You are not logged in. Would you like to login or register?



23-1-2016 20:40:27  #31


Re: Composition of your typewriter collection

Uwe,
The S/N on my Silent is 1S 5466.


Smith Premier typewriters are cool!
 

24-1-2016 15:10:58  #32


Re: Composition of your typewriter collection

colrehogan wrote:

The S/N on my Silent is 1S 5466.

​I am of course assuming that it's the portable model that we're talking about (there was a standard model that had the same name). 

For what it's worth, in a 1971 edition of the Office Machines and Equipment Federation Typewriter Age Guide, it states that Silent models with serial numbers from 1 to 6,800 were manufactured in 1934.


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

24-1-2016 23:46:27  #33


Re: Composition of your typewriter collection

Ok.  Thanks.  The TWDB seemed a bit vague on that.  Or maybe it was just my interpretation of what was there. 


Smith Premier typewriters are cool!
     Thread Starter
 

27-1-2016 16:29:30  #34


Re: Composition of your typewriter collection

Late to the party, but I definitely collect in 'families'. And of course, as I get to know more types of typewriters I am using slightly different ones... I prefer the midcentury ones and am tending to like smaller ones. The main constellations are:

Olympia: SM3, SM8, SM9, Splendid 33, Progress
Hermes: 2000, 3000, 1950 Baby, 1961 Baby
Groma: Kolibri, Kolibri Luxus, Modell T (1955)
Smith-Corona: Silent-Super, Skyriter (1954, 1950)
Remington: Quiet Riter,  Envoy (1940)

Then there are the others: Letteras 22 & 32, a few odds & sods: a Halda, a Swissa Piccola, a Tippa - & my little turquoise Consul, which I've discovered I really, really like. I have two Princesses - a 300 and a Scheidegger - and they are both having the same identical problem with the line lock, which is permanently locked and I can't figure out how to fix it. And a nonworking Blick, which needs TIME.

 

27-1-2016 16:30:59  #35


Re: Composition of your typewriter collection

Here's where I'd be editing. Right now I'm all about the Gromas and the Hermes. Each is just unlike anything else. 

 

10-6-2016 17:26:01  #36


Re: Composition of your typewriter collection

With offices practically throwing typewriters out the window in the 1980s and 1990s, I've come to own in this time, hundreds of typewriters--many only costing as little as $5.00 each.  Some I've fished out of dumpsters for free.  Yes, it seemed like they were falling out of the sky, and I was picking 'em up, servicing some, selling some, using some for parts, trading some, and have even rented a couple.  I've had domestic (USA) brands, foreign brands (not all, but some of the major ones), and just about all sizes and vintages. 

But that was of another day.  Now, I don't find them nearly as plentiful, and I'm about as poor as I was back then, so many of the machines I used to turn down now cost more than I can now afford to pay.  I did save quite a few of those machines (the best ones) from those "glory days."  I'm not sure about the 100% accuracy of the list, but it includes machines I know I still own.  Okay, that said, off the top of my head, here goes:

WORKING TYPEWRITERS:
1913 L. C. Smith upright
1913 Oliver upright
1916 Royal 10 upright
1928 Remington 10-key decimal tabulator upright
1934 Woodstock upright
1939 Royal KMM upright
1939 Remington upright
1940 Underwood Master upright
1946 Underwood Rhythm Shift (Mamma Kat) upright
1947 Remington KMC upright
1948 Remington KMC upright
1948 Royal KMM upright
1949 Underwood SX-100 upright
1952 Royal HH upright
1955 Royal HH upright
1955 Underwood SX-150 upright
1956 Underwood SX-150 upright X 2
1956 IBM Model B electric upright
1957 Royal RE electric upright
1958 Everest upright X 2
1959 Royal RE electric upright
1959 Underwood Touch-Master II upright (Sammie)
1960 Olympia SG1 upright
1962 IBM Model C Executive upright electric
1962 Royal Empress upright
192? Remington portable (Great Grandma Johnson)
1936 Corona portable
1949 Royal Arrow (Daddy Sam) portable
1950 Consul portable
1956 Underwood Univeral portable
1957 Royal Quiet Deluxe
1957 Remington Travel-Riter (ol' Jumpy) portable
1958 Remington Letter-Riter (Mack the Knife) portable
1958 Smith-Corona portable
1960 Tower portable (Smith-Corona)
1962 Royal (Dutch) portable
1962 Remington (British) portable
1967 Royal Safari portable
1968 Smith-Corona electric portable
???? Smith-Corona portable electrics w/ cartridge ribbons X 5 (includes Montgomery Ward)

