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.
Serial number: 2613754
Congress Elite No. 84 typeface, 11 CPI (2.3 m/m)
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.
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.
Serial Number: J732492 from October 1945
Pica typeface
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.
Serial Number: FPE-16-66444461
16" platen, elite typeface, in Royaltone or Pearl Light Gray smooth
When a clown moves into a palace, he doesn’t become a king; the palace becomes a circus.
—Turkish proverb
Naturally I brought back a daily typewriter, but it was eerie to see what I’d last typed on it two weeks ago just before we had to evacuate.
Matthew Weaver (the Guardian)Thorpe is often amused by the objects he finds in the machines. “I’ve found pens, memory sticks, house keys, Lego bricks, little rubber toys, all sorts inside,” he says.
LEGO (multiple), a chicken leg from a Calico Critters playset, a tiny 70s photo of a child, the stub of a pencil, glitter, a pocket knife, a mini clothespin…
And naturally lots and lots of eraser bits, loose screws, loose springs, dust rhinoceroses, dried white out, dirt, cobwebs, even dead spiders, and even love.
What’s the oddest thing you’ve found in a typewriter?
