tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-65104758258096139662024-03-14T02:54:23.382-07:00Back Space TypewritersA celebration of typewriters and a display of my collectionRick Seiferthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11249323390100558270noreply@blogger.comBlogger17125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6510475825809613966.post-76751183818098245372011-10-03T17:36:00.001-07:002011-10-03T17:41:37.913-07:00The EndThis is mostly likely the last post I'll put up on this site. You can still follow my various musings on <a href="http://theredelectric.blogspot.com">The Red Electric</a> or, if you live around here in Portland, The <a href="http://www.hillsdalenews.org">Hillsdale News</a>.<br /><br />My typewriter obsession began about five years ago. In a mad frenzy I acquired more than 50 of these wonderful old machines. A couple even dated back to the 19th Century.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik5qRz3fx7InDLW6DumBETdVm-UH7tFZgtwlOIxxGv0eDtgb9AnyClYeShIgMjlJQIrgWa73KOy2PA9_ocJwHYQNz4u32PE_8mIQkXKy77Jp8evFsWmdTF0naQVlIN9lxWSmc368RxROrx/s1600/Olivetti.JPG"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 246px; height: 219px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik5qRz3fx7InDLW6DumBETdVm-UH7tFZgtwlOIxxGv0eDtgb9AnyClYeShIgMjlJQIrgWa73KOy2PA9_ocJwHYQNz4u32PE_8mIQkXKy77Jp8evFsWmdTF0naQVlIN9lxWSmc368RxROrx/s320/Olivetti.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5659427705574469186" border="0" /></a>In my enthusiasm, I put on displays of typewriters at three local colleges. The displays featured the same models that several famous authors used to write well-known books. After I'd install the displays, I'd stand at a distance and wait for throngs of students to crowd around.<br /><br />It never happened. The typewriters barely drew a glance although a few teachers remarked on the displays. "I had one of those once," one old prof observed. Another said that he wrote his dissertation on an IBM Selectric like the one I had on display. He was impressed that Hunter Thompson had used the same model to write about Fear and Loathing.<br /><br />So, after my displays flunked out on campuses, the typewriters stayed in my basement. I'd pull out a couple of the more interesting ones if a visitor showed so much as a glimmer of interest. The glimmer flickered out after the first three or four minutes of my basic typewriter dissertation.<br /><br />On-line there's a pretty enthusiastic typewriter collecting community. They share advice about jammed keys, frayed ribbons and swap stories and occasionally typewriter.<br /><br />A few months back the New York Times featured a story about young people getting interested in the machines. It didn't match my experience although I did heft a typewriter to an on-line organized "Meet up" group. Two of us showed up, had coffee and left never to meet again.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM_8zOJtGPdZoLmiFJbYL0JFkmhxwKspNj_Ycm0xPxfpSIoxJdU8weYm6zA5t4B8vkX2SW63IrL31qK6RR9YoeBoM2YZeTtYElDr_aji0NKioAZl7MewPDQilhkm8O_vpQlsXErVfI87Sg/s1600/Corona.JPG"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 235px; height: 219px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM_8zOJtGPdZoLmiFJbYL0JFkmhxwKspNj_Ycm0xPxfpSIoxJdU8weYm6zA5t4B8vkX2SW63IrL31qK6RR9YoeBoM2YZeTtYElDr_aji0NKioAZl7MewPDQilhkm8O_vpQlsXErVfI87Sg/s320/Corona.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5659426710921883378" border="0" /></a>Mostly I became a neighborhood repository for unwanted and abandoned typewriters. "Hey, I hear you collect typewriters. I have this old one that belonged to my Mom. Are you interested?" I would follow a series of probing questions about model year, brand, condition etc. Silly me. In return I'd get: "Well, you know, it's just an old typewriter."<br /><br />I'd take in a few of these orphans but then I started running out of space, so I'd donate the better ones to charity auctions until I pared back my collection to 45 or so. Selling them on-line had two drawbacks. One was the hassle of shipping them. The other was that jewelers were known to buy them to harvest their keys for bracelets. Kind of like poaching elephants for their tusks.<br /><br />Then one day I noticed at Powell's Technical Bookstore downtown that someone had stashed some old typewriters and adding machines (I had three or four of those too) up on the tops of prominent book shelves. The clerk told me that the owner, Michael Powell, collected typewriters. I happen to have an ex-wife who knows Powell and through her I got a phone number and an introduction.<br /><br />I figured that it was better that my typewriters be on display at Powell's than stashed away in my basement. On the phone Powell and I talked vaguely about compensation (book credit at the store) but I mostly wanted the reading public to see the assortment of Royals, Underwoods, Remingtons, Olivers, Hermes and Olympias (to name a few brands).<br /><br />It took a while (Powell is mostly retired now and travels a lot) but finally, last month, a panel truck from Powell's backed into the driveway and the driver and I loaded up 40 typewriters, three adding machines and various typewriter paraphernalia.<br /><br />I kept three typewriters back, just for old time's sake. They are shown here. The Olivetti Lettera 22 was the machine that got me started collecting in the first place. It as a nostalgia thing. I'd had one in the Peace Corps in Kenya 45 years ago. It was a balky little typer but I loved the way it looked. Very Italian. It is commonly found in teal. My tan one with its red shift key is pretty rare. Or at least I like to think so. Don't get me started....<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDEpiRTK68r06hAj8B72Zn55BJpsYXlV_oELVGBYOCXpCVRmRQZALEjOXRw-0drB-PhyphenhyphenHDUAK-ZHnDXlKDSZN4DmsLGq89se5tyCFCsdpmS2inO2A_sDXK6L1buwTTVnr2QGpwVENyLt9e/s1600/Underwood.JPG"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 269px; height: 256px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDEpiRTK68r06hAj8B72Zn55BJpsYXlV_oELVGBYOCXpCVRmRQZALEjOXRw-0drB-PhyphenhyphenHDUAK-ZHnDXlKDSZN4DmsLGq89se5tyCFCsdpmS2inO2A_sDXK6L1buwTTVnr2QGpwVENyLt9e/s320/Underwood.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5659425748081006898" border="0" /></a>There was no way I was going to let go of my folding Corona in its leather, velvet-lined traveling case. Besides, Agatha Christie and Ernie Pyle both hammered away on these little machines.