PROJECT TYPEWRITERS
192? Corona portable
1930 Royal portable
1938 L. C. Smith Silent Super upright
1947 Underwood SX-80 upright electric
1953 Royal HH upright
1954 Underwood Finger Flite upright electric
1956 Royal HH upright
1956 Olympia SG-1 upright
1956 Royal Quiet DeLuxe portable
1956 Smith-Corona Sky-Riter portable
1959 IBM Model C Executive electric upright
195? Torpedo portable
196? Smith-Corona electric office portable
1968 IBM Model D Executive electric upright
1974 IBM Model D Executive electric upright

The rest of my collection consists of parts typewriters (I don't have enough room on this screen or memory in my head to go through that heap.  Who knows?  Maybe there's something in there I could fix up.  To tell you the truth, I'm not really sure just what all I have.  I've named all the ones I remember.


Underwood--Speeds the World's Bidness
 

10-6-2016 18:10:01  #37


Re: Composition of your typewriter collection

Oh yes, I forgot 2 Royal upright surveyor typewriters a 1958 and a 197?.  They're project machines.  The print is very small, all caps, but they have a boatload of symbols.  They also sport 20" carriages.


Underwood--Speeds the World's Bidness
 

10-6-2016 18:12:40  #38


Re: Composition of your typewriter collection

TypewriterGuy wrote:

Don't worry, give it a year....


Or maybe a few months...

And you will soon be in contact the typewriter collecting virus.

Man, I've not only been in contact with Mr. TypewriterVirus, I'm plumb eat up with it!!  It's all that's holdin' my mangy carcass together right now.
 


Underwood--Speeds the World's Bidness
 

11-6-2016 16:39:31  #39


Re: Composition of your typewriter collection

I looked through my typewriter collection, and found some more typewriters.  Here they are:
1914 Remington upright X2--project
191? Royal Flatbed--project
1962 Tower Script portable--working
197? Smith-Corona Script electric portable--working
1967 Smith-Corona 6-pitch large print portable--working
1963 Underwood Touch-Master Five upright--project
1960 Royal All-American portable--working
196? IBM Composer--working, sort of
196? Olympia "Music Writer"--project
1961 Royal Diana--working
196? Smith-Corona 6-Volt Battery operated--project

Now comes a list of notable typewriters I once had.  A few broke my heart I had to let them go while others I couldn't get rid of fast enough.  Those I felt sorry for the new owners--including the scrapyard.
Here goes:

1928 Underwood--scrapped
195? Remington Statesman electric proportional--scrapped after 30 minutes
1959 Torpedo portable--sold
1959 Facit--scrapped
1963 Smith-Corona 400--scrapped (this one broke my heart)
1958 Underwood Golden Touch upright manual--converted from elite to pica type and sold
1958 Royal Quiet DeLuxe--sold (another heartbreaker.  It had nice boldface print too)
1955 Royal RE electric upright with 10-key decimal tabulator--scrapped after 1 year (another heartbreak)
1947 Underwood Rhythm Shift--scrapped (this was my mother's first typewriter.  I was 12 years old when I got rid of this one, but I saved the ribbon reverse knob from it and put it on what was then a friend of mine's typewriter.  He gave it to me a few years before he died.  I exchanged the ribbon reverse knob from "Mamma Kat--my 1946 Underwood, and put Maw's first typewriter's knob on Mamma Kat.  I think it was fitting.  Mamma Kat's old knob is on "Big Daddy Chuck"  my sandalwood colored 1956 Underwood manual)
1936 Royal KHM--sold
1937 Royal KHM--given to a friend
1938 Royal KMM--sold
1937 Remington upright--scrapped
1934 Royal 10--Gave to my brother
1935 Royal upright--donated to museum
1926 L. C. Smith--sold to former teacher
1933 L. C. Smith--scrapped
1950 Remington Noiseless-scrapped
1957 Remington Quiet-Riter--stolen
1947 Royal Quiet DeLuxe portable X 2--sold
195? Smith-Corona portable electric X 2--sold
1972 IBM Executive electric 20" carriage--scrapped (this one REALLY did me in)
1953 IBM Executive electric--scrapped
1955 IBM Executive electric--scrapped
1968 Remington L-25--sold (this was the only Remington electric that lasted over 3 or 4 months)
1960 Underewood Documentor electric upright--traded for dog
1968 Adler upright manual X 2--sold
1958 Olympia SG-1 upright--gave to former teacher
197? Olivetti Lexikon 92C midsize electric--scrapped
1951 Royal KMG--rescued from scrapyard, repaired and sold
196? Hermes 3000--scrapped
198? Hermes 808 X 6--scrapped (worse than IBM Selectric to get fixed)
1952 Royal RP electric upright--scrapped (not their best typewriter)
1951 Remington Electri-conomy--gave to lady who needed one to learn how to type (hope she completed her lessons before it went kerplunk).
196? Underwood 700 upright electric--traded for 1952 Royal RP

After that, I've had pile after pile of IBM Selectrics--some I've fixed but most I junked because trying to fix one of those bad boys is like trying to peel a rotten apple in one of your back pockets with a dull knife.  Other machines in my scrap pile include several Royal 10s, a few Underwood
Touchmasters, three Royal REs, a couple of Olympia SG-1s, an old Hermes portable (not sure which one), and many various and sundry other machines I haven't gotten to just yet. 

I know it's hard to believe that just one bloke (me) could have so freakin' many typewriters.  I almost don't believe it myself.  The eighties and nineties were feverish times, and like I said, they were throwing these out the windows.  I mean it was RAINING typewriters here in Central Texas, y'all!!


Underwood--Speeds the World's Bidness
 

11-6-2016 16:52:09  #40


Re: Composition of your typewriter collection

JanetLand wrote:

09Underwood wrote:

It's kind of hard to believe anyone with 20 or so typewriters uses them all... As I said I was not passing any judgement 

I'm sure you're not, but implying you don't believe someone when they explicitly say all their machines get used is liable to be interpreted negatively.

Getting back to the question, for me it's Royals. Not from any kind of design, it just worked out that way. I have more Royal Model Ps (four) than anything else, because they're so irresistibly pretty. I also have two Royal Quiet Deluxes, the second of which I like much better so the first is probably up for giveaway. Also I've been trying to settle on a standard machine, and the first one I came across was a Royal KMM, but when my recently acquired Smith-Corona Super Speed comes back from the shop the battle will be on.

As far as Smith-Coronas/Coronas go, I have a Corona Comet De Luxe, a Smith-Corona Silent-Super, and the aforementioned Super Speed. I had a Sterling but didn't care for it so I gave it away. Also I have another that I keep just for the math symbols, but I admit that I seldom need to type square roots.

My collection is rounded out by 2 Olympias (SM3 and SM7), a Hermes Baby, an Olivetti Lettera 32, and an Underwood-Olivetti Studio 44 that is also at the shop right now.

Telling strictly on myself, I could never use all the machines I have.  Some get a lick and a promise while others get more use.  A lot of them are spare parts machines in various stages of repair.  I'd have to do a lot of typing night and day if I were to have used ALL the machines I ever owned.  I will say that some machines I wished I could have used more, but something happened and I either sold, gave away, or worse yet scrapped them after I robbed them of parts. 
 


Underwood--Speeds the World's Bidness
 

Board footera

 

Powered by Boardhost. Create a Free Forum