Typewriters | Chris Aldrich

Acquired 1954 Royal HH Standard Typewriter (Royal Typewriter Company)

S/N: HHS-5406732
Royal Pica Double Gothic typeface
10 characters per inch; 6 lines per inch; U.S. keyboard, 43 keys, 86 characters

Acquired via thrift on 2026-02-06. This machine continues my typewriter collection theme for 2026: hunting for great machines with less common typefaces. Gothic was an older word meaning san-serif. The “double” portion means that it’s two sets of capital letter forms.

(Sorry James…)

Capital white gothic letters typed onto a platen read: "CHRIS WAS HERE" — The white correction tape message typed (assuredly not by me!!) onto the platen was a sure sign this thrifted typewriter was destined for my collection.

After my note earlier about progress on restoring my 1936 Royal KHM typewriter, a colleague reminded me that a KHM makes an appearance in the Taylor Swift song Fortnight. Then they asked if I was just collecting machines from her videos? While I fully expect to pick up a Royal Ten one day, it’s a total coincidence. She’s obviously got great taste in vintage typing machines.

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.

Grand Opening of Typewriter Muse

For about 7 years Typewriter Muse has been operating out of a home-like space, but this weekend they opened a lovely brick and mortar location in Riverside, CA in a nice sized business park with plenty of Doris Day parking right out front.

Their Instagram account has been documenting some of the move and set up over the past month, but Bob and the gang have unveiled their new space on Saturday, January 31, 2026.

Bob’s shop is one of the few I’m aware of with a multitude of people (at least six by my count on Saturday) working at any given time. (Most modern shops are one or possibly two person operations.) This means that the cleaning, repairs, oiling, and adjusting can be set up in an assembly line fashion. Machines come into the front of the shop on the left hand side, then move down the left to the rear where they do power washing and platen work in the back room. From there they move back into the main portion of the shop where the segments and internals are cleaned using isopropyl alcohol and long stick q-tips. (This generally means less health and safety issues by not using mineral spirits, lacquer thinner, or other caustic chemicals which require better ventilation.) From there they stage on a long desk before they go to one of two mechanic’s stations where repairs and adjustments are made before being stored for pick up or placed in the “showroom” The overall layout is quite well designed for moving machines in and out of the shop.

Unique for many shops, the front reception space has community room for a handful of small desks and typewriters to accommodate 8-10 people for small classes, demonstrations, or a small type-in. The room has been dedicated to local journalist Dan Bernstein. (If you’re in the So-Cal area and are interested, Bob has kindly offered the writing space for small type-in events.)

I drove out in the late morning from Altadena. As a typewriter enthusiast I naturally chose the apropos 71 S Corona route (California State Route 71 towards Corona) before turning off toward Riverside, which is about an hour from my house near Pasadena.

Five lane highway featuring a massive sign over the road announcing the split between the 71 South to Corona and the 60 East to Riverside. — Who’d have thought the great typewriters were in Riverside and not in Corona?

Bob Marshall and Bryan Mahoney discussing a custom painted Royal P.

Typewriter Muse's typewriter showroom with 4 wire shelving units covered with about two dozen typewriters of various makes and models. Underneath the shelving is a row of typewriter cases. On the side of the room opposite the shelving is a table with space for three typewriters for typing tests. — Try out a machine or twenty while you’re here!

Rest in Peace: Typewriter Repair Legend Duane Jensen (August 21, 1961-January 25,2026)

Just a few hours ago, Faye shared some sad news.

Most of us might only be able to recognize his voice, his patient hands, and his preference for lacquer thinner, but all of us are richer in typewriter knowledge because of Duane Jensen’s kind sharing of his craft by way of his spectacularly helpful Phoenix Typewriter YouTube channel.

A bunch of us both watch and provide links to his library of typewriter repair videos on a daily basis. Many of us know how to tear down and build up a typewriter because of his tutorials and years of work. Once you attempt to repair a typewriter for yourself, you’ll realize how skilled he was to be able to simultaneously film his work while he did it. (I swear he had six hands….) He also patiently dispensed (and still asked for his own repair advice) on a regular basis on Facebook.

Thousands of his repaired machines will continue to give people joy every day. He’ll be missed terribly in the typewriter community, but fortunately some of his work and his spirit will continue live on online.

For those who don’t know him as well (yet), here’s an article about Duane from last year: Meet one of the few people in America who knows how to fix manual typewriters, and an excellent podcast from September 2024: Charm Type Repair podcast w/ Duane Jensen of Phoenix Typewriter.

Because it was his usual sign off, I feel obligated to quote him:

Phoenix Typewriter, Good Day!
—Duane Jensen

Golden Globes: Nominees for Best Typewriter in a Movie or Television Series?