<br /><br />Finally, I kept an Underwood Universal mostly because I had two of them. I figured Powell's could get by on one. I particularly like the ribbon spool covers with their cut-out logos.<br /><br />I also saved back my collection of ribbon tins. Some of them bear masterpieces of Art Deco graphics.<br /><br />In the two weeks the typewriters have been gone, I haven't missed them. I figure they are in good hands At some point I'll call Michael Powell just to make sure, to see whether he's been to see them and whether he'd like me to tell him about what he has a treasure trove of typing history he has.<br /><br />Oh, and I might ask about that credit at the bookstore.Rick Seiferthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11249323390100558270noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6510475825809613966.post-41538088561667867712010-08-10T08:10:00.000-07:002010-08-10T08:54:19.265-07:00Typewriter ads from 1892A friend gave me a frail, tattered copy of Cosmopolitan magazine from the winter of 1892. He had saved it for me because of its typewriter ads.<br /><br />The ads mark a time of intense competition, not just between typewriter brands but between fountain pens and typewriters and "calculating machines."<br /><br />The advertising copy below for "The Ribbon Adder" seems to be targeting early adopters from the late 19th Century. The ad notes the Ribbon Adder's technological advantage over the "type-writer."<br /><br />"Removing the mind of all strain, it in this respect as an invention outclasses the type-writer, which simply substitutes one physical process for another."<br /><br />In other words, the Ribbon Adder can think for you, "removing the mind of all strain."<br /><br />If only. . . .<br /><br />Tucked into the dense advertising pages is an ad for an "Edison Mimeograph" manufactured by A.D. Dick. Co.<br /><br />Just why ads for Parquet floors are nestled in with those for typewriters, pencils, pens and adding machines isn't clear.<br /><br />Enjoy!<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1OC3Zyoz5k06hWAMhW7WT7IQqgy7uiWHg73BX5fzIB58qjA0Yh2a-b2PEQdR_Lcldl_cPsVACNOBeoYQjZ17RQ8xcnyS3YdKYAfjzgKw7d0ww0OpQtIvoiYjJYD6PVXZiffkfMCv1LrQ/s1600/Cosmopolitan+1892+p2+jpg.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 331px; height: 464px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1OC3Zyoz5k06hWAMhW7WT7IQqgy7uiWHg73BX5fzIB58qjA0Yh2a-b2PEQdR_Lcldl_cPsVACNOBeoYQjZ17RQ8xcnyS3YdKYAfjzgKw7d0ww0OpQtIvoiYjJYD6PVXZiffkfMCv1LrQ/s400/Cosmopolitan+1892+p2+jpg.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5503807381186299298" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkja8hKIV96-hh2SbTW-nbCMGFNiVEPvjhs9iDbiUFxtSQykPYogjCkmITGBAICJv9_AS94DzSLAdep60giCDlDHuNUp7fJTIr91Nf95YN9fOPCmM-wmIDVw4tq0DGaiD8rPkKGvfDkOs/s1600/Cosmopolitan+wntr+1892+p1.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 374px; height: 586px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkja8hKIV96-hh2SbTW-nbCMGFNiVEPvjhs9iDbiUFxtSQykPYogjCkmITGBAICJv9_AS94DzSLAdep60giCDlDHuNUp7fJTIr91Nf95YN9fOPCmM-wmIDVw4tq0DGaiD8rPkKGvfDkOs/s400/Cosmopolitan+wntr+1892+p1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5503807672625087922" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVDeUXLAyNECQjL38LdzuqtR_0wxYZ5jmXmJ_dcC9AqJZJU6VHP-dMvWdYA4-CdlByIO2V1ZzqOJXuN5DEgas8IvSCzEZsaM8W6CZ6vOT90lcyi_tyl3Byrk1x6n9CjJ3ZMkLkViLHLOg/s1600/Cosmopolitan+1892+p3+jpg.jpg"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 386px; height: 596px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVDeUXLAyNECQjL38LdzuqtR_0wxYZ5jmXmJ_dcC9AqJZJU6VHP-dMvWdYA4-CdlByIO2V1ZzqOJXuN5DEgas8IvSCzEZsaM8W6CZ6vOT90lcyi_tyl3Byrk1x6n9CjJ3ZMkLkViLHLOg/s400/Cosmopolitan+1892+p3+jpg.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5503806830154143410" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3NQ2Adl7VncpDFFEldNoeVhBlWpmljPxN6joF-ouPLC4jfKsf5H2FyiWBgc1wfqv58J2bHTLZhJO_E4bS_LnS-xAFgrP9izc6vWkMsFV6BmjeCg4GRg4JAAN6R_8Vm4vQsHMOGsowE_Y/s1600/Cosmopolitan+1892+p4.+jpg.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 365px; height: 515px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3NQ2Adl7VncpDFFEldNoeVhBlWpmljPxN6joF-ouPLC4jfKsf5H2FyiWBgc1wfqv58J2bHTLZhJO_E4bS_LnS-xAFgrP9izc6vWkMsFV6BmjeCg4GRg4JAAN6R_8Vm4vQsHMOGsowE_Y/s400/Cosmopolitan+1892+p4.+jpg.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5503806559176063330" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwRFuRCPxcz3WWF6DEJxnYq5asDmZ_9_P1srB_fpft96tXqCHau-8_GJbXuUEbHYGpwf1Vje6emeLOBr3d72tG15hukzGGGcN7oPM2jOTGY1CU2RV29aIyqfQj3kPwD4G2lk06209B0rE/s1600/Cosmopolitan+1892+p5+jpg.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 345px; height: 530px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwRFuRCPxcz3WWF6DEJxnYq5asDmZ_9_P1srB_fpft96tXqCHau-8_GJbXuUEbHYGpwf1Vje6emeLOBr3d72tG15hukzGGGcN7oPM2jOTGY1CU2RV29aIyqfQj3kPwD4G2lk06209B0rE/s400/Cosmopolitan+1892+p5+jpg.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5503806320974999842" border="0" /></a>Rick Seiferthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11249323390100558270noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6510475825809613966.post-5551658539099182212009-07-28T16:51:00.000-07:002009-12-09T17:33:34.531-08:00Shiftless typewriter spawns keys<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsTzwWNRqCKngNxcOun3_6FTB35xNjI3iZCMSv6wKm9BLflZMHGsmqfOVOMXKzV9QwXIh6kQD6T6vLw1kDGt59t3EvzzVETnI0RvDUx1DmJ7pKPt4rMHrcFWho-MJDPyZVW83QzTVnAMY/s1600-h/Smith-Premier+No.+10.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 359px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsTzwWNRqCKngNxcOun3_6FTB35xNjI3iZCMSv6wKm9BLflZMHGsmqfOVOMXKzV9QwXIh6kQD6T6vLw1kDGt59t3EvzzVETnI0RvDUx1DmJ7pKPt4rMHrcFWho-MJDPyZVW83QzTVnAMY/s400/Smith-Premier+No.+10.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5363663835650041250" border="0" /></a><br />I’ve been on a typewriter buying fast since last year. I’ve even come to think of myself as a typewriter “archivist” rather than a “collector.”<br /><br />But earlier this month while on vacation, I fell off the wagon. I could not pass up a Smith Premier No. 10A typewriter in an antique mall in Coos Bay, Oregon.<br /><br />Here, staring me in the face, was a keyboard to die for. This massive piece of Industrial Age work has 89 keys arrayed in seven rows. The octagonal keys come in three colors.<br /><br />The Smith Premier had no shift key, which pretty much explains the horde of keys.