That's cool I paid less than that. So no parts as I thought. I am only missing one ball knob and the Seven eights label for one key. What about ribbons?  By the way there is an old underwood which I've made a bid on, are they more desirous than the Remington?

Wow, thanks for your invaluable input. The ribbon which I have I don't think is correct, so I will just need to watch out while typing to flip the switch to reverse the ribbon direction before it gets to the end. People are asking rediculous prices for old machines in this country, up to  $200, crazy! You are right, it's not about the value, I love the mechanical workings and in fact find the desk top types much more attractive than the portables. I've noticed a few Remington 10s also available here, with most of them marked as rebuilt by remington. As a working machine I prefer the 17, which to me is also very attractive. I'm not sure which model exactly the Underwood is, but yes it seems to be much ealier than my Remington. I am not going to up my bid of $50, hold thumbs for me, I'm hoping to get it! Thanks again for all your input, as I am a serious rookie at this new interest, which has me facinated and engaged! Kind Regards

Hey all,

Recently bitten by the bug and just joined. Made my first purchase (today actually) and should be receiving it by the end of the week. Looking forward to learning all I can from you folks. I'll post a reply to the "recent acquisitions" thread.

Hi, I'm Aldo from Italy but living in London. I've recently purchased a Lettera 22 and it is my first typewriter although I've always been fascinated by these objects. I presume I've inherited this from my journalist father. 

Hey, all; my name is Rich and I'm a retired printer living in Metro East St. Louis (Illinois side).  My interest in typing goes back about 50 years when I was a kid watching my grandmother typing on her kitchen table--correspondence to friends, congressmen, TV commentators, and then poetry and stories about the family; her genealogy research got me started on my own family tree search.  I inherited that typewriter, a Royal standard portable #0-412248 made in 1934.  I kept it in storage until I decided to return to school in the 80's and taught myself how to type on that machine.  It went back into storage again (computers were becoming all the rage) until quite recently--a couple of months, when I gave my uncle's Corona 3 (another inheritance) to my nephew's wife, who is a history teacher in Michigan.  That Corona was carried through the Argonne Forest in 1918, and she uses it to help teach the story of doughboys in WWI.  She and my nephew were so fascinated by the machine that I decided to look into any interest in typewriters, and I found this forum among other sites.  I'm a newcomer--I have Gram's Royal, my mother's Quiet Deluxe (1947), and any new ones I come across.  I love to tinker and fix old machinery, and my preferences so far in Typewriters is for portables in the 30's -50's.  Am also looking at Royal and Smith Corona standards--40's and 50's.  Looking to learn all I can, so will be asking lots of questions.  By the way, I have a little knowledge about paper and its usage, having 40+ years in printing, including 20+ years in letterpress and typesetting.  Guess that makes me something of a relic.