Acquisition | Chris Aldrich

Acquired 1956 Olympia SG1 Standard Typewriter by Olympia Werke AG (Wilhelmshave, Germany)

Serial number: 7-139497 (body), 8-178336 (carriage);
Congress Elite No. 84 typeface, 11CPI, 2.3m/m pitch, 46 keys, 92 characters
bichrome+, tabulator, paper injector, line spacing: 1, 1 1/2, 2, 2 1/2, 3; spaced typing;

2026-01-31 Acquired at thrift for a very reasonable $70. I was really hoping to get a Modern Elite No. 66 or an Elite No. 8 as my first SG1, but finding this with a Congress Elite No. 84 typeface was a reasonably acceptable alternative, particularly in usable condition.

Initial condition assessment

This 70 year old standard typewriter is in reasonable condition, but will require a full clean/oil/adjust as well as the following repairs:

left shift key broken off and key lever bent
blow out old desiccated foam
5-6 sticky keys; remainder are slower than they ought to be
broken paper support (surprise!)
de-rust some of the internals
replace ribbon and poorly matched spools
recover platen
carriage grinding on return
new feet (old, hard, chipping)
replace foam with new felt
the aligning scales for the Perspex card holders aren’t functioning properly (broken or missing a spring?)
polish keys and spacebar
brights all need attention and polishing

Repairs on 2026-02-02

With some of the quick repairs listed below, I’ve got this machine up to the level of pretty good acceptable daily use condition. It’ll definitely be a serious member of the rotation once the C/O/A is finished. If it had a more standard typeface it might have a shot at replacing my elite Royal KMG.

basic wipe down of dirt, dust, etc.
fixed carriage grinding on return
replaced spools and ribbon with nylon blue/green
blew out old foam as well as other internal dust and cobwebs
basic cleanout of segment to get keys unstuck and working well enough
basic oiling of carriage rails and one or two additional spots

Typesample and Slugs

Olympia SG1 Typewriter Manual

My machine didn’t come with a manual—standard typewriters without protective cases rarely ever do. If you happen to need one for yours, Richard Polt has one in his collection: Olympia SG1 Super De Luxe Operating Instructions

General Comments

As someone who uses a lot of index cards, this seems a spectacular machine. My one immediate issue is that I wish the paper injector went down a few more notches as I have to roll it back up a few lines to get to an acceptable starting line on my index card.

Acquired 1964 Sears Cutlass portable Typewriter (Smith-Corona Marchant)

Serial Number: 6ASP-103936
Sears Futura typeface (aka SCM Numode No. 61 typeface), pica, 10 CPI, 6 lines/inch, American 88 No. 423 keyboard, bichrome, 44 keys, 88 characters, Change-A-Type, ¶ key

A red typewriter for Christmas! And it was hiding the uncommon Sears Futura typeface (aka Smith-Corona Numode No. 61) for its American 88 No. 423 keyboard which also features the Change-A-Type functionality. (Sadly it’ll be a slog to try to find matching Numode typeface slugs to match, though some of my math slugs may work well.) This means that it meets my current collector’s criteria for an interesting model I don’t already have as well as an uncommon typeface.

I’ve been on the hunt for one of these for over two years and always lost out in online auctions which generally went in the range of $150-200 in part because of the hot reddish/burgundy paint job with white racing stripes and the fact that Taylor Swift used this same typewriter in her All Too Well: The Short Film.

In the last two years I’ve only seen three of these on ShopGoodwill, so they definitely don’t pop up often. There are only 5 others on the Typewriter Database. Many of the online auctions where they went for a few hundred on ShopGoodwill.com had them being relisted by flippers on eBay in the $600-800 range within two weeks with no cleaning or restoration work. I’ve seen prices for them on eBay for $1,000 and over. For comparison, similar typewriter models in the 5 and 6 series of the period would otherwise be selling in the $25-50 range in this condition. (Ultimately, I’m glad I waited.)

This one is in generally exceptional shape and works well out of the box. The shop it came from (or more likely the prior owner) was definitely on the liberal side with their lubrication. One of the two carriage release levers is broken off, which is extremely common on the 6-series models which used plastic which apparently brittled with age. I’ll give it a once over to touch up some of the dirtier parts and make some subtle adjustments. I will probably hold off on a major overhaul at the moment because it’s in such good condition. The platen is solid and plastic-y feeling. It definitely needs an upgrade on this front.