<br /><br />I haven’t found the serial number yet (suggestions?) but these machines date from 1908 to 1921 according <a href="http://www.geocities.com/wbd641/SmithBrothers.htmlhttp://www.geocities.com/wbd641/SmithBrothers.html">research</a> done by renowned Will Davis. The “A” being a later version, this machine probably came from near the end of the run.<br /><br />Question. Will or anybody: how does the 10A differ from the 10?<br /><br />Will mentions some of the features about the No. 10A that struck me right away, including the easy to remove carriage (it lifts straight out), the odd location of the side-by-side ribbon spools in the back, a ribbon selector key and, of course, that massive double keyboard.<br /><br />The machine is in good shape. The only problem is that the space bar spring needs to be replaced.<br /><br />I paid $58.50, down from the asking price of $65. The clerk asked whether I needed help carrying it to my car. I said I didn’t, but I was wrong. A fork lift would have been handy.Rick Seiferthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11249323390100558270noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6510475825809613966.post-68608968139917356452009-06-01T17:48:00.000-07:002009-06-01T19:01:42.969-07:00Selectric guy meets the Olivetti twins<div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTC-sqeEYOnmyn9ObLD2sW-WfyoT_U_fu4BRra2kVj_haSrE2mToJxVaML-x2g7IsURPoCRUS_0GQUbjrRv_fWRJ-dddYNfRfagGAGTfGqcX88ngXjafUOaP2hkT0TkNBnMPGqXJKU-H0/s1600-h/OlivettiProfile.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTC-sqeEYOnmyn9ObLD2sW-WfyoT_U_fu4BRra2kVj_haSrE2mToJxVaML-x2g7IsURPoCRUS_0GQUbjrRv_fWRJ-dddYNfRfagGAGTfGqcX88ngXjafUOaP2hkT0TkNBnMPGqXJKU-H0/s400/OlivettiProfile.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5342543361137755554" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:85%;" >If Ettore Sottsass' Olivetti 36 has an architectural look,<br />it's because Sottsass was an architect<br />as well as a brilliant designer. For more about him go <a href="http://www.ecopolis.org/ettore-sottsass-radical-emotion-design/">here</a>.</span><br /></div><br /><br />Steve Collin, a retired IBM repair guy and a whiz with all things mechanical, drove himself, his 2008 ultra-Hog Harley and his wife (Cousin Ellen) up from Sparks, Nevada, for the weekend.<br /><br />Of course I had to show Steve my two Selectrics. He "skinned" a Model II in 10 seconds flat, then gave me a tour of its organs.<br /><br />I'm sure he knew that I was pretending to understand what he was saying. Cams, releases, pressure plates, gears without end.<br /><br />Okay. Right. Check. Got it.<br /><br />Thank God there was no quiz.<br /><br />After the Selectric excursion, we fed him, and I put my two Olivetti 36s under his nose. Screw driver in hand, Steve delved into their Italian innards. His diagnosis was that the dead keys on the machine with the good belts were beyond repair (see previous post). Off came the belts. In five minutes he had the rubber teethed loops on the other machine.<br /><br />It was only a matter of adjusting a tension wheel before it was safe to hit the "on" switch. The electric motor whirred to life. Steve's fingers tested the keys corn-row style, left to right. (He never learned to touch type. In fact, he hates writing.). The keys all worked although one needed nudging. We swapped ribbons between the two machines as well.<br /><br />I now have an operating, if slightly noisy, Olivetti 36. Nice.<br /><br />After the typewriters, we moved on to the computers. But that's another story and one you don't want to hear.Rick Seiferthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11249323390100558270noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6510475825809613966.post-48868259853174293822009-05-29T12:38:00.000-07:002009-05-29T12:49:53.016-07:00Olivetti repair conundrum<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEu2J6jc30oDpc82GIvjrZsZw_AQVVuLNmayafOqbi1oG-H2Y-M1_TvmKptoCSCaGZN9VZ20C2IaHuwoOz_hhH-Pf4f4d9GwiH5qISSEU410mWDJer7gpDu-ttB6GmoPHi7YBd4WSE778/s1600-h/TwoOliv36sLFT.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 252px; height: 189px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEu2J6jc30oDpc82GIvjrZsZw_AQVVuLNmayafOqbi1oG-H2Y-M1_TvmKptoCSCaGZN9VZ20C2IaHuwoOz_hhH-Pf4f4d9GwiH5qISSEU410mWDJer7gpDu-ttB6GmoPHi7YBd4WSE778/s320/TwoOliv36sLFT.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5341333340894219106" border="0" /></a>The other day I scored an Olivetti 36 for $10. The seller warned me that five keys are “dead” on the electric.<br /><br />No problem. I’ve been on the lookout for a parts Olivetti 36 for months. I need drive belts for the one I already have.<br /><br />Surprise, surprise — they don’t make them any more. In fact, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olivetti">Olivetti</a> barely survived into the new century.<br /><br />The belts on my recent purchase (that's the one on the left in the photos) are fine. In fact this is a better looking machine than the one I have. Now I’m thinking I’ll try to fix the keys on the new purchase first. If that doesn't work, I'll mess around with removing and installing the fragile belts on the old machine (which, by the way, came with manuals, tools and a better case.)<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim4nt9m3IPMWqRuDYkIqXWxpKy1hahsb6vRIwsM343Za1Pk5NCrT_1yJ7PRdSMPgj2bihTAjjcq-VxWnaxPEIHD0OkyZIRA72JlPnufv-KjDmHAC9t_PD4edKfQH28MvOe0kwchvcRDog/s1600-h/TwoOly36sRT.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 202px; height: 191px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim4nt9m3IPMWqRuDYkIqXWxpKy1hahsb6vRIwsM343Za1Pk5NCrT_1yJ7PRdSMPgj2bihTAjjcq-VxWnaxPEIHD0OkyZIRA72JlPnufv-KjDmHAC9t_PD4edKfQH28MvOe0kwchvcRDog/s400/TwoOly36sRT.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5341333152814038338" border="0" /></a><br />Besides, there’s the possibility that if I do the belt installation, the old machine’s keys could be dead too.<br /><br />Such is my faith in Olivettis. Famously beautiful machines but notoriously unreliable. (I know some people like that — replete with the human equivalent of dead keys and frayed drive belts.)<br /><br />I’ll let you know what happens.Rick Seiferthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11249323390100558270noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6510475825809613966.post-43033448985025134632009-04-28T17:32:00.000-07:002009-04-28T17:49:59.448-07:00$200 to the goodThe graceful, shiny black Silent seen in my previous post sold for $200 in the benefit action earlier this month.