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.