I can pick up a Lettera 32 for $20 at my local flea-market. Good luck with $1,500. I'd love to know where they got that figure from. 

"Showpiece Underwood No.3 with Super Rare 11" carriage".

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Antique-vintage-SHOWPIECE-Underwood-3-with-super-rare-11-carriage-892-697-/160998111284?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item257c3c3834&nma=true&si=tKKuwpR9dmzZLrugN0YMX7F08Fk%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

What makes this Underwood so special?   Read the description:  

All original paint.

This typewriter has the crinkly/wrinkle baked on super durable paint unlike the less expensive very common smooth paint that rubs and wears off easily. Go ahead, look all over ebay and even see if you can find just one other Underwood with the crinkly/wrinkle paint. I could not.

The paint job on this typewriter is original and is in near perfect flawless condition as the pics show.
It is solid black and lacks the chrome that the most common typewriters are flooded with which makes them look more modern and less antique.

The crinkly/wrinkle paint shows this typewriter has never been taken apart or repaired. Removing any screws would have damaged the consistency of the perfect paint job.  (Of course these Underwoods were built with paint over all the screws so it is easy to tell if they have ever been apart!  I guess they built this typewriter than sprayed or dipped the whole thing to get the paint to cover virtually every part.)

 

Shangas wrote:

Correct me if I'm wrong here, but I thought ALL Underwood 3s came with longer carriages? Or at least, that's been my observation. So I wouldn't call it that rare.  

You are correct, all No.3s have a longer than standard (for the Nos. 4 and 5) carriage.  The seller here has some unusual ideas of rarity, quality, and originality.

The seller said "Of the model 3’s, the 11” carriage was the rarest. This has the 11” carriage.  Most all model 3’s have a 12", 14" or 16” carriage.  The model 3 with the 11” carriage was only made from January 1927 – January 1931. This is a very small window and one of these super rare ones is available now."

Sure, the 11" carriage may be more rare than other sizes because it was introduced late into production.  But who really cares about a silly 1" difference and the 11" one is the NEWER model, not always what collectors want.  With that Underwood it is the PAINT JOB that is so interesting and terrible.  Who would paint over all the screws and nickel plating?  The sellers think the paint is something special but try to find a worse paint job on any Underwood; not easy.
 

Last edited by Steve Stephens (09-5-2013 01:20:36)

Foljambe wrote:

So, who n  ds the   k y anyway?

Steve Stephens wrote:

Shangas wrote:

Correct me if I'm wrong here, but I thought ALL Underwood 3s came with longer carriages? Or at least, that's been my observation. So I wouldn't call it that rare.  

You are correct, all No.3s have a longer than standard (for the Nos. 4 and 5) carriage.  The seller here has some unusual ideas of rarity, quality, and originality.

The seller said "Of the model 3’s, the 11” carriage was the rarest. This has the 11” carriage.  Most all model 3’s have a 12", 14" or 16” carriage.  The model 3 with the 11” carriage was only made from January 1927 – January 1931. This is a very small window and one of these super rare ones is available now."

Sure, the 11" carriage may be more rare than other sizes because it was introduced late into production.  But who really cares about a silly 1" difference and the 11" one is the NEWER model, not always what collectors want.  With that Underwood it is the PAINT JOB that is so interesting and terrible.  Who would paint over all the screws and nickel plating?  The sellers think the paint is something special but try to find a worse paint job on any Underwood; not easy.
 

Thanks Steve, 

From what I've seen, most standard typewriters had a carriage-length of about 10in. Any other carriage lengths were custom-added, or could be added as a separate part (such as the interchangeable carriages on the Imperials). The Underwood 3 is the only one I know of which came out with larger carriages as a standard feature. That's why I read that advertisement and I was thinking:

"...Uh-huh. And...??" 

I agree, that paintjob is horrendous. And for that price, I'm not surprised it hasn't sold. 

This guy's "marketing spiel", to put it nicely, is fascinating, if only for its utterly excremental nature...

It is solid black and lacks the chrome that the most common typewriters are flooded with which makes them look more modern and less antique.

How exactly does CHROME make a typewriter "more modern and less antique"? Nearly all typewriters after WWII lacked any chrome at all! If anything, chrome makes it MORE antique. 

It is very heavy (30 lbs) and solid. Shipping this baby with the proper protection it deserves, will not be cheap.

30lbs? Try 40 or 50. I know from experience how heavy 30 pounds is. And I also know from experience that a standard typewriter weighs a LOT MORE than 30 pounds. He obviously hasn't weighed it. My grandmother's singer sewing machine weighs 33-1/4 pounds. A Remington 16, or a Royal 10, weighs at least 5 or ten pounds MORE than that. I've lifted both of them and neither was easy. In fact I nearly dropped the Remington. An Underwood 3 would have to weigh that, at least. 

I defer to those with more experience, but I STRONGLY SUSPECT that the paintjob on this typewriter is an after-purchase add-on by the owner. NO typewriter of this period that I've seen has ever painted EVERYTHING. This has everything slathered in paint - the bell, the margin-stops, the carriage-lever...

It's my experience based on the dozens of Underwoods I've seen, that these parts are usually chromed steel. Why on earth would they be painted if not done by the seller himself? Or someone else as an aftermarket thing? 

I can't help but think that by adding this paintjob, this guy has probably permanently devalued this typewriter.

Some typewriters currently on Australian eBay...

Underwood Model 5 Standard - $350.00 OPENING BID. 

It's in good condition, but nobody spends that kind of money on an Underwood. 

Royal Model 10 Standard - $400 (Negotiable). 

I'd like to negotiate down to about $100. They say the machine has been 'superficially cleaned' but that the keys and carriage jam or something. If that's the case, where does $400 worth of value come from? I'm at a loss here... 

Last edited by Shangas (09-5-2013 03:28:49)