Month: May 2025

The Rules for Typewriter Club

A single page typewritten and numbered list of "The Rules of Typewriter Club"

 

  1. The first rule of Typewriter club is do not oil the segment.
  2. The second rule of Typewriter club is DO NOT OIL THE SEGMENT.
  3. Do not ask the value of a typewriter. They are all invaluable.
  4. The only rare typewriter is a an unloved typewriter.
  5. Always talk about typewriter club. Every chance you get. To family, friends, acquaintances, complete strangers…
  6. If you’re new to typewriter club, you have to type.
  7. Any reason is a good reason to buy and use a typewriter.
  8. If you have only one typewriter, you must refer to it as “my FIRST typewriter”.
  9. More than one machine is allowed to be your “favorite”.
  10. The last typewriter you bought is the greatest one. Until the next one.
  11. Never leave a typewriter outside, in a barn, or in a damp basement to rust.
  12. Typewriters are to type with. While they can be used as mood-setting decor, they are meant to be used.
  13. Always leave a typewriter in better condition than you found it.
  14. “The hardest part of typewriter repair is believing you can do it. Everything else is just instructions plus a careful, thoughtful hand.” —Rt. Rev. Theodore Munk
  15. A typewriter is not broken unless it is clean and broken.
  16. We form things; we do not “bend” them.
  17. Parts of a typewriter should only be removed permanently in order to repair another typewriter.
  18. If you see a typewriter, you should take photos and upload the details to the Typewriter Database for other typewriter lovers.
  19. The only acceptable way to dispose of a typewriter is to find it a new home. The only exception is in dire circumstances in time of war when one should follow the guidance of the Underwood manual and “Smash typewriters and components with a sledge or other heavy instrument; burn with kerosene, gasoline, fuel oil, flame thrower, or incendiary bomb; detonate with firearms, grenades, TNT, or other explosives.”
  20. If anyone asks you about your typewriter, you must spend at least five minutes talking to them about it.
  21. Blessed are those who give typewriters to children for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.
  22. Trustworthy and legitimate typewriter sellers never use the phrases “it works” or “it just needs a new ribbon.”
  23. Remember that typewriters are dangerous. They can be used for samizdat. As Woody Guthrie knew: “This machine kills fascists.”
  24. The Typewriter Database does not list every single serial number, just ranges of numbers and years in which they were made. You are responsible for reading the charts and for figuring out which year your serial number fits into.
  25. Keychoppers shall have the extremities they used to chop keys chopped off.
  26. “In death, they have a name.” Lenore Fenton. Lenore Fenton. Lenore Fenton!

Special thanks to the Typewriter Club friends at r/typewriters.

Acquired Steel Desk Drawer Paper Organizer (Hunt Manufacturing Co. (Fresno, CA), Lit-Ning Products Division)
Six slots for organizing your typing papers and envelopes as well as space for your stapler, tape dispenser, and various other desk drawer implements.
In an effort to slowly improve my analog office proficiency and productivity, I have heeded Lenore Fenton’s advice to have all my supplies organized at my fingertips. Toward that end I’ve picked up this excellent paper organizer for the top desk drawer of my executive tanker desk. This mid-century marvel is perfect for storing a variety of paper types and envelopes to have them easily to hand.  (For ease of viewing and use, you’ll see photos of it sitting on my desktop right next to my typewriter.) 

In the 1943 film Basic Typing Methods, in the very opening seconds of the film, you’ll see the woman in the foreground pulling paper quickly from her desk drawer for typing. While it’s not immediately visible, she’s surely got a similar paper organizer in her drawer. (Pardon the heavily gendered references in the film.)

Photo Gallery

Oblique view of a Hunt Manufacturing paper organizer in 20 gauge steel next to a Gray Royal KMG typewriter. The drawer organizer has six angled slots for storing and organizing 8.5 x 11" pieces of paper. In the front of the organizer is a 4.5 x 11.5 inch section for various office and typing supplies. In this section we see a stapler and a rubber date stamp.

Analog office set up featuring a stick leg metal desk, a Royal KMG typewriter, a few card index filing cabinets, a typing copy stand, and a paper supply organizer.

Gold manufacturer's sticker for Hunt Manufacturing Co. of Fresno, California

Ultimately, the paper organizer came to live in the top drawer of my executive tanker desk. 

Executive tanker desk with the top right hand drawer opened to reveal a letter organizer hiding inside of it with a variety of papers and envelopes easily at hand for clerical work. On top of the desk are to different typewriters and other office paraphernalia

Acquired at the local Acts Thrift shop for about $2.00, this organizer was a no-brainer purchase.

What are the “Rules of Typewriter Club”?

In the vein of Fight Club, what would the rules of Typewriter Club be? What are the commonly known rules that typewriter users and collectors know that the uninitiated should be aware of?

