I usually type up a short introduction card for the handful of typewriters sitting around the house so that visitors will have an idea of what they’re appreciating. It’s almost like having a museum card on a work of art, but usually mine have a call to type on them. Naturally there are either index cards or paper close at hand to encourage both touching and typing.
Above is the brief introduction to the 1955 Royal HH I finished repairing, cleaning out, and re-assembling today.
Now is the time for all good people to come to the aid of their party.
I love the smell of mineral spirits in the morning.
If you’ve never read it, today is an excellent one to start. If you don’t have a copy, I highly recommend buying one from my friend Nikki who runs the independent bookstore Octavia’s Bookshelf in Pasadena.
I’ve just begun re-reading it again today as a reminder…
Thank goodness I’ve got a card catalog big enough to log and cross-file a couple hundred models. I’m thinking of categorizing by manufacturer, by decade, and including typeface samples, which I’ve already been doing as I add them to the typewriter database.
Along the way I’ve been aggregating some related Olympia SM3 (and other SM family) resources and videos which include several on use, a few comparing them to other machines (for those considering buying them), and a variety on taking them apart and adjusting them to peak performance including doing rack, ring & cylinder, on feet, motion, silent return spring, trip timing, and spacebar adjustments.
First a note on the name. The SM designator is an abbreviation for the German Schreibmaschine Mittelgroß which translates as medium-sized typewriter (portable). This stands in comparison with Olympia’s SG series which stands for Schreibmaschine Groß meaning large typewriter (standard) and the SF series which stands for Schreibmaschine Flach or flat typewriter (ultraportable) .
Olympia typewriters are often identified with clear badging as to their make, but almost never have a model number listed on the typewriter itself. Originally identification was only done with the inclusion of a typewriter manual which listed the model name on the front of the brochure. Sadly, after decades of use, as with most typewriter manuals, it has frequently gone missing. This means that owners and collectors will typically need to be able to visually distinguish between the various models which can often be missing from online sales listings. How is one able to identify which model their Olympia typewriter is?
The best method is often to compare your typewriter against the examples of typewriters on the Typewriter Database, which, in addition to a primary page for all Olympia typewriters and their serial numbers, has individual pages for each machine with a wide variety of galleries of individual machines, viz.: SM1, SM2, SM3, SM4, SM5, SM7, SM8, SM9.
The primary means of distinguishing between the SM2, SM3, and SM4 is the tabulator functionality or lack thereof. The Olympia SM2 doesn’t have a tabulator at all, so you won’t see the ability to set or remove tabs or a tab key on the keyboard. The SM3 has its tab sets on the back of the machine and a simple tab key on the top right hand side of the keyboard. Finally, the SM4 has tab set and clear keys on either side of the spacebar and the tab key in the same spot as the SM3. While there are other subtle differences between the three, which also showed small changes throughout the years they were made, the visual presence or absence of the tabs and their keys is the primary distinguishing feature that most collectors use to properly identify and distinguish among the three.
Most typically the Olympia SM3 typewriter came with a futuristic looking, curvy shaped silver case with a plastic strap handle while the SM2 and SM4 came rectangular cases. There are definitely diversions from this rule of thumb, but it generally holds true which usually allows one to identify an SM3 simply from the shape of its case. Incidentally those restoring broken cases may find it interesting to know that the silver paint is often hiding some spectacularly beautiful grained wood.
Be aware that the various models of the SM series were manufactured simultaneously and their serial numbers ran concurrently, so the serial numbers can’t be used to distinguish between them. Doing so requires looking at the variations of features and visual cues which are generally well documented on the Typewriter Database.
The SM5 and SM7 were introduced at the same time in 1961 and are very similar to the internals of the SM4 mechanically. The SM5 was a less expensive model and the SM7 had a newer and more angular body.
The SM8 and SM9 were introduced in 1964. A primary change here is that they have a segment shift instead of the carriage shift of the earlier SM models. The SM8 is lacking both a keyset tabulator and touch selector which were standard on the higher end SM9. The SM8 also has body-colored carriage ends, rather than chromed ends used on the SM9.
