1 of 1- Phil_F_NM
- Speed Champion
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- From: Mid-Atlantic region
- Registered: 16-4-2020
- Posts: 267
Did you find it or did you seek it out?
I'm constantly looking around, here and there, mostly online for deals on typewriters. Free is optimal, but not usually the case. I've been trying to "round out" a collection with a representative here and there from some major periods in time and also major features of their respective eras.
All that said, I don't have any typefaces other than a standard type, in both pica and elite. My Olympia SF is ever so slightly different 10cpi than the rest of my machines but they are all basically the same, as we're all used to.
So, for those of you who either own and use or are on the lookout for a typewriter with a different typeface, did you go looking for it or did it find you? I would love to find a machine in Vogue or another sans-serif typeface, but I doubt I will run into one without specifically looking for and buying it. There seem to be a few more script and italic machines out there but I know I wouldn't be using one of those for much writing, if at all. Maybe if I had the space, I might keep one as a collection piece but I really believe in using the mechanical stuff I own (motion picture cameras, still cameras, bicycles, my old diesel Mercedes) because lack of use allows things to get all gummed up in old lube, matted with dust, and generally out of adjustment. That's another digression though.
Did you go looking for your unique typeface machines or did you wait until they found you?
Phil Forrest
- M. Höhne
- Key Master
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- From: Maine
- Registered: 14-3-2013
- Posts: 625
Re: Did you find it or did you seek it out?
The concept of a typewriter seeking me out is way too mystical for me, so no. The only way you can actually "look for" a certain font is to advertise that you are looking for it and invite people to sell you one they know about. Otherwise, you can only look at everything and reject those that you're not interested in.
You can ask sellers for a sample or a pic of the print. Most sellers won't think of it 'til you ask them. You can note certain peculiarities to look for, such as the fact that some Smith-Coronas and re-badged S-Cs with script fonts have only two settings for the ribbon color, black and stencil, so that might be a first-glance type clue.
Of the typewriters I have handled, 94% are roman font (the so-called standard), <5% script, and only a couple of sans serif and even to get that count I have to include techno. So that might give you a hint about your odds of finding what you want. I've never seen a typewriter with an italic font. A great quest, though. Don't neglect the MusicWriters, of course, and the non-English language ones---Hebrew and Arabic would be my goals. Have Fun!
- Laurenz van Gaalen
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- From: The Netherlands
- Registered: 20-7-2019
- Posts: 391
Re: Did you find it or did you seek it out?
Currently I am not hunting for typewriters with a different typeface. But because I have an interest in typography, the typeface is one of the first things I look at when I see a typewriter.
In addition to Michaels tip concerning the ribbon color selector:
- A dedicated 1 key on a keyboard that normally uses the L key for the number 1, may indicate the machine is equipped with a cursive or italic typeface.
- Sometimes the font size may tip you off. For example, most Triumph/Adler Tippa's have the regular 11cpi Elite. The scale on the paper bail on these machines goes to 92. When the scale goes to 82 the machine has a 10cpi typeface, in my experiencie not the regular Pica, but either the Cubic or Esquire.
- Typeface brochures sometimes indicate which typeface was available on which machine. These brochures are not always accurate (things change over time), but they are a good indication.
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