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So, what kind of typewriter accessories do you have lying around, if any? No, I'm not talking about key chopped cufflinks. You know what I mean-- those little bonus items that come with a particularly well-preserved machine: manuals, keys, brushes, perhaps a bill of sale or other interesting note tucked into the case?
My cursive Hermes 3000 (picture) and my Royal Quiet De Luxe (picture) both came well-appointed: a key and a brush with the Royal, and everything with the Hermes: original manual, two-brush set, key. Here's where the story turns dark: I LOST THE MANUAL.
I know. I either misplaced it or ...unthinkably... recycled it by mistake (constant and mandatory recycling of any shiny or paper-based item not nailed down is a way of life in the Seattle area, as is talking endlessly about one's upcoming weekend marathon and the joys of organic gardening). Have any of you guys seen it lying around?
So tell me about your accessories collection if you have one (could be a daunting exercise for those of you with massive inventory) .
By the way, here's a bigger version of the above picture, with a couple of notes.
Typewriter porn
2 hours ago
17 comments:
My Lettera 32 came with a couple different brushes and one of those "at a glance" manuals that touches on all the really important features.
I got so used to seeing eBay listings that offered a "case with no key," that I was shocked to see them included with my SM-9.
Oh, and the 22 elements for my Selectric (blasphemy!).
P.S. Dang Strikethru, that's a pretty foxy new profile pic. Am I allowed to say that?
Hrm. Cataloging every pencil, eraser, and correction tape found rolling around in the bottoms of cases would be a daunting task, indeed!
I have about a dozen manuals. Most are from the '60s or later: Royal Futura, boxy Hermes 3000, Torpedo 18, Galaxies, Adler J4. A few are older, like the catch-all manual for the Smith-Corona Speedline series, and the Corona Four.
Cleaning kits: two Olympia sets in soft vinyl cases; Torpedo; Oliver; Corona 3 (with oil still in the metal cylinder!); various loose Royal and Smith-Corona brushes that all look just like yours.
Only a few still have their original sales receipts: Hermes Rocket, Voss, and uh, one other whose name eludes me at the moment. A few '60s/'70s warranty cards that were never filled out (with machine-readable punch holes!)
Misc case keys.
Probably the neatest thing I ever found was an old, quite small (2" x 3"?) "Do Not Disturb" sign from an anonymous hotel. That was with the Corona Four.
BTW, MoLG has a new URL:
http://machinesoflovinggrace.com
Since Mike brought it up... Speaking of your new profile pic, I didn't know that Smith-Corona ever made an ergonomic keyboard!
Well, I was actually going for a grandma look- I don't really wear glasses (I wish I did so I could pretend to be distinguished).
That typewriter illustration is labeled Coronomatic 800-- it looks like an electric typewriter. I can find no reference to a Coronomatic 800 on teh webz though.
You're wearing glasses?
(Joking.)
It's probably supposed to be a Coronamatic 8000, but whoever made it altered the name slightly so they wouldn't get sued.
You guys are terrible. :-)
Ok, this picture is a little too silly... might need to bust out the old one lest I get teased further!
Olivander: Aw, you see what we went and did there?
Strikethru: Don't blame me. I've been running with a bad crowd, and I'm easily influenced. They keep telling me to sass fellow bloggers and jump off bridges.
Word verification is "coryness." That is, to have properties of either Haim or Feldman.
I'm picturing one of the Coreys' current girlfriends/partners/wives bringing his coffee and saying "Here you go, His Coryness. Oh, when's the premiere party for your next movie again? Oh, that's right, *never.*"
Someone please get this comments thread back on track!
Never! I declare this thread officially jacked.
"His Coreyness declares that The Lost Boys is now the official film of the realm!"
Apparently I'm here too late for the foxiness. Story of my life, really.
I like the weird stuff I find.
Someone's Christmas card list, with addresses and everything, was in the Silent Super Case.
The Olympia SM7 case had a little bitty stubby stump from one of those eraser/brush pencils.
The Noiseless Model Seven had a scrap of paper with a cryptic reference to air raid sirens.
Several have had brushes (the SM4 had the whole plastic case with all the brushes). Few have had keys. Lots have had insect carcasses.
...And what I obviously meant to say was that I missed that *particular* brand of foxiness that was here before, that Speegle was talking about. Of course I see, you know, all of the other foxiness that's just everywhere, like, over here.
Who else tastes something kind of Rockport-ish?
Duffy, you owe me a new keyboard.
My Lettera 32 came with the how-to-unlock-it-all manual (in English and Italian), a brush, and an eraser-stick-with-brush-on-the-end (both in their little red vinyl case), and an ancient dried-out bottle of correction fluid. My Remington came with two (!) keys to the case, and the Underwood was garage-saled and in pretty sorry shape when I got it so it had nothing. But for my birthday I got another eraser-brush-combo-stick and some correction paper! Woohoo!
I have a variety of Hermes and Olympia brushes, some in kit form, some loose. One of my Smith Coronas also came with a little brush. And I mostly have manuals all around, except for the later model SCMs. The first Hermes 3000 I owned came with the original receipt and manual and all the maintenance records. I bought it from the original owner, and she was very meticulous. I sold that one, though, and only have the battered 3000 with its one brush.
Most interesting thing found in a case? Icky dead bugses and Ko-Rec-Type. Interesting that a correction type would be intentionally misspelled, huh?
Duffy--I am most intrigued by the air raid siren note!
Eventually I'll get that think scanned in (the air-raid siren reference).
(word verif = "mopavatm" (n.) fourth generation Swiffer, now with more manly, more confusing name.)
Catching up here, I seem to have missed out on the Foxy. *sigh*
Ephemera has been limited, which is surprising considering how many of the stupid things are now littering my life these days. Thrift-store typers seem to be light on extras: maybe they got lost, or some kid made off with them, or whatever. If I had the will to scour yard sales I might have more luck, I don't know. Gomez, my Freecycle'd SM3 has a key on a little piece of string tied around his handle with a hand-written tag noting "typewriter" upon it. A Smith-Corona I got from Olivander has the same key-and-string arrangement, sans note.
Zsa Zsa -- the Studio 44 -- came with a brush in a little vinyl pouch, and a ribbon in a box with the receipt from the mid 1980s from the local typewriter shop (now devoted to copier repair.) One of my Goodwill typers came with a mimeographed copy of a recipe (typed, of course.) And perhaps by coincidence with this topic, my most recent find -- another Skyriter, joy! -- came with a original brush, a typewriter eraser of the stick-and-brush-style, the manual, a touch-typing card, and a couple of old sheets of typing paper. Also the paper table, rattling loose in the pouch and waiting for reattachment. This was like finding a treasure chest in the back yard.
Non-useful ephemera has included leaves, dried grass (from yard sales?), dead bugs, push pins, and a threaded needle. Also Unidentifiable Sticky Brown Stains that I don't want to consider. Ew.
If you still need a Hermes 3000 manual, I scanned mine (1964 vintage) in fairly high resolution and put it up on the web here:
Hermes 3000 User's Manual
And yes, mine came to me practically factory-fresh with the manual and both cleaning brushes for an absurdly low price, and has quickly become my favorite typewriter. (:
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