I’ve aggregated a variety of YouTube videos covering the Olympia SM3 typewriter as a playlist which cover general use as well as tear down, common repairs, adjustments, and reassembly. They appear in rough order of introductory to more advanced as well as in order of adjustments. Because of similarities across the SM line, these should serve as a good guide for other machines, though quick searches for specific models may reveal more relevant advice, particularly when it comes to small differences across the line (the shift from carriage shift to segment shift in the SM8/SM9 comes quickly to mind here.)
The only significant piece missing in the series is for cleaning them, but that’s remedied with an endless variety of videos (including one of my favorites) and advice from Richard Polt on restoration. I’ve also aggregated a large amount of advice on cleaning and oiling typewriters.
Special thanks should go to Duane Jensen of Phoenix Typewriter and Gerren Balch of The HotRod Typewriter Co. for the bulk of the work in creating and generating most of these videos.
Surely there are other excellent videos out there, but this list makes a pretty solid crash course which can be used as a jumping off point.
If you’ve just purchased your first SM3 or SM4, you’ll want to be aware of the number one most common issue these machines have: the rubber bushings on the bottom have been compressed after years of pressure and will need to be replaced.
Visually looking at them is usually enough to diagnose the issue, but the problem usually presents as the carriage sitting noticeably lower than it should so that it rubs against the body of the typewriter and/or doesn’t move freely. Some people will notice that typing in lower case is troublesome, but that typing in uppercase doesn’t present any issues. Often these rubber spacers have been compressed and have hardened. In less lucky cases, (usually only) the rear bushings have turned into black tar, so you’ll want to take care to keep this tar off of anything nearby as it’s incredibly sticky and difficult to clean. It can definitely stain the case and/or the machine itself.
Fortunately the repair only requires some readily available generic rubber washers and a screwdriver to replace them. This is one of the quickest and easiest typewriter repairs to start off with and can be a good confidence booster. Incidentally appropriate washers should be approximately 1/4″ thick, large enough in diameter to provide some cushion and with a hole big enough to fit the screw that holds the frame on. Your plumbers’ section at the local hardware store likely sells something appropriate. I’ve used Everbilt 1/4″ thick flat bibb washers with 1/2″ or 9/16″ OD. Others have reported good luck with Danco 1/2 rubber washer Universal (item #198804, model #88569) — 00 trade size with 1/2″ OD and 3/16″ ID.
Along with other typewriter manuals collected by Richard Polt, he’s got manuals for the Olympia SM3 in both English and German. Manuals for most of the rest of the series are available on his site as well.
And for the completist, you’ll naturally want copies of the repair manuals via Theodore Munk: [paperback] [digital]. There are also downloadable versions of a 1955 repair manual and a 1959 Spare Parts and Price List Catalog available.
Hopefully this aggregated list of resources will help the next Olympia typewriter enthusiast who finds one in grandma’s basement or who wants to kick off a writing career following in the footsteps of fellow SM3 typists including John Updike, Woody Allen, Frank Herbert, Patricia Highsmith, Robert Penn Warren, Harlan Ellison, Carson McCullers, John Hughes, Louis L’ Amour, William Gaddis, Stan Laurel, Ryan Adams, Ruskin Bond, Evan S. Connell, Kevin McGowin, or Anaïs Nin.
If I’ve missed any truly important resources, please do let me know.
Cheers!
(They might not smile much on your use of mineral spirits while you’re there, so use caution.)
I suspect it’s either going to be this or an Olympia SG1 I’ve had my eye on which will be my daily standard machine.
First, it’s a Royal HH. It’s one of Royal’s standard desktop machines which they started manufacturing in 1952 and which ran until at least 1957.
This is my first standard typewriter as most of the others in my collection are portable typewriters which accompany one ultra-portable. “Standard” indicates its a big machine that was meant to be placed permanently on a desk. At about 30 pounds, it wasn’t meant to be carried around like the portables, but on the other hand, being built with more weight and internal space, it was designed to work smoothly forever with modest care. Thirty pounds is a lot of typewriter. For comparison, my Smith-Corona Silent is just 12.8 pounds.
