Just for fun for the regulars and the collectors, let’s see who can come closest to a make, model and year for this lovely machine I recently acquired for restoration. Please, no more than two guesses per player.
Answer to be posted Saturday.
My first baseball scorecard in ages, but also my first typed scorecard with format courtesy of Lou Spirito of Thirty81 Press. Besides a few examples by Lou himself and one I saw from Tom Hanks on March 29th, I may be the third person doing this?! It pulls together two spectacular pastimes and creates a lot of fun!
S/N: J2013204
Remington Pica 534, 10 pitch typeface; 6 lines/inch
Following the Eaton Fire catastrophe, our house is finally being cleaned. While the duct cleaners were here, I thought I’d break out a dirty Olympia SG3 and use the 175psi air compressor and industrial 300 pound air filtration to “dust” my machine. I now want one of these for the typewriter workshop!
People have previously asked about getting rid of the musty smell that some portable typewriters and their cases can have. Some have asked about ozone treatment, but since there’s a hydroxyl generator in the house for the next week, I thought I’d run a test on my mustiest and smelliest typewriter. Follow up details to come next week.
Serial Number: 7-3855889
Elite, 12 pitch, 6 lines/inch
The one glaring issue is a needed tweak to the spacebar to trip the escapement properly. The platen is pretty solid, needs new ribbon, screws on carriage tightened, a ring and cylinder adjustment, right carriage release is sticky, and tabs need some minor attention. Beyond this it is pure butter. What a lovely experience to type on. Who’d have thought such a thing possible in 1977?
Time
1:00 PM onwards
Location
Vroman’s Bookstore
695 E Colorado Blvd.
Pasadena, CA 91101
2 blocks West of Lake Avenue, which has both East and Westbound exits off of the 210 Freeway.
We’ll be meeting upstairs on the second floor. Parking available behind the bookstore as well as on surrounding streets. There is a handicapped accessible ramp (from the parking lot in rear) and entrance(s) with an elevator to the second floor as well.
Type-ins are community-based, family friendly events at which typewriter enthusiasts share their love for the analog art of putting ink onto paper with mechanical marvels of the late 19th through 20th centuries. To do this they bring one or more manual typewriters and their knowledge and love of the machines to share with the community. New friends share stories, history, repair tips, working methods, and other typewriterly ephemera. Typists of all ages and levels of ability are welcome.
Typewriters optional
We definitely encourage those without their own machines to attend. With some luck and the kindness of new friends, you should be able to try out a variety of machines which are present in an effort to decide what styles and feel you might consider for purchasing one of your own one day. (Please kindly ask the owners’ permission before trying a machine out.) If you’ve got multiple typewriters, feel free to bring an extra for a friend.
“Like a jam session for people who like typewriters. You had unions do sit-ins and hippies do be-ins, so I thought, ‘We’ll do a type-in.’”
—Michael McGettigan, 56, bike shop owner who coined the phrase
Vroman’s Bookstore is a Pasadena institution and SoCal’s oldest indie bookstore since 1894 (almost as old as the invention of the typewriter itself!) While you’re visiting, be sure to check out not only their book selection, but their gifts and cards; the wide array of notebooks, stationery items and their fantastic fountain pen counter; and their children’s section. Downstairs stop by their and their excellent wine bar or Tepito Coffee Shop which will be open for snacks and beverages throughout the day.
Looking for Typewriter-related books while you’re there? Ask for some of the following:
Our meeting space, which is frequently used for author talks and book signings, should be adequate, but please RSVP (with your expected number of typewriters) so we can plan for the appropriate amount of tables and chairs.
Questions? Media queries? Contact: ChrisAldrich@jhu.edu
So mark your calendars, limber your fingers, and start tuning up your favorite typewriter(s)! More details and specifics to come shortly.
If you’re nearby and can spare some time to help volunteer, drop me a line.
03/11/25 11:54am: Deputies are in the field notifying residents of local mud/debris flow risk from EATON FIRE burn scar. The areas near the San Gabriel Foothills in Altadena are under EVACUATION WARNING until at least 3/13/25 6pm due to risk of losing access. PREPARE NOW. More info at alertla.org.
Fortunately (?) I’m still evacuated from January 7th about 6 miles south.
Serial number: D3P08521
While I wouldn’t call these rare, I don’t see them pop up very frequently, and even less frequently do I see them in the non-traditional black enamel. I’m definitely thrilled to have one with the DuPont DUCO light maroon with the contrasting panels in crackle finish rose gold. I’m hoping it’ll be a stunning workable machine when I’m done with the cleaning and restoration work.
Preparation of a typeface sample is going to require some repair work.
Serial number: 335207
A 3 bank typewriter that folds in half for portability.
The case is in reasonably good shape considering its age, but some of the fabric is coming off and a previous owner has chosen to tape portions of it together. I’ll likely do some serious restoration work to the case at some point.
The machine itself is in pretty solid shape considering the age. Someone kept the slugs clean. Things are a bit sluggish, so it’s going to need a solid cleaning which I’m hoping will bring most of the functionality back to snuff. The ribbon vibrator seems a tad slow, particularly for keys struck on the left side of the keyboard. The platen and carriage area are going to need a good scrub as there’s some dirt and grime stuck in it. I suspect that I won’t be using the manual’s suggestion of gasoline to clean things out however.
The machine came with a cleaning brush and an original instruction manual, which is somewhat useful as some of the mechanisms aren’t as straightforward as on later models as well as things unique to this particular folding machine.
This has an even smaller return/line advance mechanism than my Orga Privat 5 and is bordering on almost not existing. It’s just the tiniest little nub actuated with the forefinger and thumb to advance the line while pushing the carriage to the right. There really isn’t a carriage return lever to speak of, but the mechanism is quite clever.
This is my first machine with a “figure” key, which allows for the use of the third row of characters on the slugs. It’ll take some getting used to for using it, particularly as the keyboard seems shifted over with respect to the home row of keys which means that there isn’t a key for one’s pinky to rest on or use. As a result it’s going to be difficult doing traditional touch typing at speed.
The machine only came with a monochrome ribbon though it does have bichrome capability using a switch on the ribbon vibrator assembly which is found on the left side in an odd configuration.
I was able to eke out a typesample without too much trouble, but I’ll wait until the machine is cleaned up and back in proper order before attempting to use it for more than a minute or two. I suspect it’ll need some tensioning on the miniscule mainspring assembly.
Overall, it’s compact and clever in so many interesting ways.
Serial number: FPP-6164099
Standard platen, pica typeface, in Royaltone or Pearl Light Gray smooth
My wide carriage 1958 FPE was so nice I thought I’d try out the larger face in a more traditional carriage.
His struggles with writer’s block led him to create a process that favored an expressive, personal approach over rigid academic conventions that often stifled students.
For my own files, from the obituary, it looks like he was using an IBM Selectric I in some of his early work.