<br /><br />I bid $75 to establish the base in the "silent" auction, named not for the typewriter but for the written, publicly displayed bids.<br /><br />Within minutes the price went to $100. Then, while I wasn't looking, a smitten somebody bagged the Corona for two big ones. I'm sure the machine has a happy, comfortable home. I envision it nestling into a dark, wood-paneled den.<br /><br />And because the auction was to support affordable housing, the typewriter did its bit to make happy homes for others in need.Rick Seiferthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11249323390100558270noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6510475825809613966.post-37833347819569391732009-03-31T17:21:00.000-07:002009-03-31T17:23:50.519-07:00A Donor's Second Thoughts<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIf_e_JCMWGTcySU0MERgSn4FUeJHgSSSuN-wDD1OujeNEAvoUozhQSsUnjxFOCDMNd2iOE3WE7tMMKFFinYqWZpW4CSUM_8ehwFgQmMTZvTkVZGlNxMdyEGoXnFzDpM1qNXG6JsDO3Kc/s1600-h/Auction+Corona+Silent.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 382px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIf_e_JCMWGTcySU0MERgSn4FUeJHgSSSuN-wDD1OujeNEAvoUozhQSsUnjxFOCDMNd2iOE3WE7tMMKFFinYqWZpW4CSUM_8ehwFgQmMTZvTkVZGlNxMdyEGoXnFzDpM1qNXG6JsDO3Kc/s400/Auction+Corona+Silent.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5319511944558388290" border="0" /></a><br />Talk about being conflicted.<br /><br />In the spirit of helping our community and paring back my typewriter archive, I recently donated this beautiful Corona Silent to a benefit auction.<br /><br />The auction is a bit of a “do” and has a literary theme. It comes with dinner and speeches by celebrity authors.<br /><br />The auction’s proceeds go to providing affordable housing to those in need.<br /><br />Well and good,<br /><br />Enter the conflict.<br /><br />I began to get donor’s remorse. I mean, face it, this is one beautiful machine. Just look at it. It’s in great shape. It has classic lines. If I saw it for sale at a reasonable price, I’d pop for it.<br /><br />Then it occurred to me: It might be for sale for a reasonable price — at the auction.<br /><br />Why of course! I’ll bid on it.<br /><br />So I told the folks running the auction that the Corona should have a reserve or floor price that I would pay.<br /><br />$75.<br /><br />I’m friends with the organizers and they kindly offered to return the Silent in exchange for another less prized typewriter, but I declined.<br /><br />If someone wants to beat my bid, the typewriter is certain to end up in good hands — for a good cause.<br /><br />If not, I’m happy to make a donation to a worthy charity and to re-possess a great typewriter.<br /><br />Win/win.Rick Seiferthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11249323390100558270noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6510475825809613966.post-10429335830797904472009-03-07T17:46:00.000-08:002009-03-07T21:12:40.723-08:00From Collector to Archivist<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOUUIJ62zwrml7Z-VQKJJ-4HOt48d7VCC1U1oZqVJwurBTV679m7j8LxRk9GBTJWpPmY5l9fuFtKlMKs7bqv9rn5uwSyy_ohwV5xY-Bd6l0xTwb7j3O8eIQ6VvdJUv3b3sdVBuGGHJB9w/s1600-h/Collection.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 369px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOUUIJ62zwrml7Z-VQKJJ-4HOt48d7VCC1U1oZqVJwurBTV679m7j8LxRk9GBTJWpPmY5l9fuFtKlMKs7bqv9rn5uwSyy_ohwV5xY-Bd6l0xTwb7j3O8eIQ6VvdJUv3b3sdVBuGGHJB9w/s400/Collection.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5310679609630628290" border="0" /></a><br />At some point in the last year I stopped collecting typewriters and started archiving them. I've sold or donated several, trying to free space in my basement for other pursuits, not necessarily mine.<br /><br />My wife is a potter who makes pots faster than I collect typewriters.<br /><br />We have turf issues.<br /><br />Clearing space is not easy because as I sell and donate, waif typewriters end up at my doorstep. The word's out that I love these old machines the way some people love kittens and puppies. If you give me a typewriter I'll nurse its wounds, feed it and make sure it ends up in a good home — either mine or someone else's.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlIG7y_GwnRHY-uJvsYJjQ9pBwoSnKW6eghzHxPWx5cokliFtuvc6rHMZ3G2Ypt9SPA21JCtgbjfyOWja67c8XSUGzifNv1n2uz777t38f2mmTimjkrc77Xg05xTbQDQ3Y3d-rXdUaZWU/s1600-h/Royal+at+the+Door.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 326px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlIG7y_GwnRHY-uJvsYJjQ9pBwoSnKW6eghzHxPWx5cokliFtuvc6rHMZ3G2Ypt9SPA21JCtgbjfyOWja67c8XSUGzifNv1n2uz777t38f2mmTimjkrc77Xg05xTbQDQ3Y3d-rXdUaZWU/s400/Royal+at+the+Door.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5310679330292537458" border="0" /></a>Last week a friend brought by the '50s vintage Royal Quiet de Luxe to the left.<br /><br />This archivist business comes with responsibilities that I'm certain I haven't fully met or even comprehended. I suppose I should be inventorying, recording serial numbers and establishing manufacturing dates. I've done some of that, but not nearly enough. This looks like a job for my dotage.<br /><br />The one aspect that defines my particular bent in archiving is gathering and identifying machines that are the same models as those used by famous authors. I don't pretend to be any kind of expert in this area, but, as you will see by looking at other posts here, I have made some headway.<br /><br />I really need to research what archivists in other fields do, just to see how much of the job I want to assume.<br /><br />In many ways, collectors are archivists without knowing it. And I suppose that archivists are collectors, except that they don't pay for their items. To the contrary, in an ideal world, someone pays them to archive.<br /><br />No one is paying me and I doubt they ever will— except in typewriters.<br /><br />That's pay enough.Rick Seiferthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11249323390100558270noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6510475825809613966.post-27235128188733775002008-09-01T09:45:00.001-07:002008-09-01T09:46:39.217-07:00The Patina of Creativity<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-hNiV7bI_3s7z93odfXvLn-valvNwk04mXSbbe4OudR6LpB-Tb_4f4hjnUkdD1pbi6CVzqBGWxG7gEQvFOrfK1izrR0S0LFOI-TqwWgSIfy12C9jr13QL4r4zlsg_HjcqTxFUau31LdE/s1600-h/Two+SG1s.