Chris Aldrich | Chris Aldrich

Acquired Odell No. 4 Index Typewriter and Wooden Case (Farquhar & Albrecht, 378-388 Wabash Avenue, Chicago, IL)

Serial Number: none
Circa 1904

I’ve slowed way down on acquisitions in my typewriter collection, but when I saw this magnificent exemplar with Art Nouveau decoration pop up at thrift, I could not resist. For a near complete exemplar, it seemed to be better priced than most of the market that I looked at before purchasing.

I suppose that perhaps my next chapter of collecting might be some older machines? I don’t see them out in the wild as frequently, so perhaps it’ll keep my collection from growing too rapidly. This one certainly qualifies and along with my Corona 3 is now one of two actual antique typewriters in my collection which is mostly focused on vintage mid-40s to the late 70s.

Shortly I’ll begin some restoration work on this lovely machine. Most of the restoration should be fairly easy after cleaning, but the majority of the work will be polishing the metal, most of which seems to be nickel plated. It doesn’t seem to be as complex as later machines, so a full disassembly and cleaning should be easy work. If nothing else, it’ll be much shinier when cleaned up than it is now.

I didn’t expect it at all given the age of the machine, but Richard Polt has an instruction manual/parts list on his site.

Some Basic Research

I haven’t done a deep dive on research for this machine beyond the Typewriter Database, The Antikey Chop, Robert Messenger’s site, and the excellent history in The Typewriter Gazette. To my knowledge there’s only one YouTube video on the machine with some of the functionality delineated at:

I’ve noted that the typewriter journal ETCetera has a few mentions of Odells as well. The December 2002, Issue No. 60 of ETCetera lists the rarity and desirability rankings of the Odell No. 4 as 5.0 and 5.5 respectively.

Initial Condition of My Odell No. 4

Against the odds, my typewriter came with the original box, but the paint/labeling on it is faint as to be difficult to read. I can easily make out the manufacturer’s name “Farquhar & Albrecht” on the front of the box, but I think it fully reads:

Farquhar & Albrecht
[undiscernable]
School and College Textbooks
378-388 Wabash Ave.
Chicago

Later boxes eschewed the textbook reference and put the Odell Typewriter name on the side of the box instead, so I’m positing that mine is a slightly earlier version of the No. 4. The top of the box faintly reads “Handle Carefully”. Since there aren’t any examples of boxes on the Typewriter Database, I’ll do some measurements and photos for those who might want to do recreations in their restoration work. It’s a fairly simple dovetail box with a sliding lid.

My Odell No. 4 is missing some of the inking assembly including the inker roller and spring (part #29). It’s probably not a huge loss as I would expect that I’d have to replace the roller anyway to have the machine function properly. I’m going to have to fashion some sort of replacement as I imagine a parts machine will be hard (or expensive) to come by. If anyone has photographs and precise dimensional measurements of these parts, I can have a local fabricator make something (or a handful of somethings for later replacement use or parts for others) if I can’t manage it in my own shop. Otherwise I’ll attempt to engineer some workable parts from photos, patents, and the instruction manual.

Mine has a split Celluloid Alphabet for Key Board (part #36), but I did find the missing piece in an envelope in the box. The broken piece is 5 characters long on the right side and is imminently repairable/restorable. I’ll try to make a correct scale color facsimile for the future for those who might need restoration versions in the future. This is my first X J K M V W P L Y O F U R S A T H E I N G D B C Q Z keyboard, which seems to be designed with the most frequently used letters in the alphabet in the center of the index and the less used ones like X and Z at the ends. The information theorist in me will look at the potential mathematics that got them this arrangement.

I suspect that the spring in the shift mechanism is fine, but the others all look rusty/dodgy, so I’ll either have to find replacements or fashion them so that the typewriter will work as intended.

Someone removed the bell portion on mine, but from what I can tell from a preliminary look, it appears (?) to be complete, but will take some cleaning and adjustment.

The platen has the narrowest diameter I’ve seen to date, and while not in great shape, isn’t as horrible as I would have expected it to be for it’s age. It seems solid and intact. It should be able to type well in its current condition.

In total, it’ll take a bit of work to get it working as originally intended, but I should be able to tinker around and get at least a type sample out of it. If nothing else, it is a very interesting and simple, but clever, design for an index typewriter. The nickel-plated cast steel is lovely as a decorative piece, particularly with the Art Nouveau detailing.

#TIL Smith-Corona Marchant (aka SCM) not only made typewriters, but they also manufactured index cards! They apparently had an office supplies group in Marion, Indiana.

I can’t wait to take some of these for a spin in my Sears Cutlass.

