I have an SG1. A former student passed it on to me for $10 after cleaning out his grandmother's attic. Even after sitting idle for about twenty years, it types like a dream. Great machine.

Value is a geographic thing. Obviously you can expect to pay more for a typewriter that was never readily available in your area and consequently is more difficult to find. However, the SG1 was exported and were used across North America, so I wouldn't put them in this category.

The SG1 that I just bought was being offered for free. I was the second person in line, and suggested to the seller that I would gladly give him $30 should the first person in line not be interested (I wanted to demonstrate that I was committed to picking up the machine). Long story short, I paid $30 for it.

Personally, I think $260 for an SG1 in your area (Vancouver, right?) is completely insane. I'd wait for another to turn up, or for the seller to realise that his asking price is unrealistic. Most standards, with the exception of pre-war models, do not sell as well as portables. Non-collectors want cute, colourful little machines and shy away from the behemoths that will sag desks and break backs.  

Good question. I've never actually seen on come up for sale, so I imagine they must be fairly rare. A functional teletyper - something that I've always wanted too - can usually be found on eBay, but they aren't cheap and shipping is usually as much or more than the machine. Considering these machines were mostly business-use items, most were probably scrapped over the years as opposed to the used typewriters that are on the market, most of which were found in the back of someone's closet.

I find it a little bizarre that the U.S. Navy used an Olympia SG-1 as a radio mill. The obvious reason is that they wanted to use the best typewriter ever built.  It was far more common to find Royal and Underwood machines in this role.


This photo was reportedly taken aboard the U.S.S. Robert E. Lee in 1966.

I love the SG-1 so much that I just bought a second one. It's a later model and it was interesting to note the changes that were made to it over the years. This one cost me $60, twice what I paid for the first one, but I was so impressed with the model that I thought it was worth the cost. Unfortunately, the second one has an issue with the ribbon transport mechanism that I'm still trying to figure out. Other than that it works perfectly and like the first one it's a complete pleasure to type with.

Uwe, re that ribbon transport problem on your new SG1---I had an issue in which the ribbon takeup would not move the ribbon in either direction. The problem turned out to be easily fixed; if you're lucky, your problem will be the same. The light spring on the advance pawl that pushes the ribbon support around was not strong enough to overcome the grease or oil or something on the pawl spindle. Cleaning the bearing area on those spindles (one for each spool) clears up the problem. Alcohol works quickly for me but not permanently; I’ll have to find a better cleanser.

== Michael Höhne