This model seems to bridge the gap between the 5 series Smith-Coronas into the 60s and the 6 series machines like the Galaxie. It’s a top-of-the-line model with the keyboard tabulator and the hood hinges up and back like the 5 series rather than sliding forward like the 6 series models. I don’t have one, but I would suspect it’s closest to the Sterling 5AX typewriter which started in 1963. It’s also got a great little paragraph indent button for use at the beginning of new paragraphs. I look forward to seeing how they implemented this feature mechanically.

Acquired Brodart Colored Blank Punched Catalog Cards (shopbrodart.com)

Medium-weight colored blank punched catalog cards
blue, green, buff, ivory, white, salmon

Stocking stuffers anyone? Santa brought 6,000 index cards down the proverbial chimney today. Should have enough now to index all the books in the house?

Acquired Lochby Field Folio A6 (Lochby)

Keep your A6 notebooks, pens, and essentials organized on the go with the Field Folio A6. Durable, vegan waxed canvas, slim design, and flexible pockets—perfect for travel, journaling, or everyday carry.

Lochby Field Folio A6 sits closed on a brown wooden table with it's Lochby kraft identification tag sitting on top of it. The exterior of the folio features brown waxed canvas.

I recently asked the kind folks at Lochby “if the Folio A6 will comfortably fit 25-50 standard 4 x 6″ index cards which are slightly larger than an A6 notebook? If not, is it something you might consider for some of us ‘Hipster PDA’ tribe members in the future?”

Erring on the side of caution their customer service replied, “Unfortunately, since the Field Folio A6 zips up, there’s no way to fit this many index cards in it without the potential for damaging them when zipping it up. But I’ll take note of your suggestion and pass it on to our product development team so we can consider it as well as gauge interest.”

Because I often use A6 sized notebooks, I couldn’t resist adding to my Lochby collection, so I went ahead and ordered it anyway.

It arrived in the post yesterday. Today I’m happy to report that it actually will accommodate 4 x 6″ index cards reasonably well. I can comfortably fit about 30 cards into the right side pocket and still have room to tuck a Hobonichi A6 notebook into the folio and still zip it shut handily.

Because I usually have a few pre-glued decks of index card “notebooks” sitting around, I tried one of these and can happily report that the back cover/board fits into the right pocket easily (just as you’d tuck the back cover of a notebook into it) and works well with the Lochby A6 folio! (The center elastic bands are slightly smaller and fairly tight, and could work with these glued decks too, but will tend to cut the glue at the ends, so one should take care here or carefully only glue the center 5 inches of the deck for this use case.) I suspect that if one had a plastic wallet-photo type holder, it might work well in this, particularly if you’re carrying around some of your daily use cards in addition to blank cards for future use.

Acquired Dazor work lamp c. 1940s (Dazor Lighting Technology)

a steel task lamp in gray paint with a dual pipe adjustable arm and art deco fluting

I had the ballast replaced to work with modern LED replacement bulbs and the switch upgraded to be able to control each of the two bulbs independently. I also cleaned of decades of grime and polished it up a bit.

Thrift purchase for $24.98 from Goodwill on 2025-10-02.

Acquired Vintage Copy Holder (Unknown Manufacturer)

A mid-19th century typing accessory in steel with putty colored paint.
9" x 7" x 4 3/4"

I picked this copy holder up at a thrift store in early 2025 for about $2. Along with a binder clip or some small magnets, it’s great for transcribing notes using one of my typewriters.

Acquired Pen and Pad Holder in blue lacquerware with ship and nautical design (Otagiri (Japan))

Design by Gibson Greeting Cards, Inc.

I’ve been wanting a vintage desktop index card holder and pen set for a bit. This excellent version has a nautical theme featuring a ship with subtle blue lines on the sails and red rope lines that call to mind the red and blue lines on standard lined index cards. The fact that the blue color pairs well with my executive tanker desk doesn’t hurt.

$3.99 at Acts Thrift Store, Pasadena, CA. Acquired on 2025-10-07.

Acquired 1945 Royal KMM Standard Typewriter (Royal Typewriter Co. Inc.)

S/N: KMM-3072465

I’d purchased this in 2024 as a late Christmas present for myself, but it took several weeks to be delivered due to our neighborhood being closed off by the National Guard for the Eaton Fire. It finally arrived on January 23 in true “barn” condition. The carriage took a hit and is off about 1/2″ and is going to take some careful forming to attempt to salvage it. Otherwise this will sadly be a parts machine. Beyond this issue it appears to be reasonably restorable.

Acquired 1971 Olympia SG-3 Standard Typewriter with a Story Book Typeface (Olympia Werke AG)

Body serial number: 7-2663226
Carriage serial number: 8-2710434
Custom Basic Writing No. 67 typeface; 6 CPI (4.2 m/m), 3 lines/inch
Body cover in Saturn White with Slate Gray bottom shell.

