Acquired RIDGID 6 Gal. 150 PSI Portable Electric Pancake Air Compressor (The Home Depot)
Support small framing, roofing, blowing and other general inflation tasks.
Picked up for some work related to the Eaton Fire recovery, but it also means I’ve upped my game on tools for typewriter repair.
A typed baseball scorecard for the Atlanta Braves vs. Los Angeles Dodgers game from 2025-03-31 which the Dodgers won 6-1

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!

Acquired 1951 Remington Super-Riter Standard Typewriter by Remington Rand, Inc.
S/N: J2013204
Remington Pica 534, 10 pitch typeface; 6 lines/inch
Dirty as all get out, but seems to function nearly flawlessly. A full clean, oil, and adjust is mandatory as will be new ribbon, but in surprisingly solid condition for all the accumulated filth. Not all bad for a thrift purchase of $11.00.

View of a 1951 Remington Super-Riter standard typewriter sitting on a wooden library card catalog. It's sitting at an angle so that the front right corner is facing us. It's obviously quite dirty

Type sample on a white index card from a 1951 Remington Super-Riter. It's got a clear pica Remington typeface. The machine obviously needs some adjustment and cleaning based on the appearance of the type.

Industrial typewriter cleaning

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!

A naked Olympia SG3 typewriter sitting next to compressed air tubing and a massive air filtration system with a 1 foot diameter ribbed tube.

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. 

A 1950s Smith Corona portable in a case sitting on a wooden floor in front of a large green box fan/Hydroxyl Generator

One of the reasons one doesn’t ship typewriters in packing peanuts without completely first wrapping the typewriter with something first is that the typewriter will be full of packing peanuts by the time it arrives at its destination. Thirty minutes to clean peanuts out of every part of the machine is annoying.

An Olympia SG3 typewriter packed in a box full of packing peanuts.

Acquired 1977 Olympia SG3 Standard Typewriter by Olympia Werke AG, Wilhelmshaven, Germany
Serial Number: 7-3855889
Elite, 12 pitch, 6 lines/inch
In generally solid shape out of the box. Some paint worn off body along the corners and a bit dusty with some white out to clean up. It’ll need some tweaks to the a few minor spots, but it should clean up to almost new pretty quickly.

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?

Front view of a 1977 Olympia SG3 Typewriter

1977 Olympia SG3 Typewriter with the white hood removed so we can see the naked keyboard and type basket. Closer inspection reveals some dust bunnies inside.

View of most of the typeslugs on a 1977 Olympia SG3 Typewriter

Rear of a 1977 Olympia SG3 Typewriter with the carriage and hood removed. We see all the internals of the machine including the escapement as well as lots of dust around the carriage interfaces.

Rear end of a 1977 Olympia SG3 Typewriter with the carriage removed and sitting on a wooden table behind the typewriter itself.

Faint black ink on an index card as a type sample for a 1977 Olympia SG3 typewriter.

Acquired 1929 Corona 4 Portable Typewriter (L.C. Smith Bros. & Corona Typewriters, Inc.)
Serial number: D3P08521
Received on Saturday 03-08, but didn’t open it up until this morning. The case is fairly worn and has the fabric peeled off in several spots, but the leather handle is in tact and in reasonably good shape. The machine has seen better days certainly and needs a thorough cleaning. The paint has some significant chipping in many of the common spots, including the ribbon covers, but I think it’ll polish up nicely and the resultant used patina will add to the machine’s charm. Some one has removed the ribbon vibrator, so that’s going to need some serious attention and possibly some additional replacement parts. The carriage doesn’t move smoothly and I suspect it’s because the drawstring has been replaced at some point by some inadequate cotton string which is now caught on something under the carriage. The rubber feet are totally shot and have a few chips. It’s definitely one of the rougher machines I’ve ever picked up, but I think it’s imminently restorable.

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.

Close up of the slugs and basket of a 1929 Corona 4 typewriter. The top levels of yellowed legends can be seen on the glass keys.

Focus on the front and upper carriage portion of a 1929 Corona 4 typewriter which has two patches of crinkle painted rose gold on the front.

View of the right side of a maroon and gold 1929 Corona 4 typewriter.

Left side of a 1929 Corona 4 typewriter. There are a variety of paint chips missing from the edges of the front of the typewriter.

Acquired 1920 Corona 3 Ultra-portable Typewriter (Corona Typewriter Company)
Serial number: 335207
A 3 bank typewriter that folds in half for portability.
Received on Saturday 03-10 and unpacked this morning. This is now the oldest machine in my collection and the first true antique as it’s now 105 years old. The first thing I’m struck by is the tiny size and scant weight of the entire machine and the case. I’m curious to compare the weight to that of my Zephyr and Skyriter.

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.

1920 Corona 3 folding typewriter in an old and worn wooden fabric-covered case. The typewriter is folded in half in the case and on the back side of the lid of the case we see the typewriter's manual.

Condition

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.

Accessories

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.

Interior of the top of a typewriter case which has hardware for holding a nylon bristled brush and a small manual

Functionality

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.

Right side view of the 1920 Corona 3 typewriter.

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.

Typed index card with stark black lettering from the pica typeface 1920 Corona 3 typewriter

Overall, it’s compact and clever in so many interesting ways.

