1 - Uwe
- Moderator
Offline 
- From: Toronto, Canada
- Registered: 12-3-2013
- Posts: 4,410
The First
Sentimentalists claim that you never forget the first time. And I have to agree. I can still remember that first typewriter I bought, the one that got me hooked, the one that turned a passing curiousity into a full-blown obsession.
I learned to type in school, I think it was in grade 7, on a manual machine and I now wish that I could remember its make and model. My parents owned a Smith-Corona electric portable that I used through high school for assignments that needed to be handed in. I never looked at that ugly brown typewriter with any more interest than you would reserve for any other appliance that was built to perform a specific task; typewriters were nothing more than tools to me at the time, and as I grew older and technology changed, I completely forgot about them right after I bought my first personal computer, a Commodore 64.
A few years ago I was looking through ads on Kijiji - I don't recall what I was after at the time - and happened upon an ad for a typewriter. I looked at the pictures and suddenly found myself curious about the machine. It was on a lark that I ended up buying it, a black 1946 Smith-Corona Sterling, reasoning that it would add a nice retro touch to my office and maybe provide a bit of entertainment when typing out the odd letter. Given the machine was in good condition and the seller was only asking $40, I figured there was nothing to lose.
The Sterling turned out to be a real gem, and the more I used it, the more I enjoyed it. It wasn't long before I wanted more: I wanted to know more about the Sterling, I wanted to know more about the history of typewriters, and worst of all, I wanted to more typewriters to try out.
Looking back, it makes me wonder what would have happened if the Sterling had been a frustrating pile of junk to use. There's a good chance that it would have ended my interest in buying another typewriter right there and then. Instead, it turned out to be a match that lit a small fire, which in turn became a raging inferno. And that's probably the biggest reason why I'll never forget my first. How about you?
The pronoun I has always been capitalized in the English language for more than 700 years.
- beak
- Key Master
Offline
- From: Qld Australia
- Registered: 24-3-2013
- Posts: 912
Re: The First
I don't remember the begining of my interest exactly, but I do remember visiting my father at his office, and watching the lady in the office outside typing. Her speed was, to my young eyes, phenominal, and I was fascinated by the fact that she never looked at the machine at all, but at the handwriting on her desk - I could not understand how she did it.
All such 'outmoded' office machines and devices have been of interest for as long as I can remember.
Sincerely,
beak.
- JanetLand
- Platen Punisher
Offline
- Registered: 16-12-2013
- Posts: 99
Re: The First
I have two firsts. The whole time I was growing up, we had my father’s Corona Comet DeLuxe (1941) -- he bought it secondhand in the early 1960s. I’m not sure how that machine survived four grubby children playing with it. Then in high school and college I had an electric typewriter (couldn’t tell you anything about it, but it probably came from Sears), and then it was all computers after that. My parents moved to Florida and took the Comet DeLuxe with them, which I should be grateful for; they might so easily have gotten rid of it instead.
Sometime in my 40s I started thinking about typewriters again. By that time my sister had the Comet DeLuxe but wasn’t willing to give it up. Then one day at Goodwill I found an Olympia SM3 (1958) in gleaming perfect condition for 6 bucks. It was so much fun getting to know typewriting again; I couldn't stop using it. I was all proud of myself that I still remembered how to center text on the page.
That was about 7 or 8 years ago. I’ve finally gotten the Comet DeLuxe away from my sister -- she was keeping it in the garage! -- and it is beautifully restored and has pride of place on my desk, and I've also collected 6 other machines, but that Olympia still makes me smile whenever I use it.
- Uwe
- Moderator
Offline
- From: Toronto, Canada
- Registered: 12-3-2013
- Posts: 4,410
Re: The First
Great story Janet, but I have to see a photo of that Comet! I've never come across one and they're rarely mentioned, so I assume that it's a rarer-than-most machine.
The pronoun I has always been capitalized in the English language for more than 700 years.
- •
Thread Starter- JanetLand
- Platen Punisher
Offline
- Registered: 16-12-2013
- Posts: 99
Re: The First
My Comet DeLuxe may be seen here:
- Uwe
- Moderator
Offline
- From: Toronto, Canada
- Registered: 12-3-2013
- Posts: 4,410
Re: The First
The mechanical similarities between your Comet and my Sterling is quite remarkable. Even the paint finish and texture of the pinstriping are practically identical. I guess it shouldn't be that big a surprise given they were manufactured five years apart. It was interesting to read in the blog you linked to that the Comet was only made for one year, which would explain why I've never come across one before. If there was ever a keeper, given its history and rarity, I'd say your Comet is an ultimate example of one.
The pronoun I has always been capitalized in the English language for more than 700 years.
- •
Thread Starter- JanetLand
- Platen Punisher
Offline
- Registered: 16-12-2013
- Posts: 99
Re: The First
And it's a great machine to write on as well!
As far as I can tell, since it has nothing in the way of fancy features, the only thing that makes it "DeLuxe" is the pretty decal. 
- TypewriterKing
- Inactive Account
Offline
- From: DeepInTheHeartO', Texas
- Registered: 17-2-2016
- Posts: 1,011
Re: The First
I remember the first typewriter that was truly mine. I bought it on February 2, 1981. It was a 1958 Royal QDL typewriter with boldface print. It was turquoise blue with a red keystone emblem in the front that popped open the top. I was 12 and 1/2 when I got it, and I typed quite a few papers with it. I remember spraying it with tons of WD-40 in the hopes of making it work better (such was the mind of a pre-teen budding mechanic). I ended up tripping a spring on the escapement wheel pawl, and hid that sucker for 28 days before my mother found out about it. After she gave me a good talking to, we took it down to Bob's Typewriters here in Waco. He only charged $12.00 at the time. Was I ever glad to get that machine back into my life!!! The next typewriter I bought was a 1948 Remington J-series that was a rust-bucket that everything was seized up on. It took a whole month to get that one finally working, and I learned a lot about typewriter repair from that one machine. Then I bought a 1940 Underwood Master on my 13th birthday. These three were the first machines that got me started in collecting and repairing so many years ago. I regret selling them some years later--especially the Royal QDL.
Underwood--Speeds the World's Bidness
- Ampelmann
- Platen Punisher
Offline
- Registered: 20-3-2016
- Posts: 66
Re: The First
My first typewriter was also a Royal Quiet DeLuxe. Mine was older than yours though, a 1948. I was part of a study group for one of my course finals a few years ago and we jokingly mentioned how much harder it would have been to have to type everything up via typewriter. After that I got thinking that a typewriter would actually be pretty cool to use for non-school related writing, and off to the local classifieds I went. Armed with some VERY basic knowledge, I ended up with a very beat up Royal that needed quite a bit of TLC before I could use it. Looking back, I'm pretty sure I overpaid for what I got, but nevertheless I was quite smitten with it and my typewriter obsession was on its way.
As my collection slowly got bigger, I found myself using the Royal very infrequently, and it spent most of its time tucked away. So recently, acquiring LOTS more knowledge about how typewriters come apart, I endeavoured to disassemble it as much as I dared to give it the really thorough cleaning I couldn't do when I first got it. I also took the opportunity to redo the finish since it was in a very sorry state of appearance. The end result was a much happier machine that I have dubbed Rosa, The Ravishingly Red Royal, in honour of her cherry red exterior.