According to Richard Polt’s well-researched compilation, writers who were known to own and use the Royal HH include: William Buckley, Charles Bukowski, George Burns, Herb Coen, Truman Capote, Bruce Catton, Patty Chayefsky, Don Dellilo, Alicen Denham, James T. Farrell, Paul Russell, Hugh Heffner, Elia Kazan, Sterling North, Robert B. Parker, Syliva Plath, Mario Puzo, Robert Penn Warren, Eudora Welty, and William Zinzer.
Polt’s site also has a 1952 copy of the Royal HH manual.
The serial number stamped on the right side of my machine just underneath the carriage when moved to the left is HHE-5765903, which the typewriterdatabase.com places as a late 1955 machine. (The grid for the Royal serial numbers starts 1955 with 5,500,000 and the 1956 model year stars with serial number 5,787,000.) The HH portion of the serial number identifies it as an HH model and the E indicates that it’s an elite typeface with 12 characters per inch versus the P which was reserved for pica typeface (usually 10 CPI). Like most typewriters of this vintage it also types at 6 lines per inch.
Based on the available original colors listed at the Typewriter Database, I’m going to say that mine is done in Royaltone Light Gray wrinkle. Other HH model paint colors included: Charcoal Grey smooth, Nile Green smooth, Horizon Blue smooth, Coral Rose, Gray Frieze, and Royaltone Dark Gray wrinkle.
I got this typewriter in an uncontested online auction for $5.99, so in my book it’s already a steal. It had sat on the site for weeks, slowly coming down from a price of $30. Sadly as is almost always the case with online auctions, shipping is the true ordeal. Even moreso when you consider that this typewriter is 2-3 times the weight and significantly larger than portable machines. It also doesn’t help that these machines never had cases.
Naturally the seller chose a poorly sized box, put in some heavy padding, threw the typewriter in, and put some modest, but heavily inadequate padding around it. That’s it… ugh. They made no effort to secure the carriage, so when I opened it up, it was all the way to the right. They didn’t even bother to do padding for the back of the machine.
Worse, it definitely took some hits in shipping so the right side Magic Margin lever is bent and isn’t working. Not having the carriage in place, the left side also took a major hit and the frame in the back left corner is bent so that the carriage doesn’t move freely. It’s going to take some heavy work to get it back into alignment if it can be done at all.
With a screwdriver as a lever and some significant manual help, I was able to eke out a short typing sample. The key action is gummy at best though none of the keys were too sticky. I expect a thorough cleaning will revive a more snappy typing action.
It’s definitely going to need a serious cleaning both inside and out. Someone wrote a large “50” on the back of the machine in the left rear in thick black magic marker. (Perhaps it was from a large typing pool with at least 50+ machines?) This seemed like a a propitious “sign” when I bought it as a 50th Birthday present, so let’s hope for good luck as a result. The decals on it are mediocre at best, so maybe it’s a good candidate for redoing the exterior even though the rest of the paint is in really good condition.
The alignment of the type is generally okay, but it’s going to need at least a motion adjustment. There’s some occasional piling of letters in my short test. Hopefully some of it clears up in cleaning, but knowing my terrible typing technique and Royal’s famous finicky touch, it may also need some adjustment afterwards to the timing.
The platen is as hard as they come, and will need replacing.
The all black ribbon isn’t totally horrible, but is a tad old and on the drying side. It came with original metal standard spools. I’m sure I’ll swap out the ribbon for a new bichrome black/red which the machine supports. It’s possible that the ribbon reverse mechanism may need some help.
The right platen knob is loose. It’s going to need a screw tightened and/or replaced. The variable spacing mechanisms seem to work, but could be cleaner in their functioning.
Hopefully I don’t run across any additional internal damage or issues as a result of the poor shipping.
Because I do a lot of typing on index cards, I can already tell that the most interesting feature on this machine are the spring loaded card fingers. They’ve got tiny little switches on them, which—when pressed—flip them over and out of the way.
