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.

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.

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.

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.
 

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.