1920 Corona 3 folding typewriter folded in half and sitting in it's wooden case

Acquired 1957 Royal FP Standard Typewriter (Royal-McBee Corporation)
Serial number: FPP-6164099
Standard platen, pica typeface, in Royaltone or Pearl Light Gray smooth
Received in generally workable shape, though without ribbon; definitely dirty; internal foam disintegrating; brights are going to need a load of polish; temporary photos to provide some idea of condition until I get the chance to clean it up.

My wide carriage 1958 FPE was so nice I thought I’d try out the larger face in a more traditional carriage.

Close up of the US style cream colored keys on a 1957 Royal FP standard typewriter

The hood and carriage of a 1957 Royal FP standard typewriter

Dirty typebasket and filthy slugs of a 1957 Royal FP standard typewriter.

Left ribbon cup and serial number of a 1957 Royal FP standard typewriter

Side view of a pearl gray 1957 Royal FP standard typewriter with a cream colored carriage knob.

The dirty undercarriage of a 1957 Royal FP standard typewriter

Acquired 1964 Olympia SM9 Portable Typewriter by Olympia Werke AG, Wilhelmshaven, Germany
Serial number: 2613754
Congress Elite No. 84 typeface, 11 CPI (2.3 m/m)
In what I may call the Academy 97 typewriter because I received it on the day of the 97th Annual Academy Awards on March 2nd, I’ve acquired my first SM9.

It’s a solid looking machine aside from some small damage to the rivets at the back of the case, some paint wear on the hood from a too-low carriage return arm, and some dried out and cracked rubber feet. Even the ribbon seems usable. It’s hiding a Congress Elite No. 84 font at 11 CPI (2.3 m/m). Someone both used and loved this machine and even put it away last with clean slugs. This should be imminently restorable to it’s former glory.

Given how sought after these are as one of the best portables ever made and the generally excellent condition, I can’t bring myself to tell the pittance I found it for, particularly when I see ones in mediocre or unknown shape going for over $100 on many of the auction sites lately. Given how 2025 has been going so far, I’ll gratefully take the win. Naturally it’ll be a minute before I can clean it up properly, but I can already tell this will be a fun little machine. I can’t wait to do a direct comparison with it’s carriage shifted SM3 “little brother”.

I’ve uploaded some preliminary photos of it in its received condition including one of the bottom to show the “furriness” of the pre-serviced condition.

Oblique angle on the left side of a 1964 Olympia SM9 typewriter which has some carriage return handle wear on the cream colored hood.

Close up of the steel slugs of a 1964 Olympia SM9 typewriter which are marked in a 2x2 grid with 84 in the bottom left corner and 6,6 in the bottom right

Dusty bottom of a 1964 Olympia SM9 typewriter which has a worn and cracked light green foot and the serial number 2613754

Type sample of a 1964 Olympia SM9 typewriter with Congress Elite No. 84 typeface in 11 pitch. The usual Quick Brown Fox sentence and lower case and upper case layouts of the US standard keyboard

Sitting on a wooden card catalog is a 1964 Olympia SM9 typewriter with cream hood and keys and gray body. The shift keys and carriage knobs have the same green highlight color as the Olympia badge on the hood of the typewriter.

Read Peter Elbow, Professor Who Transformed Freshman Comp, Dies at 89 by Michael S. RosenwaldMichael S. Rosenwald (New York Times)
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 those interested in writing methods, Peter Elbow’s work can be seen as an interesting shift in pedagogy from the 1970s. Interestingly it relies on pieces of practices pre-dating him which inform commonplace book and related zettelkasten methods. 

For my own files, from the obituary, it looks like he was using an IBM Selectric I in some of his early work.

Acquired 1945 Remington 17 Standard Typewriter (Remington Rand, Inc.)
Serial Number: J732492 from October 1945
Pica typeface
When I was interested in getting my first standard typewriter last year, Ruben Flores immediately recommended I get a Remington 17. While I’ve picked up a handful of other standards in the meanwhile, I’ve kept my eyes peeled. I just couldn’t let this $21 beauty slip by. If my 1956 Remington Standard is any indication, this should be a fun machine to play with.

This got delivered on the 21st, but I hadn’t had a chance to take a look at it until today. It’s not in terrible cosmetic shape, but has definitely been collecting dust and cob webs for a few decades. It seems to be in reasonable mechanical shape. There is a sticky key or two that will need either some cleaning and/or forming. The carriage is going to need some serious cleaning and possible adjustment to slide cleanly. The mainspring probably needs some tightening, but I won’t be able to tell properly until the machine is cleaned up. Some of the internal felt portions will also need some re-gluing. Beyond this, this 80 year old typewriter should come roaring back to life sometime soon. (The recent Eaton Fire means it may take a bit longer to address the underlying issues as my tools and “shop” are quarantined / uninhabitable.)

I’ve uploaded a few “before” photos for general identification, but will update in the near future with some better ones post-cleaning and adjustment.

Angles view of the right side of a 1945 Remington 17 typewriter which has a kidney shaped hole in the hood

The dirty typebasket and slugs of a Remington 17 typewriter

View of the rear of a Remington 17 typewriter with the back panel opened up and hanging from two hinges at the bottom. We can see the dirty internals of the machine along with lots of dust and cobwebs.

View of the undercarriage of a Remington 17 typewriter covered in cobwebs and dirt.

The Serial number J732492 is stamped into grooved steel on the frame of a Remington 17 typewriter