I’ll kick things off with a frequent admonishment:

The first rule of Typewriter Club: Don’t “lubricate” the segment with WD-40.
The second rule of Typewriter Club: DO NOT lubricate the segment with WD-40!

Feel free to follow this post and upvote your favorites so we can rank a potential final list.

Acquired 1966 Underwood Touch-Master Five Standard Typewriter (Olivetti-Underwood)
Serial Number: 13-9707863
Distinctive elite typeface, 12 CPI, 6 lines/inch, standard, bichrome, segment shift, tabulator, American keyboard, 44 keys
Body: light gray in steel; Keys: dark gray with white letters in plastic
Manufactured in the U.S.A
Acquired used at a second hand store for the As-Seen-On-TV price of $19.99 and in stunning condition. It’ll need a clean, but this is in almost perfect cosmetic condition. It’s my first Underwood and technically also my first Olivetti as it was manufactured after the merger. The touch and speed are truly stunning and may be the best in my collection even before being cleaned, oiled, and adjusted.

As William Forrester admonished Jamal to do on his Touch-Master Five, I’ll “Punch the keys, for God’s sake!”

A 1966 Underwood Touch-Master Five standard typewriter sits at an angle on an oak library card catalog.

View onto the keyboard of a 1966 Underwood Touch-Master Five standard typewriter featuring dirty, dark gray plastic keys with white lettering. At the top is a long tab key flanked by "CL" and "SET" keys. There are shift lock keys on both sides along with a "BK S" key on the left top and a "M-R" key on the right.

A close up of the hood and carriage of a 1966 Underwood Touch-Master Five standard typewriter. It has a massive chonky feel.

Angle on the left side of a 1966 Underwood Touch-Master Five standard typewriter.

Angle from the right hand side of a 1966 Underwood Touch-Master Five standard typewriter sitting on a library card catalog.

Close up of the typing point of a 1966 Underwood Touch-Master Five standard typewriter spooled up with a black and red bichrome tatty ribbon. The basket is a bit on the dusty and dirty side.

View into the typebasket of a 1966 Underwood Touch-Master Five standard typewriter from the rear. We also see the ribbon spools on either side.

Rear of a 1966 Underwood Touch-Master Five standard typewriter with a sticker on the rear of the carriage with a "U" logo and the words: underwood touch-master 5 U.S.A

Type sample of a distinctive elite typeface on a 1966 Underwood Touch-Master Five standard typewriter typed on a yellow library card catalog index card.

Acquired 196X Remington Streamliner Portable Typewriter (Remington-Rand, Inc.)
Serial number: AX-168959
Pica typeface, 10 characters per inch, monochrome, carriage shift
Acquired 2024-09-04. In generally good shape.

The case is in exceptional shape given that these usually aren’t extant or have been shattered into pieces. There is one piece broken off, but it came with the machine and should be able to be fused back onto the case. Came without the hubs or covers. It’s slightly more mint green than the mint blue of the other Streamliner I’ve got which has a somewhat smaller serial number.

I’ve cleaned it up a tad this week to take to the type-in at Vroman’s Bookstore this weekend. It still needs a tweak to the line selector, but isn’t terrifically noticeable and I might be able to fix it before then.

A mint green 196X Remington Streamliner typewriter sitting at an angle on a library card catalog. View of a mint green 196X Remington Streamliner typewriter from the right hand side. One can appreciate the cream-colored chicklet-like keys on the keyboard. Oblique view of a 196X Remington Streamliner typewriter from the left hand side. A view of the basket, typebars, and slugs of a 196X Remington Streamliner typewriter with the hood removedl Gleaming typing point of a 196X Remington Streamliner typewriter View of the rear of the carriage and into the type basket of a naked 196X Remington Streamliner typewriter.Close up view of the typebars in the basket of a 196X Remington Streamliner typewriterClose up of the typebasket of a 196X Remington Streamliner typewriter featuring the ribbon vibrator which is a bar coming from the left hand side. View from the rear down onto the right side of the carriage of a 196X Remington Streamliner typewriter Angle on the right platen knob of a 196X Remington Streamliner typewriter View of left rear corner of a 196X Remington Streamliner typewriter peering across the carriage and into the naked type basket

My current collection of 9 standard typewriters clocks in at 289.6 pounds (131.6 kg). Which one(s) should I take to the type-in at Vromans Bookstore this Saturday, May 10th at 1:00pm?

Which machines are you bringing?

Front row (left to right): ’51 Remington Super-Riter, ’56 Remington Standard, ’55 Royal HH, ’58 Royal FP (gray, 16″ carriage), ’57 Royal FP (gray)
Back row (left to right): ’45 Remington 17, ’50 Royal KMG, ’61 Royal FP (yellow), ’77 Olympia SG3