As I’m watching the Golden Globes, it’s painfully obvious that it is missing some important analog representation. In an effort to remedy the error, shall we collect the nominations for Best Typewriter in a Movie or Television Series? (The only requirement for nomination is that the movie or television show was released in the 2025 calendar year. Bonus points if you include a photo of the typewriter from the show with your nomination.)

I’ll start with a first nominee:

The 1930s Juwel 3 from the Netflix series WEDNESDAY.

What other machines deserve a nomination?

On Purchasing Typewriters: Condition is King; Context is Queen

New typewriter enthusiasts will very often post to Reddit, one of the Facebook typewriter groups or other similar fora, something along the lines of: “I spotted this typewriter at an antique store. Good condition to buy?” and include a picture of some generic typewriter.

It bears mentioning and thoroughly understanding that even an expert typewriter collector or professional repair person can only tell very little of the condition of a typewriter by photos. Does it look generally clean? Are the decals in tact? Does the segment look clean (a vague proxy for the potential condition of the internals)? Is anything obvious missing (knobs, return lever, keys)? Does it look cared for or has it been neglected in a barn for half a century? If it has a case, how beat up, dirty, and water-stained is it?

Most modern typewriters made after 1930 in unknown condition are worth about $5-25 and they peak at about $500 when purchased from a solid repair shop unless some Herculean additional restoration has taken place, they’ve got a rarer typeface, or are inherently actually rare. Hint: unless it’s a pro repair shop or very high end collector with lots of experience, don’t trust anyone saying that a typewriter is “rare”—run the other direction. Run faster if they say it “works, but just needs a new ribbon” as—even at the most expensive—new ribbon is only $15 and their “rare” $600+ machine should have fresh, wet ribbon. The rule of thumb I use is that almost no one online selling a typewriter knows anything about it, including if it actually works. Worse, they’ve probably priced it at professional repair shop prices because they don’t know that in the secondary typewriter market: condition is king.

The least experienced typist will know far more about the condition of a machine by putting their hands on it and trying it out. Does it generally work? Does the carriage move the full length of its travel? Can you set the margins at the extremes and space reliably from one end to another? Does it skip? Is the inside clean or full of decades of dried oil, dust, correction tape, white-out splatter, and eraser crumbs? Does the margin release work? Does it backspace properly? When typing “HHHhhhHHH” are the letters all printed well and on the same baseline?

Presumably a typewriter at an antique store will meet these minimum conditions (though be aware that many don’t as their proprietors have no idea about typewriters other than that if they wait long enough, some sucker will spend $150 on almost anything). They’ve done the work of finding a machine that (barely) works, housing it, and presenting it to the public for sale. This time and effort is worth something to the beginning typewriter enthusiast, but worth much, much less to the longer term practiced collector.

If everything is present and at least generally limping along, you’ve got yourself a $30 typewriter. Most people can spend a few hours watching YouTube videos and then manage to clean and lubricate a typewriter to get it functioning reasonably. You can always learn to do the adjustments from YouTube videos. (Or just take it to a typewriter repair shop and fork over $200-400 to get things squared.)

If you’re getting into collecting, you’ll make some useful mistakes by overpaying in the beginning and those mistakes will teach you a lot.

Maybe you’re a tinkerer and looking for a project? If so, then find the cheapest machine you can get your hands on (maybe a Royal KMM for $9 at thrift) and work your way through a home study course.

Otherwise, if you’re just buying one or two machines to use—by far—the best value you’ll find is to purchase a cleaned, oiled, and well-adjusted machine from a repair shop. Sure it might cost $350-600, but what you’ll save in time, effort, heartache, searching, repair, etc. will more than outweigh the difference. Additionally you’ll have a range of machines to choose from aesthetically and you can test out their feel to find something that works best for you.

Or, you could buy a reasonable machine like the one typically asked about for $40-70 and find out it needs cleaning, oiling, and adjusting and potentially a few repairs. The repair tab might run you an additional $450. Is it worth it when a repair shop would have sold you the same, a very similar, or an even better machine in excellent condition for $350? It also doesn’t take much work to realize the god-send that a properly packaged and shipped typewriter is worth.

Why Context is Queen

Remember in asking about the cost and value/worth of a typewriter, you’re actually attempting to maximize a wide variety of unstated variables including, but not limited to:

upfront price and value,
information about the current state of the market,
information/knowledge about the machine itself, its history, desirability/popularity, and how often it’s encountered in the wild,
information about how to clean it,
information about oiling it,
information about adjusting,
information about repairing it,
cost and availability of tools and repair parts,
and the time involved for both learning and doing all of the above.