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-hNiV7bI_3s7z93odfXvLn-valvNwk04mXSbbe4OudR6LpB-Tb_4f4hjnUkdD1pbi6CVzqBGWxG7gEQvFOrfK1izrR0S0LFOI-TqwWgSIfy12C9jr13QL4r4zlsg_HjcqTxFUau31LdE/s400/Two+SG1s.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5241095289781949138" border="0" /></a><br />For the past few days I’ve had a back and forth with someone interested in buying one of my two Olympia SG1s. I’m willing to sell either for $75 plus postage, which in this case came to roughly $50. We live on opposite sides of the country. We also, apparently, live on opposite sides of typewriter collecting.<br /><br />Neither SG1 is in perfect condition, but in ways I find endearing. Both are, and were, used. These aren’t “pretty” machines. They are long-haulers that can pull literary or secretarial weight. They did 50 years ago and they can do so today.<br /><br />One word describes them: BUILT.<br /><br />I said they weren’t perfect. Let me be specific because it is on the specifics that that the potential buyer and I differ in perspective.<br /><br />The margin stop for the machine on the left no longer works. But the bell does, so the writer has been amply warned. This machine does not coddle. The baseline is minutely lower for the caps, but it almost looks intentional, particularly because its font is 11-point “Senatorial,” a squarish sans serif. Very modern and readable.<br /><br />The other machine is in better shape but lacks the intriguing font. It has the omnipresent 11-point Times Roman. The lower and upper cases line up and the right margin holds firm against the colliding carriage.<br /><br />But both typewriters share a blemish that troubled the would-be buyer. On each the chassis beneath the space bar show signs of a palm resting. The paint is worn thin from so many paused palms. You can see the blemishes on both sides, but, for some reason beyond me, they seem more pronounced on the right.<br /><br />I’ve come to think of these blemishes as “inspiration marks.” While the palm rested, the muse played with phrasing and transitions, searched for just the right word. Entire plots may have been turned during these moments. Or just the right salutation, the one that sealed the deal, may have been chosen.<br /><br />Here beneath the space bar, fingers at rest, palms at ease, change happened.<br /><br />So I’m pleased that the pauses have left their mark on the SG1s. They are as much evidence of use the inked keys, worn ribbons and a breached right margin stop.<br /><br />To me, these worn spots are the patina of inspiration.<br /><br />As I write this, the buyer has not responded to my description of the blemishes. I wrote him that if he was interested in finding a blemish-free SG1, I was confident he would eventually be successful. Much of the fun of collecting is the search and the discovery.<br /><br />I did not tell him that to my mind, a pristine SG1 is soulless, bearing no evidence of serving a cause, of aiding a spirit.Rick Seiferthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11249323390100558270noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6510475825809613966.post-37075543995702954872008-03-16T17:23:00.000-07:002008-03-16T21:11:15.264-07:00Exhibit opens at the University of Portland<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbNq6LQXoGTKphLHk0xniCOLXtYRL12kQv7TgZwNrnVJ00AEO0rOvJCFKYq6NsiOC6XcaHn08DFsoE7nji6BOxoOLJSJPTgeLwLaqy6W5CwJzFhAskmShI-0AFZjGyqWVnKQ4lHrBbW4c/s1600-h/RickandPat.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbNq6LQXoGTKphLHk0xniCOLXtYRL12kQv7TgZwNrnVJ00AEO0rOvJCFKYq6NsiOC6XcaHn08DFsoE7nji6BOxoOLJSJPTgeLwLaqy6W5CwJzFhAskmShI-0AFZjGyqWVnKQ4lHrBbW4c/s400/RickandPat.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5178505405203927506" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCWXWrJpLfd5jVQnjWGg0ctKrlYs2aqXgkIVNrBXbymvA6gPMevjbGo5jl9FhvpDPxFpVmOhdLjZiNpeRsPWUUvfUwS4c3s8Hkb3wmiYd13DeComzzUW5j6xctYq5DrHtJR0eMCIWjLjE/s1600-h/EBWhiteUnderwood.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCWXWrJpLfd5jVQnjWGg0ctKrlYs2aqXgkIVNrBXbymvA6gPMevjbGo5jl9FhvpDPxFpVmOhdLjZiNpeRsPWUUvfUwS4c3s8Hkb3wmiYd13DeComzzUW5j6xctYq5DrHtJR0eMCIWjLjE/s320/EBWhiteUnderwood.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5178505229110268354" border="0" /></a>Today University of Portland photography instructor Pat Bognar and I put up our "A Celebration of the Typewriter" exhibit in the Buckley Gallery on the UP campus. Several photography students helped us. The exhibit includes their portraits of typewriters from my collection. They've done a magnificent job. A few of the photos show typewriter keys in impossible positions — typebars headed for a jam. I shutter at what typewriter users might think seeing these images, but Pat called them "impressionistic" photos.<br /><br />My photos of the exhibit, which<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxqAhgfBSaHpdiLG1riDiDRR1-W7ROHfJ7KyKkicuHOFE2okRCjiA4j7uO4jOt6pLHJ6lxOk63HL6oijl6KMu64iotEr5kafNiBw3GgaK4a-InrXoCa8laQj2LBk31woQF945kkQMsMEg/s1600-h/OrwellRemington.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxqAhgfBSaHpdiLG1riDiDRR1-W7ROHfJ7KyKkicuHOFE2okRCjiA4j7uO4jOt6pLHJ6lxOk63HL6oijl6KMu64iotEr5kafNiBw3GgaK4a-InrXoCa8laQj2LBk31woQF945kkQMsMEg/s320/OrwellRemington.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5178505035836740018" border="0" /></a> runs through April 10th, gives a good sense of what's on display. Altogether there are nine typewriters. Seven are models associated with famous writers. I've included books by the authors next to the machines. An SG3, like one used by James Michener, is available for use by visitors.<br /><br />The exhibit follows more modest exhibits at Mt. Hood Community College last summer and at Portland Community College last spring.<br /><br />I'll let you know reactions to the exhibit. I encourage other collectors to put their machines out there at schools and libraries for the public to appreciate.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzx_tsJl6lzI4NPyTD1ndzH8WsXY-wdsTiA6Hi-dUYjd2eiPWEx5YzY9jqgf_cI1npP6CHLDjJUosaBLgpIB96f2rizpBYZ5wiPJQh6Z7ZZ3nKG9tvjcS1vjel7m1nQqdl0O5d9CQA_aE/s1600-h/PlathStreamliner.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzx_tsJl6lzI4NPyTD1ndzH8WsXY-wdsTiA6Hi-dUYjd2eiPWEx5YzY9jqgf_cI1npP6CHLDjJUosaBLgpIB96f2rizpBYZ5wiPJQh6Z7ZZ3nKG9tvjcS1vjel7m1nQqdl0O5d9CQA_aE/s320/PlathStreamliner.