1 of 1- Mockingbird
- Novice Typer
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- From: Japan
- Registered: 19-1-2017
- Posts: 26
Any interesting quirks on your typewriters from previous owners?
Just got an olympia monica in with a social security number scratched into the side.
On a side note, I've had guitar cases with random signatures on the inside.
Anyone find something unexpected on their typewriter/cases?
- ztyper
- Key Master
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- From: Somewhere in New Jersey
- Registered: 01-10-2014
- Posts: 773
Re: Any interesting quirks on your typewriters from previous owners?
Mockingbird wrote:
Just got an olympia monica in with a social security number scratched into the side.
Well that's not something that should have been there... Who would do such a thing...?
Anyways, I do have a '39 Royal Arrow with "Colbert" lightly etched underneath it. Besides that and some service stickers, I really don't know much about my typewriters besides what people have told me.
A high schooler with a lot of typewriters. That's pretty much about it.
- SoucekFan
- Speed Champion
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- From: United States
- Registered: 27-12-2015
- Posts: 487
Re: Any interesting quirks on your typewriters from previous owners?
Just got an olympia monica in with a social security number scratched into the side.
My friend's typewriter has a Social Security number etched into the side, and one of my Smith-Corona's has one etched into the case just above the latch. I think before modern day identity theft, people were a little more lax about Social Security numbers. I am not certain why they were doing it though. Maybe to mark their property?
- M. Höhne
- Key Master
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- From: Maine
- Registered: 14-3-2013
- Posts: 637
Re: Any interesting quirks on your typewriters from previous owners?
.... snip .... I think before modern day identity theft, people were a little more lax about Social Security numbers. I am not certain why they were doing it though. Maybe to mark their property?
It used to be very common to mark personal property with the owner's Social Security number indelibly scratched in---typewriter, bicycle, camera, etc. If done in an obvious way, it was to discourage theft and if more or less hidden, so as not to disfigure, it was to ID retrieved stolen property. People who did this didn't consider future resale value, often because they expected to use the thing until either it or the owner died. These days identity theft is a bigger risk than personal property theft so it's not done much any more.
- Uwe
- Moderator
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- From: Toronto, Canada
- Registered: 12-3-2013
- Posts: 4,410
Re: Any interesting quirks on your typewriters from previous owners?
I have many machines with etchings, such as owners' names and corporate property tags, and some portables that included interesting documents inside the travel case. One of the more fascinating yet sad finds indirectly provided the history of a Hermes 3000 that I had bought. Inside the travel case was the original sales receipt that indicated it was bought in a Canadian Armed Forces base in France, examples of correspondence from the original buyer over many years, and finally an obituary written for the original buyer on the same typewriter - presumably for a newspaper listing - by his grandson. And then there was this Royal Diana that had the owner's manual transcribed onto its case:
The pronoun I has always been capitalized in the English language for more than 700 years.
- colrehogan
- Key Master
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- From: Granite City, IL
- Registered: 05-2-2015
- Posts: 612
Re: Any interesting quirks on your typewriters from previous owners?
An address label from someone is on my Royal FP. I assume it was a previous owner.
Smith Premier typewriters are cool!
- CoronaJoe
- Touch Typist
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- Registered: 24-1-2016
- Posts: 143
Re: Any interesting quirks on your typewriters from previous owners?
Fortunately I haven't any machines with etchings "on" them, except for a scratched in service/tune-up date and name inside a cover or plate. I do not care for that. In Oregon it's just another place to rust.
For provenance; I picked up a Royal portable at a swap meet. When I got it home, the case had all kinds of forms, filled out and new; for bull pedigree and registry. The portable's former home was a ranch in Idaho that raised bull sires and AI was coming into popular use.
The case smelled weird but a good washing and time in sun fixed that. The family must have been into horses too as there was correspondence about horse associations and visits to other states. It all dated around 1958-1962, I'm sure the bulls are long gone. One final thing there was some brochures about CBS studio tours in Burbank, CA and some letters about visiting relatives close by. It was all pretty interesting.
- Markmotown
- Touch Typist
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- From: Villanova, PA
- Registered: 16-12-2015
- Posts: 183
Re: Any interesting quirks on your typewriters from previous owners?
My Underwood Semitic has a tag on the back suggesting it used to be "Property of the Jewish Home for Aged. B.M.Z. of Chicago." But until I get my Russian/cyrillic Tytell, that's the only one of mine that has much of a backstory.
Unrelatedly: I'm wondering how many typewriters Uwe has all together!
- evident
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- Registered: 06-4-2017
- Posts: 4
Re: Any interesting quirks on your typewriters from previous owners?
Keys stick
