Acquired 1971 Hermes 3000 (3rd Generation) Portable Typewriter (Paillard S.A. Yverdon Switzerland)
Serial Number: 7084044
Hermes Epoca typeface, 10 pitch, slugs: SNO, 6 lines/vertical inch, portable, bichrome, segment shift, tabulator, U.S. keyboard with 44 keys and 88 characters
light green plastic body, grey-ish cream colored plastic keys
Manufactured in France
Purchased from from Jan M. Macho in Pasadena, CA. This was the personal typewriter of his father John J. Macho, Sr., an émigré from Czechoslovakia who was in regional sales for Paillard in America and sold millions of Hermes typewriters. 

Jan Macho, Sr.’s grandson Chris Macho eulogized his grandfather on Instagram:

This is a Hermes 3000. My grandfather, Jan Macho, “Deda” to me, made a living and a small fortune as an exec at Hermes Typewriter Co., and he sold a million of these. I admit, I don’t think of him as often as I should, and it takes hints like these in the wild to remind me of him. Fuck me, he was just so legendarily amazing, kind, generous, and plain THE SHIT in how he carried himself (and now I’m tearing up as I write this). I mentioned him and the Hermes thing to the people at this place here and they gave me a beer. So here he is, still hooking me up from the other side. Love you, miss you Deda.

A greenish gray 1971 Hermes 3000 with a boxy plastic body sits on a library card catalog next to three gift bottles of Scotch.

Generally his typewriter is in solid condition aside from some cosmetic issues in the rear body plastic possibly due to heat exposure. It’ll need a full C/O/A and some new rubber, but will be resurrected to be a spectacular little portable typewriter for a few more generations.

I was so enamored of the provenance of the typewriter that I  barely managed to get through a preliminary check of the functionality before buying. I completely didn’t even notice the Epoca typeface until I got it home. Somehow I’ve always been the bridesmaid when it comes to Hermes machines, but it seems I’ve jumped right over the bride title straight to princess.

yellowish card tag featuring the san serif epoca typeface sample of a 1971 Hermes 3000 typewriter

Close up of the slugs on the left hand side of a 1971 Hermes 3000 featuring a san serif Epoca typeface. The foundry mark on the slugs is "S NO".

Resources

Oblique angle from above the left side of a green Hermes 3000 typewriter

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Chris Aldrich

I'm a biomedical and electrical engineer with interests in information theory, complexity, evolution, genetics, signal processing, IndieWeb, theoretical mathematics, and big history. I'm also a talent manager-producer-publisher in the entertainment industry with expertise in representation, distribution, finance, production, content delivery, and new media.

2 thoughts on “”

  2. What a typewriter and a story! I love the history on these machines and wish there was a better record for each (similar to your book plate idea). I’m the second owner for a couple of my machines (or would it be third, if they were passed down to a child, who then sold it to me?), and I wish that I had spent more time interviewing the people about the first owner.

    Anyhow, regarding this Jan Macho and his son Chris… might he happen to have any more Hermes that he needs help getting rid of?

    Reply

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