1 - Uwe
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Hermes 2000
I picked up a1952 Hermes 2000 today and thought I'd post a few quick photos I took of the machine. It needs a little mechanical attention, but none of those issues prevent it from being used to crank-out the text.
Although it's design isn't anything special, the clean lines and fat keys are typical of early '50s portables. The keys in particular remind me of those on the iconic Olympia SM3, but perhaps my favorite feature of this Hermes is its colour scheme: the case is finished in a deep, forest-green crinkle paint with a lovely earth-brown trim. The trim colour is also used for the space bar and the platen knobs and gives the machine an air of sophistication.
The 10-pitch typeface on this model is standard fare, but some of the characters included with it are not. Note the fraction keys and the alpha/beta key. Not shown are the ¼, ¾, and upsilon keys that are located on the top row of the keyboard.
There are a few features on the Hermes 2000 that I give top marks to. For one, when you use the paper release lever it lifts up the paper bail at the same time. Sure, there are other machines with that offer this convenience, but for some reason they are few and far between. Another item that I really appreciate is the quick-set margins that are spring-operated and work in a similar fashion to Royal's Magic Margin system.
The tabulator's set and remove lever is a litte quirky in its looks and function, but it works well none the less. While I would call its design odd, the paper rest in contrast is quite clever. When folded it mimics the paper guide on the opposite end of the carriage, and although as simple as they come, it was well integrated into the overall appearance of the machine.
One important thing about this particular Hermes 2000 is that it's one of the extremely rare examples with a volume control knob. Adjusting the knob changes how loud the machine types, and since I love a good mechanical clatter, I prefer to keep the knob cranked to 11.
Yeah, I'm just kidding. The knob is actually just a very unusual touch controller. Turning is has an appreciable effect on the feel of the keys, but like many machines that have this feature, it doesn't really need it. This typewriter has a nice typing action and is easy very easy on the fingers.
Overall, I have to say that I quite like this machine. Size-wise, it fits between my Hermes Baby and 3000, and like those typewriters, it feels like a well-built, high-quality typewriter.
The pronoun I has always been capitalized in the English language for more than 700 years.
- Notquite_there
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Re: Hermes 2000
Very tastful, looks like the size of the Royal Quiet Delux of 1941, almost the same shape too, is it? Does it type as well as the Olympia? I have a Herms 3000, l961, that is hard to beat. Yours almost looks like it was made for the military.
- Uwe
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Re: Hermes 2000
Notquite_there wrote:
Very tastful, looks like the size of the Royal Quiet Delux of 1941, almost the same shape too, is it? Does it type as well as the Olympia? I have a Herms 3000, l961, that is hard to beat. Yours almost looks like it was made for the military.
Yes, they are very similar in size and shape. The Royal Quiet has a footprint of roughly 10 x 11 in. (25.5 x 28 cm) versus the 2000's 10.5 x 12 in. (27 x 30.5 cm).
For typing, the 2000 is quite nice, but I'd have to pick the Olympia if given the choice. I'd even argue that the Royal Quiet (or Arrow) is marginally a better performer too. I actually put this opinion to the test last night after using the Hermes and Olympia back to back to type out a few pages.
The pronoun I has always been capitalized in the English language for more than 700 years.
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Thread Starter- beak
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Re: Hermes 2000
That is a very handsome machine. Being a designer, I collect photos of colour objects and colour combinations, and have saved your picture of this machine for future reference. A very pleasing combination, IMO.
Sincerely,
beak.
- Uwe
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Re: Hermes 2000
It feels rather "earthy". I'm not sure if it was intended, but the brown trim almost looks like leather. As Notquite_there pointed out, it does look as if it's been given a military camoflage treatment, but the overall effect of the colour combination suggest the machine would be more at home in a wealthy hunter's lodge than an army base.
The pronoun I has always been capitalized in the English language for more than 700 years.
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Thread Starter- Notquite_there
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Re: Hermes 2000
Agreed, a hunter`s lodge. I like to check out the percise feel and action of a typewriter, and what I am doing with it. For instance, sitting down at a good standard typewriter I feel that I am in for the long haul, this is industrial typing or story. When I sit down to a portable I say to myself, "What is this machine designed for?" When I stop imposing myself on the machine and try to work with it, I feel that I discover more about the nature of its design. As I read once, a person brought his typewriter in to be adjusted as it wouldn`t work right, it got maladjusted because the problem was with the typest.
I am not a great typest and do not type daily; I enjoy exploring the nature of the machines that I have. I did read an add for an Olympia that read, "You can type all day on this machine, day after day, and it will not let you down." That may be the standard of a good typewriter--I haven`t reached that level yet.
- Zedwardson
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Re: Hermes 2000
I picked up a1952 Hermes 2000 today and thought I'd post a few quick photos I took of the machine. It needs a little mechanical attention, but none of those issues prevent it from being used to crank-out the text.
A very nice machine, one of my favorite novels (The Science Fiction 1980s classic "Neuromancer", which coined the term Cyberspace among other things) was written on a Hermes 2000. It is on my list of Type-writers I hope to own one day.
Appologies for any spelling errors or grammer mistakes I have in my writing, I use typewriters to break my lazy habits and to send my dysgraphia off a cliff.
- Uwe
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Re: Hermes 2000
Good luck with your Hermes 2000 hunt. They aren't rare, so hopefully you'll find one soon! It always amazes me to read that a certain author wrote their book on a portable machine. Sure, some are very good typewriters, but I would imagine that if you spent your entire day (or a part of it) churning out text that you would use a standard. It's even more incredible when they use an ultra-portable, like a few of my favorite authors did over the years.
The pronoun I has always been capitalized in the English language for more than 700 years.
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Thread Starter- Zedwardson
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Re: Hermes 2000
Good luck with your Hermes 2000 hunt. They aren't rare, so hopefully you'll find one soon! It always amazes me to read that a certain author wrote their book on a portable machine. Sure, some are very good typewriters, but I would imagine that if you spent your entire day (or a part of it) churning out text that you would use a standard. It's even more incredible when they use an ultra-portable, like a few of my favorite authors did over the years.
I sometimes wonder if that they used the typewriter they could obtain for little or no budget, and when they could afford other typewriters, they are so used to their typewriter that they see no reason to change. Jose Saramago (who won the Nobel Prize), and the man who wrote the movie "The Natural" also are/were Hermes 2000 users. I know Gibson gave up his very well used Hermes 2000 when it broke down in the middle of a novel so he bought a computer to finish the novel.
I plan to actually use typewriters myself for personal stuff so that I will write and not play on the computer and force myself to spell better. In my area it seems to be a ton of Classic 12s, so I might have to go to Ebay to get a Hermes 2000.
Appologies for any spelling errors or grammer mistakes I have in my writing, I use typewriters to break my lazy habits and to send my dysgraphia off a cliff.
- Uwe
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Re: Hermes 2000
There are many differences between using a word processor on a computer and typewriter for writing, each has its pros and cons, but I applaud your sentiment of wanting to use a typewriter to improve on your writing skills and grammar. Personal communication skills have dramatically eroded over the past decade, and it's now at the point where many people's online writing skills make them appear to be borderline illiterate.
I use a typewriter for all of my initial drafts and edits, but still use a word processor for the final copy, and only because you need to have a digital version of whatever you write if it is to be disseminated in any way.
The pronoun I has always been capitalized in the English language for more than 700 years.
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