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5178504808203473314" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtNn-jPc0xurDeYtH_k8sdBiuDVh0cRrPbpTYNdkwIuWgnFC-gn8Z-0szE5L5c1iucp3dACkf0ujvwg_Csd8xDwfSL8joT_3rOpcEkBQDmxlB4s9SG3xzyehFrYoRSF_d-vouQS2SeS0Y/s1600-h/BlickPix.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 286px; height: 381px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtNn-jPc0xurDeYtH_k8sdBiuDVh0cRrPbpTYNdkwIuWgnFC-gn8Z-0szE5L5c1iucp3dACkf0ujvwg_Csd8xDwfSL8joT_3rOpcEkBQDmxlB4s9SG3xzyehFrYoRSF_d-vouQS2SeS0Y/s320/BlickPix.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5178504597750075794" border="0" /></a>Rick Seiferthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11249323390100558270noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6510475825809613966.post-2998020936856575502008-03-03T10:17:00.000-08:002008-03-03T10:22:36.838-08:00A Celebratory Display and a Quiz<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgriRxqWv0pDlo7sJXXHBwUio4QdIZi-QUOY1CFiBRpPOFr-ySR__NqX7YTthZC5JgG_VzWUsScTMFLbgycTsCCILgv9k0KbG5jJmlI9lDfHwbimlPnvXlQEnahVXlHCOqGiP_HuO97Y2M/s1600-h/ExhibitAnnouncement.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgriRxqWv0pDlo7sJXXHBwUio4QdIZi-QUOY1CFiBRpPOFr-ySR__NqX7YTthZC5JgG_VzWUsScTMFLbgycTsCCILgv9k0KbG5jJmlI9lDfHwbimlPnvXlQEnahVXlHCOqGiP_HuO97Y2M/s400/ExhibitAnnouncement.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5173581619948935986" border="0" /></a><br />A few hundred announcements like this one will be mailed this week. If you don't receive one, consider this one yours.<br /><br />As the text on the back explains, the exhibit will be at the University of Portland's Buckley Center Gallery and will feature some of my typewriters as well as student photos of them. I'll also have some information about famous authors associated with the models on display.<br /><br />I hope you can find time to drop by the campus at 5000 N. Willamette Boulevard. The Gallery's hours are Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Saturday <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">from</span> 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. The dates, as you see on the card, are from Monday, March 17, to Thursday, April 10.<br /><br />Any guesses as to the model on the front of the card and to the one in the background?Rick Seiferthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11249323390100558270noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6510475825809613966.post-83020494649031266602008-02-29T22:22:00.000-08:002008-02-29T22:35:23.205-08:00Ace Typewriter can keep its store for now<div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjPwcpfvNYi47Tsbw9Wd6WOg14n4BJ2R2Y4MCW9dXnCzyeRyiHhzKkWvVDmTyCfYYdWyDhmU-_IwBXLjUMCYbIYKLr_CE4047vKXWJ9zHEiRIxpPhq2ko8qtOnWMGK60sGEWzfqbqZm0w/s1600-h/New+Matt+%26+Dennis.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjPwcpfvNYi47Tsbw9Wd6WOg14n4BJ2R2Y4MCW9dXnCzyeRyiHhzKkWvVDmTyCfYYdWyDhmU-_IwBXLjUMCYbIYKLr_CE4047vKXWJ9zHEiRIxpPhq2ko8qtOnWMGK60sGEWzfqbqZm0w/s400/New+Matt+%26+Dennis.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5172656346554424018" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Dennis and Matt gathered at Matt's work bench in the back of the shop.</span></span><br /></div><br />I just finished posting on my other site, <a href="http://www.theredelectric.blogspot.com">The Red Electric</a>, that Ace Typewriter has won a reprieve, thanks to the suddenly flat real estate market in Portland.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3fkkIfNe1zVNP_i_9KGNmhc6encPbHxWnWNKCyBzmFsD0yw9Dr1Aw1cHOyoFW0yImnYHOIzgb29tjfBhQYOFwfKCvJs3azghCYRfGWeH0m58BVI9b2duWTpQjziwpQU6jPwWFeeOUEkY/s1600-h/Matt's+workbench.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3fkkIfNe1zVNP_i_9KGNmhc6encPbHxWnWNKCyBzmFsD0yw9Dr1Aw1cHOyoFW0yImnYHOIzgb29tjfBhQYOFwfKCvJs3azghCYRfGWeH0m58BVI9b2duWTpQjziwpQU6jPwWFeeOUEkY/s200/Matt's+workbench.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5172656604252461810" border="0" /></a><br />The owner of the retail space where Dennis McCormack has been selling and repairing typewriters for nearly fifty years has had to back away from a plan to tear down the building and replace it with townhouses.<br /><br />So Dennis and his son Matt, who has become the go-to typewriter guy here in Portland, won't have to move several decades worth of typewriters, parts and repair machinery to their house.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6ENYBnBJxV4ULxPdR4mq3Z5cWTln9hTrOjsqzxC2iRkz_XhVoQ_TAuU17L5FJM28KFGYZUGlfszwuNs4XhRtZkaY9hOLZNGfTVCn5t5LzOIJ60ephBsOPbmS6Ext9ocKcVf9vg7V8oEA/s1600-h/Waiting+for+Repair.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6ENYBnBJxV4ULxPdR4mq3Z5cWTln9hTrOjsqzxC2iRkz_XhVoQ_TAuU17L5FJM28KFGYZUGlfszwuNs4XhRtZkaY9hOLZNGfTVCn5t5LzOIJ60ephBsOPbmS6Ext9ocKcVf9vg7V8oEA/s200/Waiting+for+Repair.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5172656599957494498" border="0" /></a><br />What a relief. The photos give some idea of the task they faced.Rick Seiferthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11249323390100558270noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6510475825809613966.post-88329680719665542912007-12-01T21:13:00.000-08:002007-12-01T21:23:27.311-08:00Remington Rand #5 offers refuge from computers<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ5YX_sZEN42ly0G_jssdKntbXU8M2hg3J1qg7ERuosnO040CLXKriGQTMuIw5RZGLS0fhApen_vmNfM1fsN6iLP6DUN1FneSJVEpeMyr-AbWIW8caRjdZLhZvk1aybvCpiImmX4UAreg/s1600-r/RRblackCrinklefacingLFt.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFf4u93vtFhrVS5C3OP1iMQt_hjq1r3Bw3Ikw3Nt-zJBqYfcvuf12MJWsVjXhLTLluImGeujnZhsyNLe6RIwrugSxIWVOvegmxMdtO8ZvxaLjM02CjDA2W9Q7QuK5mun3oHDH1orC3WlY/s320/RRblackCrinklefacingLFt.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5139240888936210530" border="0" /></a>Tonight I sold a black, crinkle finish Remington #5 to a young woman who bought it for her boyfriend, a copy writer.<br /><br />After showing her several other typewriters in my collection, she vowed to return with him in tow. I believe her. She seemed to have the bug.<br /><br />I've had great success selling on Craig's List to Portland's much touted "young creatives," many of whom seem drawn to typewriters. Tonight's buyer, who works for Nike, said she was drawn to the directness and character of the machines. She said she was weary of computer technology.