1 of 1- Shifty
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SM4 elite vs pica
Due to the usual unusual circumstances, I have come into possession of two excellent SM4s: a 1959 green with Congress elite; and a 1961 burgundy with Congress pica.
The '59 came from an elderly German typewriter repairman. It was a holdover from his shop in Denver in the 80s. It's not new, but might as well be. Came with all the accessories, manual, and warranty booklet.
The '61 I bought for $30 from a young magician on hard times. It needed some love, but the usual washer replacement and a good cleaning and it gleams.
My question is this: Which typeface is more common for SM4s?
- Shifty
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Re: SM4 elite vs pica
The typefaces are not Congress....
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Thread Starter- Pete E.
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Re: SM4 elite vs pica
Hi Shifty,
Without access to surviving Olympia factory records, I am not sure how folks could really answer your question.
I know from my early jobs in companies in the 1970's, the manual and electric typewriters that were mostly used by various departments for filling-out pre-print company forms and documents, elite was preferred as more type would fit into the allowable spaces for your input and/or answer.
- Uwe
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Re: SM4 elite vs pica
I just looked over the typefaces I have listed for some of my Olympia models and found it was close to a 50/50 split between the two sizes; however, the standards were biased toward elite while more of the portables used pica.
The pronoun I has always been capitalized in the English language for more than 700 years.
- Lucas Dul
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Re: SM4 elite vs pica
I'd have to say that as far as the SM series goes, the Pica machines were more common. Pica was a more popular standard, think back to old machines. 10 characters to the inch is a nice round number to work with. I myself have only come across one elite olympia SM. I don't own an Elite machine, I don't come by them often which is strange. And when I do, they don't print as nicely as I'd like.
Typewriter Service Tech (and avid nerd)
- skywatcher
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Re: SM4 elite vs pica
Greetings All
I'll throw my 2¢ worth into this discussion. My findings seem to be that standards lean towards elite while portables lean towards pica. My theory on this is standards were used in offices, so the more information that could be laid out on one page, the better. Elite also has a more professional appearance which is what one would expect to come out of a commercial office.
Portables were more for home use, typing letters to friends and family, so the professional look wasn't as important. Also, if one was writing to parents or grandparents, pica is easier to read for older folk. What are your thoughts on this idea? All the best,
Sky
We humans go through many computers in our lives, but in their lives, typewriters go through many of us.
In that way, they’re like violins, like ancestral swords. So I use mine with honor and treat them with respect.
I try to leave them in better condition than I met them. I am not their first user, nor will I be their last.
Frederic S. Durbin. (Typewriter mania and the modern writer)
- fountainpensplus
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Re: SM4 elite vs pica
My SG1s and SG3s are all elite and my SMs are a mixed bag. My first return to a typewriter was an SM4 with pica. When I bought the first SG3 I knew it was elite and was concerned it would be more difficult to read. With the letter spacing though it is very legible and I like more text on a page. George
- Shifty
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Re: SM4 elite vs pica
skywatcher wrote:
Portables were more for home use, typing letters to friends and family, so the professional look wasn't as important. Also, if one was writing to parents or grandparents, pica is easier to read for older folk. What are your thoughts on this idea?
Interesting analysis. It becomes complicated when Olympia identified certain typefaces as being better at carbon copies, which I presume would be an office function, mostly. This includes a fairly large pica type face (see image). I would think standardizing on the kinds of forms that were typical for a particular business makes sense. I wonder if companies standardized this way across all their machines, i.e., not mixing typefaces.
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Thread Starter- skywatcher
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Re: SM4 elite vs pica
Hi Shifty
Now that's what I call some excellent documentation on typefaces. Also says which typefaces were available on what machines and the ideal use for each typeface.
I see the SF Deluxe only had the option of 4 different typefaces, now I know that mine has #69 Script. All the best,
Sky
We humans go through many computers in our lives, but in their lives, typewriters go through many of us.
In that way, they’re like violins, like ancestral swords. So I use mine with honor and treat them with respect.
I try to leave them in better condition than I met them. I am not their first user, nor will I be their last.
Frederic S. Durbin. (Typewriter mania and the modern writer)
- Uwe
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Re: SM4 elite vs pica
Sky, I think you'll find that what was available depended on the model year. For example, the 1966 'style guide' listed five typefaces for the SF Deluxe:
Elite No. 8
Script No. 69
Elite No. 87
Italic Elite No. 89
Pica No. 97 (No. 12 on standard models - I have machines that mix 97 and 12)
With respect to your SF Deluxe, are there not markings on the type slugs?
The pronoun I has always been capitalized in the English language for more than 700 years.