An observant friend knew I was looking for either an Olympia SG-1 or an SG-3 typewriter and got an SG-3 for me for my birthday on July 8th. It arrived on Friday the 11th. Naturally I was excited to open it up, but I was even more surprised to discover that it was hiding a relatively rare typeface, particularly for an Olympia. (The sender confirmed they had no idea about the typeface, they were just trying to snag an SG-3 for me.)

Basic Writing No. 67 Typeface

None of the Olympia typeface catalogs I’ve ever seen include this particular typeface. The closest I’ve seen to a match for it is the Basic Writing No. 67 (6 CPI) which was available as a custom order for Smith-Corona machines in the 60s onward. The 1964 NOMDA Blue Book includes it as does the Smith-Corona Typestyles catalog from 1968. Slug/foundry marks I’ve seen for the Smith-Coronas have a “29” on them while mine reads “2985”. I’m suspecting the 29s have something in common via the foundry while the 85 might be indicative of the length of the rule on the carriage.

In comparing exemplars, I’m reasonably certain that they’re identical due to the nature of the distinctive numbers 4, 9, the letter t and the sharply angled connectors on the u and the n.

While it was surely a custom order, Olympia apparently did it often enough that they bothered to have Perspex carriage rules custom made for the size. The rule on the back of this one has a “42” in the left rear corner which was surely an internal indicator for a 4.2m/m typeface. (4.2 m/m = 25.4 mm/inch x 1 inch/6 characters). It’s common on most Olympias for their rules to be either stamped or marked with the rule size like this most likely to ensure the correct rules were put onto the appropriate typewriters during manufacturing and assembly.

This particular machine has a very wide 15 inch platen and the rule only measures up to 85 characters! For type this large, you’re sure to want wider paper to actually fit something on it. As a comparison, my 1977 Olympia SG-3 with a shorter 13″ platen has a rule that measures up to 145 characters. That machine is also marked with a 21 in the left corner to indicate that it’s 2.1 m/m or 12 pitch (elite) machine.

Because of the large format typeface, this machine does not accommodate bichrome ribbon like most SG-3s. As a result, the ribbon color selector on the left side of the keyboard which would typically be labeled blue, white, red (from top to bottom) is labeled white, white, blue. I’ve spooled it up with a new monochrome black ribbon on universal spools. Though it’s from the early 70s when it was more common, this machine also has a 1/! key to better differentiate the numeral 1 and the lower case letter L.

Close up of the left side of a 1971 Olympia SG-3 standard typewriter with a 6 CPI Basic Writing No. 67 typeface. We notice that the ribbon selector only has color on the "blue" slot and the other two slots are both white. (Typically the top one would be red.) — The custom modified ribbon color selector on the SG-3 keyboard.

To show just how large this typeface really is, I’m including a sample of it along side of the standard Royal pica and elite typefaces.

Condition

The typewriter itself is in reasonable condition for its age. Someone has obviously left it in a somewhat humid environment where it was neglected for a few decades. The spacious area underneath the carriage had the cobwebs and skeletons of at least four nice sized spiders. Some of the metal pieces inside have some surface rust that will need to be mitigated. I’ve wiped off the exterior shell and given the interior a preliminary blow out with the air compressor. I’ve oiled the carriage rails lightly, and I’ve put a new ribbon into it and the alignment seems reasonable, though I’m sure to make an adjustment or two when I get to giving it a full clean, oil, and adjust. The carriage has something slightly out of alignment as it binds at about the midpoint, but I’m sure I’ll find it when I’ve stripped it down for a full clean.

In the meanwhile, it’s in good enough condition for general use.

Photo Gallery

Acquired 1961 Royal FP standard typewriter with a special Clarion Gothic typeface (Royal McBee Corporation)

Serial number: FPS-16-7133632
Sandstone (yellow) panels on a gray frame with cream colored plastic keys and platen knobs
Clarion (Double) Gothic typeface in elite (12CPI), 6 lines/inch; US keyboard with 43 keys/86 characters
Manufactured in U.S.A.

Acquired in April 2025 from a bank in Idaho Falls. I spent way more on shipping than the pittance I spent on the machine itself. I had modest hopes that purchasing it as an ex-bank machine that it would have a non-standard typeface and my bet paid off. It was all bonus points that it came in the Sandstone colorway.

It doesn’t have a “1” key and the traditional use of the lower case “L” as a substitute fails. Here one has to use the uppercase “I” to make a 1 to match the rest of the numerals.