs. The only issue is that the left hand margin doesn't work. It has (I believe) a Pica sized typeface. Overall I think I would like it more if I didn't already have my Smith Corona and soon (after I get it back from the repair shop) my Olympia SM8.

 

14-9-2018 16:03:38  #1625


Re: Recent Acquisitions Thread

I just got a Hermes Baby myself, locally. The Craigslist description indicated a German keyboard; the picture looked more like it was a Swiss QWERTZ keyboard (French/German). Either would have been interesting. Turns out it's a Czech keyboard, with all those neat letters with diacritical marks. Unfortunately, they take up keyboard space, so there are compromises: No parentheses; no apostrophe; no semicolon. Also, no Q (though q is there; it's paired with the "section" character). The parentheses is a loss; the semicolon can be worked around easily enough (type a colon then backspace and type a comma). One of the diacritical marks has what looks like an accent; it's on a dead key along with a circumflex. So I can approximate the apostrophe, though it looks odd. I guess I can add a line to an O to get the Q, or just avoid words that begin with Q. 

I like the feel of this machine. There are a few sticky keys but they are loosening up, and the typing feel is crisp. The platen is in nice shape. It's a 1943-44, and in pretty good condition overall. I had to do some forming of the line spacing lever, and also the rest on which the shift lock perches, since it caused the capitals to print too high. The H is missing from the screened Hermes on the top of the machine, but it's pretty clean otherwise. The cover could stand the Scrubbing Bubbles treatment. Seems to work in all respects; even the ribbon (on the proper spools!) has plenty of life in it. The seller told me it was her uncle's; he brought it home from Europe after WW II. Maybe he got a deal on it because of the unusual keyboard.

My French and German isn't really good enough to understand the manuals that are available online, but I was able to determine that the machine has both 1 and 2 line spacing. No markings on the machine to show the positions, though. I found an English language manual at Richard Polt's site for the Featherweight, and it told me how to do the variable line spacing. I'm not sure I would have figured that one out by myself, but it's easy-peasy once you know. (Turn the left hand platen knob toward you while holding the right hand knob steady.)

All in all, $10 well spent, and I got a Christian pamphlet from the seller too.

 

28-9-2018 18:02:13  #1626


Re: Recent Acquisitions Thread

Incoming -  My first Smith Corona - a Clipper.

 

29-9-2018 08:22:17  #1627


Re: Recent Acquisitions Thread

I picked up this Olivetti Lettera 32 (photo after cleaning):

 

01-10-2018 13:01:16  #1628


Re: Recent Acquisitions Thread

Incoming - two more Smith Coronas, a red Royal Quiet Deluxe from 1956 (Finally! been wanting one of these), and potentially an Olympia Sm4. My collection is growing 

 

01-10-2018 22:04:08  #1629


Re: Recent Acquisitions Thread

It's rare that I buy any machines these days - I really should be selling them instead - but I did get (through another Typewriter Talk member) a stunning Olivetti portable electric, and a Kappel VA. I really didn't need yet another Kappel, but I'm working on one my other VA's and it might end up needing parts, so...


The pronoun has always been capitalized in the English language for more than 700 years.
     Thread Starter
 

13-10-2018 16:22:20  #1630


Re: Recent Acquisitions Thread

My three most recent purchases: A 1968 Wizard Truetype and a 1957 Remington Quiet-Writer from the estate of an old friend. The Wizard was his wife's and doesn't work at the moment (I hope it's just dirty) and will likely be re-homed, the Remington appears fully functional and was George's so it's a keeper. The other buy is definitely a keeper; a 1966 Olympia SM9 cursive and fully functional.  The oddball thing about the SM9 is it does not have a red ribbon position on the selector.

 

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