The more time you’ve spent learning and doing all of these, the better “deals” you’ll find, but gaining this expertise is going to cost you a few years of life. What is all this “worth” when you just want to type on a machine that actually works as well as it was meant to?

Most of the prognostication you’ll find in online typewriter fora will be generally useless to you because you’re not readily aware of the context and background of the respondents with respect to all of the variables above. Similarly they’re working with no context about you, your situation, where you live, what’s available in your area, your level of typewriter knowledge, your aesthetic, or your budget. You don’t know what you don’t know. At the end of the day, you’re assuredly just as well off to use a bit of your intuition and putting your hands on a machine and trying it out. Then ask: “What is it worth to you?”

If you find yourself asking this question online, but you’re really asking: “Is this $50 typewriter highway robbery?”, the answer is generally: “no”. Alternately if the question is: “Is this $1,000 typewriter really this valuable?”, the vast majority of the time the answer is also probably also “no”.

More resources (and some of my own context) if you need them: https://boffosocko.com/research/typewriter-collection/

Happy typing.

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.

You’re Invited to Another Southern California Type-In!

“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

With attendees from 8 months old to over 80, our Spring type-in was so successful, we’re hosting another one before the end of the year. Bringing your own typewriter(s) and related ephemera is definitely encouraged, but is entirely optional.

Date
Saturday, November 29th, 2025

Time
1:00 – 4:00 PM

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. (Hint: this is also available for those bringing their collections of standard typewriters.)

What is a Type-in?

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 (or for the upcoming holidays). 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 or two. Our current record for the attendee bringing the most typewriters is 6.

Activities during the afternoon

Below is a list of activities we might try based on the interests of the attendees:

Basic typewriter demonstrations covering: use, maintenance, and repair; how to find/buy typewriters, how to date the year of manufacture of your machine, etc.,
Type up your letter to Santa
The holidays are coming, maybe you could type up some holiday cards?
Speed typing contest
Writing! (naturally)
- poetry competition
- letter and postcard writing; bring some stationery/envelopes/stamps to write letters to friends & loved ones
- Typing prompts for those who need inspiration for writing
Typewriter Art – composing visual pictures using ink on paper
Cadavre Exquis – a dedicated typewriter with paper is set up for participants to compose and write a group story, each taking turns throughout the event at writing one sentence at a time.
Impromptu lightning talks of 3-5 minutes on topics like “how to buy a typewriter”, “how to get into home typewriter repair”, “how to work a typewriter into your daily writing routine”, “how to join the Typosphere” etc.
Participants are encouraged to type up their experiences of the event for posting to their personal websites (aka the Typosphere).
Meet new pen pals to start exchanging letters via typewriter and post
Selfies with the typewriter mural on the front of the bookstore.
Typewriter repair advice: Have a broken machine and not sure what’s wrong? Get some advice from the community.
Show off your typed baseball scorecard from Game 7 of the 2025 World Series. Go Dodgers!
Bring and share your own ideas… What do you use your typewriter for? (Paul Sheldon, if you’re reading this, you can only bring your Smith-Corona, you CANNOT bring your Royal Ten.)

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Vroman’s Bookstore

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 excellent wine bar or Tepito Coffee Shop which will be open for snacks and beverages throughout the day.

Looking for typewriter-related books as holiday gifts and stocking stuffers while you’re there? Ask for some of the following:

The Typewriter Revolution: A Typist’s Companion for the 21st Century by Richard Polt (Countryman Press, 2015)
Uncommon Type: Some Stories by Tom Hanks (Knopf, 2017)
Olivetti by Allie Millington (Feiwel & Friends, 2024)
Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type by Doreen Cronin (Simon & Schuster, 2003) as well as other follow up books in the series
Typewriter Beach: A Novel by Meg Waite Clayton (Harper, July 2025)
Yankees, Typewriters, Scandals, and Cooperstown: A Baseball Memoir by Bill Madden (Triumph, April 2025)

Two rows of four typewriters each lined up on opposite sides of a table. — Who’s ready for a type-in?!?

RSVP & Questions

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

You know a typewriter is being used as flimsy filler decoration when it’s sitting on a shelf and simultaneously serving as a book support.

A real writer’s typewriter is free and clear so that the carriage can move its full length.

Watched Los Angeles Dodgers at Toronto Blue Jays: World Series Game 7 (Nov 1, 2025) from ESPN

Last baseball game of the year.

Samhain or All Hallows Eve when the boundary between the living and the dead has been blurred seems the best time to pull out the Remington 666 with the blood red ribbon and brew up a similarly colored Boulevardier cocktail to write about our wishes for the coming new year. Sláinte!

How are you celebrating?