Quoted by Mademoiselle, the French Teacher (Heaven Can Wait (20th Century Fox, 1943))

Did you ever consider not marrying girl?
Écoute, mon chérie. In your papa's time, papa kiss mama and they marry.
But this is 1886, time of bicycle, the typewriter is arrive. Soon everybody speak over the telephone and people have new idea of value of kiss.
What is bad yesterday is a lot of fun today.

Most Collected Typewriters on the Typewriter Database

In reflecting on my own typewriter collection, I thought I’d look through it to see how some of the models I gravitate toward compare to those others are collecting. As a potential proxy for this, I took a look at the most popularly collected typewriter models according to the Typewriter Database and compiled a list of the top fifty, which appears below. (Numbers in parenthesis are the number of examples in the database.)

Naturally the data isn’t perfect and some of the numbers broadly track the manufacturing numbers of some of the most widely made models across the 20th century, particularly models which, though they changed in style and design over time, kept the same model name for decades. Despite this, the list of the top 50 doesn’t seem too far off of what one might expect.

Which models would you have expected to see more of? Which less? Does your taste in machines track the most “popular” by this measure? How does this list compared to the Rarity vs. Desirability list from ETC Magazine with respect to your collection? What other measures or benchmarks might one consider in collecting?

Have you uploaded all of your own examples to the Typewriter Database to help “even out” the data? Even if you don’t add them all, which favorites will you add to help your “favorite team” move up the rankings?

1. Royal Quiet De Luxe (610)
2. Smith-Corona Sterling (400)
3. Olympia SM3 (381)
4. Hermes 3000 (363)
5. Olympia SM9 (340)
6. Underwood 5 (304)
7. Olivetti Lettera 32 (262)
8. Corona 3 (252)
9. Smith-Corona Silent (246)
10. Remington Portable (244)
11. Olivetti Lettera 22 (241)
12. Royal P (240)
13. Hermes Baby (227)
14. Royal 10 (225)
15. Smith-Corona Skyriter (213)
16. Smith-Corona Silent Super (211)
17. Underwood Universal (175)
18. Royal KMM (163)
19. Remington Quiet-Riter (150)
20. Corona 4 (143)
21. Smith-Corona Standard (140)
22. Olivetti Studio 44 (139)
23. Olympia SM4 (137)
24. Underwood Portable 4 bank (136)
25. Royal O (136)
26. Hermes Rocket (134)
27. Olympia SM7 (129)
28. Underwood Portable 3 bank (118)
29. Smith-Corona Clipper (116)
30. Smith-Corona Classic 12 (115)
31. Royal Futura 800 (114)
32. Olympia SG1 (113)
33. Hermes 2000 (112)
34. Groma Kolibri (112)
35. Royal HH (106)
36. Royal Arrow (105)
37. Underwood Champion (103)
38. Remington Deluxe Model 5 (99)
39. Continental Standard (94)
40. Remington Noiseless 7 (93)
41. Olympia SM2 (92)
42. Olympia SG3 (91)
43. Oliver 9 (87)
44. Underwood 6 (86)
45. Royal KMG (86)
46. Remington Portable 5 (85)
47. Royal Aristocrat (84)
48. Olympia SF (83)
49. Smith-Corona Galaxie Twelve (81)
50. Remington Portable 3 (80)

My typewritten baseball scorecard for Tampa Bay Rays at Atlanta Braves on 2026-03-24. I’m trying to work out the cobwebs of my scoring technique before opening day Thursday.

I also filled in a card from my #22 Numbers Game scorebook as well. It’s been ages since I tracked pitches. I’m thinking that this would be a good reason to pull out the old 0.3mm multipen for the next game.

I’m really hoping this book Index to Murder is a gift of thoughtfulness and not some perverse, veiled threat.

Typewriter Plates for Collectors?

Lately I’ve been talking to a few people about book plates for book collectors who occasionally loan out their books. After the owner has died, these also become a part of the material culture and are used as provenance for future book collectors, librarians, and researchers.

These discussions have overlapped in some recent typosphere events including Sarah Everett asking for photos of repair shop labels, Lucas Dul having printed some repair shop stickers for Typewriter Chicago, and Richard Polt announcing that he’s slimming down his typewriter collection. I’m also reminded of property tags that have popped up on some of my typewriters which came out of governmental entities, banks, and other businesses as well as the custom legends, often seen in the shift keys, of glass typewriter keys to advertise dealers and repair shops.

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It all prompts the question: Has anyone ever made their own permanent labels, stickers, or permanent property tags for their own typewriter collection? They could be both cool and decorative like bookplates, identify ownership, show provenance for future collectors. They could be simple like some of the old bank property numbers, or more ornate like the refurbishment water slide decals some rebuilders used in the mid-century^[1]. They could also be as basic as some of the stickers typewriter repair and sales shops used to advertise their presence. In some sense, I’m also reminded of the inscriptions and seals seen on Japanese Ukiyo-e woodblock prints.