<br /><br />Any typewriter collector can relate to what she is saying.Rick Seiferthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11249323390100558270noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6510475825809613966.post-1426661196599759662007-11-30T14:22:00.000-08:002007-11-30T14:41:39.657-08:00Pearl's Pink Olympia sold<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBOLoCCjh61DPeYthxVOaOEoZKYfP_qK8VQ7MX51UPAzl5yshsMZm8xWqcY8huViTICHMVDNM1n2cfdEhtTAd_MJIU0Zzcu5S-yjfqg9YOODOdU1dDQdGCZPKSzbA1ZQM15_xdPlwNReE/s1600-r/Pinkfacingrt.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi88XtdFgPqxD2gph5XtExLEDYkYnjkRNdAJO46eLh1okMki-ihQzwdvCywgZtAid5h0jwenPCS3SPCKRclL0OLp_nIVtKcaUNYDggF0-LKk1RN1TDb_J2W6pW4r_tQkqdci0BZ4uCost8/s320/PinkfacingRt.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5138763954292826178" border="1" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />At last some news for this long neglected site. I sold Pearl <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Rubenstein's</span> pink Olympia SM7 for $75 to a young woman piano tuner.<br /><br />"This is my dream typewriter," she exuded.<br /><br />She particularly liked the script typeface and, of course, the nail-polish hue.<br /><br />Lisa, the late Pearl's daughter and a long-time friend, had asked me to sell the Olympia and an Underwood Quiet <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">deLuxe</span>. The Underwood needs some work, but is cosmetically attractive in turquoise.<br /><br />The Olympia required some repairs to its plastic faceted script logo, which nearly crumbled to the touch. I managed to glue it back together by pasting it to a black piece of leatherette-textured paper.<br /><br />Lisa and her husband, Craig, and Diane, my wife and I will treat ourselves to a dinner out with the $75. Pearl would have liked that.<br /><br />In the meantime, it's great knowing the Olympia is fulfilling a dream.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjixG4xqvEK9QO-LPrmQUIAazyVX7We6P3gfzKgsXmNSeYsX1-opAQtNBVw-k-g3lYjmc6SbMIDNPn2YjVeksw9_pYzLb4XOWxZXwRguaeUk49DwUd6ta2yl8aTrSKceUsPVARMNuqibps/s1600-r/PinkfacingLFT.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8cfea2UJ29tPx_tCi05dYxNF3eKSpm4NcjdFzDIuOLtej2aelhSD4DAmNHvoCHOZWXW4ivyhgO0z-37jwLALzCp04C0S6YB5TJ-VGJBuK6H2JkGwfdTOWf5-MinwcI0HXxMsfuHV57Rk/s320/PinkfacingLFT.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5138765569200529490" border="0" /></a>Rick Seiferthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11249323390100558270noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6510475825809613966.post-39212110625154027932007-08-19T16:51:00.000-07:002007-08-21T07:18:52.919-07:00Old Fire and Brimstone<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyvGJbaXndOuKgGuybJQrvqsuWbGnYYwQy29y5zYm6t9qxAxXynsfd-U1qR4ExqjtstdMDIjlwXn8LuiOwPkAUSlL0Qd7m7Y1pRKLqvo0MeGEaxhFzzJM9Wvjx9g3md4rcGzuwOc49v4M/s1600-h/Fire&Brimstone.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: left; cursor: pointer; width: 369px; height: 454px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyvGJbaXndOuKgGuybJQrvqsuWbGnYYwQy29y5zYm6t9qxAxXynsfd-U1qR4ExqjtstdMDIjlwXn8LuiOwPkAUSlL0Qd7m7Y1pRKLqvo0MeGEaxhFzzJM9Wvjx9g3md4rcGzuwOc49v4M/s400/Fire&Brimstone.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5101026248739763314" border="0" /></a><br />We typewriter-istas all have stories like this. There must be hundreds of them. The fun is as much in the stories and the people we meet as in the hoarding and caring for the old machines.<br /><br />I had to go to Damascus to snag this one. No, not THAT Damascus. Damascus, Oregon, which is about a 45-minute drive east of Portland through a place called Happy Valley. (Yes, the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Road_to_Damascus">road to Damascus</a> passes through Happy Valley.)<br /><br />The Olympia SG1 was advertised on Craigslist.com for $25. A strange price — either way too little or way too much. But there it was — intriguing. Beckoning.<br /><br />You know the drill ....<br /><br />I talked to the Craig's Lister, Richard, who said it was in excellent condition and had belonged to his wife's stepfather, an evangelical preacher, who had recently met his Maker and left behind his trusty SG1. Richard said the preacher wrote hundreds of sermons on the green Germanic beast.<br /><br />The story alone was worth $5.<br /><br />So I set out on the road to Damascus, playing with an offer of $20. (I wasn't exactly a motivated buyer as I already have an SG1 in my bloated collection.)<br /><br />I had to enter Richard's semi-rural homestead through one of those automated security gates hung between ornamental, but solid brick pillars. You push a button on the intercom, then the stranger belonging to the disembodied voice risks mortal peril and pushes a button somewhere and the gate majestically swings open.<br /><br />The compound was tidy with some fenced acreage surrounding two modest ranch style houses. The empty one was where Richard's in-laws had lived. Richard and his wife had held several estate sales, but no one wanted the SG1, which now resided forlornly on an otherwise barren workbench in the otherwise empty two-car garage.<br /><br />The typewriter looked good. I liked where the preacher's thumb had worn the crinkle finish on the frame just to the right below the space bar. The big machine came with brushes, a pristine dust cover, and an owner's manual with a torn cover.<br /><br />That was all to the good, but when I rolled in paper, several lethargic typebars balked. Four were frozen solid. No wonder no one wanted old "Fire and Brimstone" (the name I had secretly given the hefty Teutonic sermonizer).<br /><br />That said, I knew the brushes, dust cover and owner's manual alone were worth $10 so that's what I offered Richard, who was slightly embarrassed that a machine he had represented as being in "excellent condition" wouldn't type. His belated confession was familiar: "I don't know anything about typewriters."<br /><br />To him, I was freeing space in his deceased father-in-law's garage AND paying him $10.<br /><br />Seemed like a deal.<br /><br />To me, he was selling me two brushes, an owner's manual, a dust cover, a proud old hulk, a minister's working companion, and a mechanical challenge. All for ten bucks.<br /><br />A bargain.<br /><br />Done.<br /><br />I wound my way back on the road from Damascus, through Happy Valley, across the Willamette River and up to my aerie in Portland's West Hills. I blew out the SG1's innards with compressed air and then shot Valucraft Multi-Purpose Lube Spray (endorsed by Matt McCormack at Ace Typewriter) at every conceivable linkage joint. Putting fingers to keys, one-by-one, I gently limbered the full board until every key was on ready alert, fully prepared to snap and hammer out words.