1 of 1- OliverNo.9
- Touch Typist
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Typewriter shop stickers/decals on typewriters - what do they mean?
Hello all, I have recently picked up a few typewriters that have shop stickers on them. I always thought that they indicated where the typewriter was sold, but something made me think differently lately. Could these stickers also indicate that the typewriter was serviced, not sold, at the shop on the sticker?
Thanks in advance. OliverNo.9
- Lucas Dul
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Re: Typewriter shop stickers/decals on typewriters - what do they mean?
Yes it can! Some shops even put a decal on the right shift key to advertise their work. Phoenix Typewriters still does this. Other times they might put a decal on the body. I personally just tape a card on the inside...less invasive, but yes...that was a thing.
Typewriter Service Tech (and avid nerd)
- Fleetwing
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Re: Typewriter shop stickers/decals on typewriters - what do they mean?
Could be both, but more likely it is where the machine was serviced. It's fun to see how far a typewriter may have traveled before it came to you. (It would have been nice if the shop had put the decal somewhere other than right on the front of the machine, but I'm not about to prevent them from doing a little advertising.)
- OliverNo.9
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Re: Typewriter shop stickers/decals on typewriters - what do they mean?
Lucas Dul wrote:
Yes it can! Some shops even put a decal on the right shift key to advertise their work. Phoenix Typewriters still does this. Other times they might put a decal on the body. I personally just tape a card on the inside...less invasive, but yes...that was a thing.
Lucas Dul, thank you for the information.
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Thread Starter- thetypewriterman
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Re: Typewriter shop stickers/decals on typewriters - what do they mean?
Yes, the sticker might indicate that the shop serviced the machine, or if an office machine - it was under a maintenance contract with them. It could also be a second hand/reconditioned machine supplied by them. I apply a sticker to most of the machines that I service for customers, and always to a refurbished one that I sell. It reminds them where to get ribbons from in the future 
- Lucas Dul
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Re: Typewriter shop stickers/decals on typewriters - what do they mean?
The one thing I dislike is the invasiveness of the sticker. If someone slapped one on my Royal, I’d be pissed. Some of the ones I’ve come across, like the one on the Quiet-Riter I just worked on, are quite permanent. Sure they’re kinda part of the history and all, but did they ask before defacing a customer machine?
Typewriter Service Tech (and avid nerd)
- Fleetwing
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Re: Typewriter shop stickers/decals on typewriters - what do they mean?
That's a good point. If I had a machine that needed servicing and which had no such decal, I might be a little ticked off to find the repairer's sticker on it when I picked it up. (Ones that are already on it I can't get too bothered by, especially when they're decades old and have antiquated phone numbers or addresses.)
But Tom (thetypewriterman) raises a good point, of course. All depends where he puts that sticker!
- Uwe
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Re: Typewriter shop stickers/decals on typewriters - what do they mean?
The one thing I dislike is the invasiveness of the sticker. If someone slapped one on my Royal, I’d be pissed. ... Sure they’re kinda part of the history and all, but did they ask before defacing a customer machine?
I think your perspective on this is a bit skewed toward the concerns of a contemporary collector of antiques. When the machines in question were new, or still a current technology, most owners didn't view them as precious collectables that could be defaced by a simple sticker. Typewriters were tools, and their prime purpose was to get a job done; from that perspective I'm sure most owners would have appreciated having (during a time that predated computers and the internet) the contact information for a local repair shop in such a convenient location.
Conversely, how upset do you get when a car dealer slaps their name on the back of your car, or puts an oil change reminder sticker on the inside of your windshield? Most car owners don't even notice them, let alone care, because for most people a car is nothing more than a means to get from A to B. The only ones who might be bothered by such things are those with OCD, motorheads, and the buyer 70 years in the future who just added your car to his collection of antiquated internal combustion engine vehicles.
The pronoun I has always been capitalized in the English language for more than 700 years.