One could include their name, acquisition date, model name (if it’s not obvious on the machine, I’m looking at you Olympia), decorative image, “ex collectione” (a la ex libris), and a personal serial number or collection number. What else might one include? Naturally one would like to have them be durable enough that they could withstand future cleanings, dips, or encounters with solvents and degreasers.

Obviously one would want these to be lovely and tasteful so as not to overwhelm a machine, potentially leave space for others in the future, and be somewhat more permanent than other tags one might have on their machines for identification. They could also be done and hidden inside body panels like some shops did for labels they used for dating clean, oil, and adjustments. Obviously one would like something better than messily hand-carving their name and social security number into the body of a machine like I’ve seen done with a variety of machines, or which Tom Hanks has done with sharpie on the hoods of typewriters he’s donated away from his collection.

One could fashion a simple metal plate to affix to their machines in the same way that Olympia added their own manufacturer’s plates? These machines also often have some blank space on them where collectors could add their own plates, stickers, or logos. Where would you have such a plate made?

Many collectors put a lot of work and time into maintaining or restoring typewriters in their collection. Why not show off some of this work and help to memorialize it for future generations? I recently came across a Marshall Plan sticker on a Royal KMG in the Typewriter Database that certainly helps to show it’s history, why not add others? A variety of tags, stickers, labels, and miscellanea have added to the patina and history of these machines, why not add your “stamp” as well?

How would you design a custom typewriter plate to represent yourself and your collection? What would you make it out of to give it some longevity? Would you put it on the outside to show it off or hide it inside?

How else might you create some more permanent provenance for the machines you care for to pass along to future generations?

Book Club: Yuval Noah Harari’s Nexus: A Brief History of Information Networks from the Stone Age to AI

Coming up for the next few weeks, the Dan Allosso Book Club will focus on Harari, Yuval Noah. Nexus: A Brief History of Information Networks from the Stone Age to AI. New York: Random House, 2024.

The first session will be on Saturday, March 14, 2026, and will recur weekly from 8:00 AM – 10:00 Pacific. Our meetings are welcoming and casual conversations over Zoom with the optional beverage of your choice. We’ll cover chapters 1-4 in Part I in the first meeting.

To join and get access to the Zoom links and the shared Obsidian vault we use for notes and community communication, ping Dan Allosso with your email address.

Happy reading!

Wished for Typewriter Guy - Sesame Street ReAction Figures by Super7 (Super7)

Noo-nee-noo-nee-noo…Typewriter Guy is rolling in as a ReAction Figure! Inspired by the animated character from Sesame Street, this articulated collectible is 2.5” tall with rolling wheels! This action figure takes the shape of the original television character, with colorful typewriter keys, a blank piece of paper, expressive eyes, and elongated arms with hands poised to bring new words to life. The Typewriter Guy ReAction Figure comes in blister card-back packaging with Super7 artwork influenced by the original children’s television series. Clickety-clack, tap, tap, tap—and hurry to bring this inventive character home to your collection.

This is coming out next week on the 11th, and totally unrelated: my birthday is coming up…

h/t to Joe Crawwford (#)

Olympia SG1 Standard Typewriter Clean, Oil, and Adjust

Over the weekend I stripped down my 1956 Olympia SG1 and cleaned all the body panels thoroughly. I had taken out all the old foam, but I also removed the remaining loosened felt pieces.

I flushed the internals out with lacquer thinner and blew everything out with the air compressor the following day. I replaced the rubber body bushings and replaced two missing washers on the feet. Then I put everything back together making the appropriate adjustments as I went.

Remaining servicing

Sometime in the near future I still need to replace the feet (they’re reasonably passable), the platen (rock hard), and the felt/foam. I’ll polish up the keys, chrome, and brights. I still need to polish up the keylevers and typebars which I decided not to remove and put through an ultrasonic cleaner.

It still needs a replacement set screw for the tab clear lever on the right hand side. I’ll also eventually need to replace the underlying metal connection on the right hand side card guide—it’s missing the connecting pin and part of the left metal arm. I’ve remediated most of the minimal rust, but there are a few remaining internal blemishes that could be polished up (low priority). I’ll also need to weld back on the curved, flat “spring” on the left end of the bottom of the paper table that shore itself off at some point. The tabulator can also use a bit of additional love and attention.

For historical purposes, I left the tiniest hint of “brown nicotine stain” on the right side of the carriage where a smoker apparently kept their ash tray. That side of the machine almost appeared to be a chimney based on the discoloration which was otherwise remediated.

Beyond this, it’s ready to be in the regular rotation, but will be my primary desk machine for the near future.