<br /><br />The restoration took all of 10 minutes.<br /><br />Old "Fire and Brimstone" was back.<br /><br />My fingers poised above the forest green keys, a sermon was in order: "The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away," I typed, "and for 10 bucks, a sacred anointing with Valucraft Multi-Purpose Lube Spray, and the laying on of hands, a mere pilgrim to Damascus can heal and restore a once-mighty but forsaken Olympia SG1."<br /><br />"Hallelujah!" I typed. "HALLELUJAH!"<br /><br />Amen.Rick Seiferthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11249323390100558270noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6510475825809613966.post-64340668076674844702007-08-16T22:10:00.000-07:002007-08-16T22:24:41.686-07:00Back Space Ideas<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhypEAm-gkVSj_76uI_ogmvRGGDJO3Gp3NUs1qiCW8QT5X4tYsHuQZ6OjYeWpuv9FSSx88qwR0MqbmPn_jbiKrqCxhuCSbbb7SEE9FfeiHiZbTerYaGQ74vsspyF_OsqExP0vnvodG2bak/s1600-h/OlympiaSG1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 218px; height: 191px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhypEAm-gkVSj_76uI_ogmvRGGDJO3Gp3NUs1qiCW8QT5X4tYsHuQZ6OjYeWpuv9FSSx88qwR0MqbmPn_jbiKrqCxhuCSbbb7SEE9FfeiHiZbTerYaGQ74vsspyF_OsqExP0vnvodG2bak/s320/OlympiaSG1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5099532759761925138" border="0" /></a>In an effort to see what Back Space visitors might like to see on this site, I’<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">ve</span> asked Steve Brannon for his views. Steve, who lives in <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Richmond</span>, Virginia, is a friend I’<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">ve</span> met through the <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Internet</span> typewriter groups on Yahoo — Typewriter Forum and Portable Typewriter Forum.<br /><br />The forums are stories in and of themselves. Their members are an amazing, dedicated assemblage of typewriter fanatics. And their numbers are constantly growing. Members span the globe and the generations.<br /><br />Here are some of Steve's suggestions with my comments:<br /><ul><li>Various essays on typewriters. I have gathered a few as I’<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">ve</span> run across them.</li><li>A profile of Matt <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">McCormack</span> and his dad, Dennis, of ACE typewriter right here in Portland, Oregon. Actually I have a chapter about Matt and Dennis for a typewriter book I am slowly hammering out. I’ll share the chapter here soon. Matt recently appeared on a PBS “History Detectives” segment that tried to verify that a Corona #3 belonged to legendary World War II correspondent Ernie Pyle. The result of the investigation was inconclusive.</li><li>Interviews with contemporary writers using typewriters. Famously Paul Auster and Larry McMurtry.<br /></li><li>Interviews with collectors. (What's with this obsession?)<br /></li><li>Interviews with veteran collectors and experts like Will Davis and Richard <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">Polt</span>.</li><li>An interview with Jay Williams, a collector who is blind. He knows and cherishes his typewriters, in large measure, because of their touch.</li><li>An interview with a key cutter, one of the folks who destroy typewriters for keys used to make jewelry. Many of us see the cutters as being like poachers who kill Elephants for their tusks. So what's their side of the story?<br /></li><li>An inventory of my 65 typewriters along with photos. Actually, I plan to illustrate each post with a typewriter photo, although I won’t get into the details of the <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">particular</span> machine I’<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">ve</span> shown, at least not yet. (I passed the above "surplus" Olympia <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">SG</span>1 on to Steve last year.)<br /></li></ul>Steve’s list is a great start. I hope others will add their ideas and comments.Rick Seiferthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11249323390100558270noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6510475825809613966.post-75728062862294195852007-08-14T14:20:00.000-07:002007-08-14T15:12:38.035-07:00Starting with a Winner<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVT8gqkXL3tM-dHu7iYYXYDkJiWrWZf0vD6hFz4CeZlSEDiZwUKObF3PS7e5RHlgiJ38krxTeQo3QuMutGY4szo_Vsdx0ZYUsSmxyLtiYyZnrNwr4wS8Vf6vIn_SNoulH8C3CUg2xJRr4/s1600-h/RaffleWinner.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 238px; height: 318px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVT8gqkXL3tM-dHu7iYYXYDkJiWrWZf0vD6hFz4CeZlSEDiZwUKObF3PS7e5RHlgiJ38krxTeQo3QuMutGY4szo_Vsdx0ZYUsSmxyLtiYyZnrNwr4wS8Vf6vIn_SNoulH8C3CUg2xJRr4/s400/RaffleWinner.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5098673367509111842" border="0" /></a>I suppose it's appropriate that the first post on a blog devoted to typewriters is about someone who won one.<br /><br />The elated winner of this Royal Quiet De Luxe is Deb Wolff (right), who bought her winning raffle ticket at the Hillsdale Benefit Books Sale last month. Actually she bought five $1 tickets among the 93 sold.<br /><br />The display (seen next to her) at the sale noted that Hemingway had a fondness for this model. The loose connection to "Papa" may have driven interest. (By the way, if you click on the photo, it will be enlarged so you will be able to read the poster's text.)<br /><br />Raffle proceeds go to the Hillsdale Alliance, a coalition of neighborhood organizations.<br /><br />An interesting side note: While I was waiting at the Hillsdale Farmers Market for Deb to claim her machine, I had the typewriter and the Hemingway promo sign out on a table. A woman came up to me with a dollar in her hand and said, "I'll buy a raffle ticket." That tells me that I can raffle off more of my 60 plus machines — way too many — at the market.<br /><br />Proceeds will again go to the Alliance, which I founded and which is raising money to establish a Hillsdale Community Foundation.Rick Seiferthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11249323390100558270noreply@blogger.com0