1 - Uwe
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- From: Toronto, Canada
- Registered: 12-3-2013
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1931 Woodstock No. 5
I wasn't looking for one – and I certainly didn't need one - and yet I somehow ended up buying a Woodstock No. 5 today.
To be honest, I was suckered in by its asking price and the photo in its ad. However, just as with cars, photos of typewriters typically make a machine look to be in far better shape than it actually is, so when I first saw it in person I groaned in disappointment.
To keep things polite, it's really a pile of junk, and I should have just walked away from it, but I have a soft spot for machines that have suffered badly over the years. I started assessing its mechanical condition and making a mental note of which parts were broken or missing. It’s usually around then that my stubbornness gets the better of me. 'I can fix that,' I think. 'And probably fabricate a few of the missing parts too.'
It was obvious to the seller that I didn’t want the typewriter, not even at its modest $25 asking price. “Make me an offer,” she said. My tongue started flapping before I had a chance to put my brain into gear. “Fifteen bucks” I blurted, and suddenly found myself lowering the standard into the trunk of my car.
This Woodstock No. 5 was manufactured in 1931, the first year that the model featured enclosed sides on its case. It will join a number of machines that I have awaiting a full restoration, so it will probably be a while before the worst of its years have been left behind.
One item of note – at least it is something I’ve never come across before – is the sticker on its left side that indicates it is a factory rebuilt machine. I don’t know if it was common practice by Woodstock to slap these stickers on machines that they serviced, or if they were re-sold as rebuilt models.
I’m including a few images, such as they are of the typewriter, which I’ve already optimistically labelled as being ‘before’ shots.
The "REBUILT" sticker. Has anyone seen one of these before?
I don't know very much about the history of Woodstock, so I'll have to do a little digging to find out about why it used what appears to be Mercury with a winged helmet as a logo. Mercury automobiles had something similar, but that was a logical fit. Such a logo on a Hermes machine would even make more sense, but I'm sure there's a logical explanation behind it.
The pronoun I has always been capitalized in the English language for more than 700 years.
- Uwe
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Re: 1931 Woodstock No. 5
To follow up on my previous post concerning the 'rebuilt' sticker on the Woodstock, I was recently looking through a few department store catalogues from the '50s and was surprised to find out that along with new models, the store also offered factory rebuilt Underwood typewriters.
Some of the Underwoods being offered were at least 10 years old. Regardless, obviously a market for less-expensive rebuilt standards existed back then (none were portable models). This discovery also helps to explain the sticker on my Woodstock; I'm sure Underwood wasn't the only manufacturer that used to offer factory rebuilt models for sale.
The pronoun I has always been capitalized in the English language for more than 700 years.
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Thread Starter- Bassoonbloke
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- From: South East London. UK
- Registered: 15-4-2014
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Re: 1931 Woodstock No. 5
Hi Uwe,
Your Woodstock looks a bit rough in your pictures. How is it looking now, Have you managed to get it to a tidier and working condition.
My Oliver 5 looked a bit like your Woodstock, but cleaned up amazingly well. I guess that they just get coated in dust, oil and general goo (it might even protect what's underneath !!).
Any pictures of it now?
Alan.
- Uwe
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Re: 1931 Woodstock No. 5
Hi Alan,
Unfortunately, there's nothing to update with respect to the Woodstock. It's sitting on the workbench in the garage, just another typewriter in a constantly growing queue of machines waiting for repair/restoration. For the past year I've been buying machines at a greater pace than I can work on them and tend to concentrate on the small repairs that I know will restore a typewriter's functionality instead of spending a lot of time on a full tear down like what this Woodstock needs. I will get to her one day though!
The pronoun I has always been capitalized in the English language for more than 700 years.
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Thread Starter- Guess I'll Try
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Re: 1931 Woodstock No. 5
I have been following your remarks on the Olympias SG1,2, and 3s, Uwe, and caught the remark that one was the best typer ever! Then you picked up an old standard that won`t work. Surely when you restore it, it will not type as well as the Olympian. What is your fascination with a second rate machine?
- beak
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- From: Qld Australia
- Registered: 24-3-2013
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Re: 1931 Woodstock No. 5
OH there's a question!
I have an SG1, which I love, and shall get another, but that does not stop me from appreciating 'lesser' machines at all - they all have their different nuances, and the typefaces vary too of course.
Sincerely,
beak.
- Uwe
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Re: 1931 Woodstock No. 5
As beak suggested, a big part of collecting is having the opportunity to compare different manufacturer's models, and sometimes, to even compare two identical models from the same manufacturer. And just because you find one machine that you regard to be the best, it does not diminish the enjoyment of typing on other machines. I use typewriters every single day. I even travel with them. They are machines that I like to work with, and the act of typing - the physical exercise of creating hard copy - is something that I really enjoy regardless if I happen to be using the best model in my collection - or the worst.
The pronoun I has always been capitalized in the English language for more than 700 years.
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Thread Starter- Adleruni
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Re: 1931 Woodstock No. 5
Looks like your Woodstock is the early enclosed one with the short lived half circle piece in front of the type basket. Shortly after, it became a solid piece across the whole upper front. I'd love to have one like yours, as I have many of the other incarnations. I live not too far away, and pass by Woodstock, Il once a week or so, so I have a special love of them. I've also been to the old Emerson/Woodstock/R C Allen factory, which has been restored as loft apartments.,
- Uwe
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Re: 1931 Woodstock No. 5
Adleruni wrote:
I live not too far away, and pass by Woodstock, Il once a week or so, so I have a special love of them. I've also been to the old Emerson/Woodstock/R C Allen factory, which has been restored as loft apartments.,
There's a Woodstock close to where I live as well, and even though typewriters were never made there, it was the birthplace of Thomas Oliver who founded the Oliver Typewriter Company. Although the company was based in Chicago, Oliver typewriters were made in Woodstock, Illinois. Today, Woodstock (Ontario) has the less than sexy title of being Canada's Dairy Capital. However, the most famous Woodstock, at least for those who are old enough to remember the '60s, has to be the one in New York.
The pronoun I has always been capitalized in the English language for more than 700 years.
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Thread Starter- Adleruni
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Re: 1931 Woodstock No. 5
Yes, though I wasn't at that Woodstock that year, I was in New York state at the time. Yes, Woodstock seems to be an auspicious name. Interesting about Thomas Oliver and Woodstock, Canada - is his birthplace noted or marked?
