After reading some blogs and articles about typewriters, my husband and I decided to be on the look out for a usable, old typewriter. We looked at our usual thrift store last week but there were no typewriters there. On Saturday, we were driving to a nearby town for some grocery shopping when we spied a yard sale at a country home.
In addition to the stacks and stacks of books they were selling quite cheaply, there was all sorts of other stuff. We picked out a jewelry box, some vintage Christmas ornaments, a box of bicycle parts and some books. Then, there were the typewriters...three of them, two electric ones and one manual typewriter. (The manual one is pictured to the right.)
The typewriters were priced at $1 each, but it was a 50 percent off sale. So, we got all three typewriters for a total of $1.50.
At the yard sale, we had no idea if any of them worked at all or even what condition they were in. They weren't too dirty, from a quick glance.
Back at home, we took them all out and started looking them over. The electric typewriters are Smith-Coronas, and the manual is a Royal Quiet Deluxe.
One of the electric typewriters works, sort of. I typed a letter on it one day, but the paper didn't advance evenly, so after every few lines, I had to adjust the paper on the platen (thing the paper rolls around). And, the shift key, especially the one on the right side, wasn't consistent. Sometimes the letters were capitalized, sometimes they weren't.
The Royal seemed to work, but it needs a new ribbon. Based on some simple research on the Internet, it looks like that one could be a 1950s "rugged" version of the Quiet Deluxe. The tan paint has a rough texture to it, and the keys are white. It looks like ribbons are available for it, so we'll have to track one down.
Our 8-year-old daughter was immediately fascinated with the typewriters and couldn't wait for her turn. All the while she was typing, she was listing off all the things the typewriter couldn't do that the computer can do (spell check, fix capital letter mistakes, etc.). But, in the end, she declared that she needs one of those for her room. We'll see.
Another thing I found interesting...after typing a few notes on the typewriter, she sat down to write a book. She's had a computer in her room for a couple of years, and the only typewriter she's ever seen was a non-working antique variety. But, just sitting in front of a working typewriter inspired her to start writing a book.
In the end, it may be that none of these old typewriters are worth keeping, but they've been fun to play with for a while. We'll get some ribbons and clean them up some more. Maybe they'll be usable.
11 comments:
I love old typewriters. My family used to have one.
Hope you get them working and clacking away!
What a great find! Just a word of warning - collecting old typewriters can be addictive. I have four (including a Royal Quiet DeLuxe similar to yours) and find myself prowling around thrift stores and antique shops looking for more. Can't say I'm surprised by your daughter's interest. Enjoy your Royal!
Great prices! Too bad nobody wants them anymore. Maybe your blog will inspire more people to start using the typewriter again or for the first time!
Looks like you have a great find there. Keep the ribbon spools that came with the Royal, they can be used for a ribbon that fits but the spools don't. If you decide you don't want the Royal feel free to let me know and I'll be more than happy to provide arrangements to take it off your hands. Obviously can't tell much from the photo but you will probably be o.k. with it. However, a number of problems with a manual typewriter can be fixed by just a proper cleaning. If there is a shop local to you, take the typewriter in and they'll be able to give you an idea of what would need to be done to get it operating properly. Up to about $40.00 or $50.00 in repairs is worth it if you want a working manual typewriter, if you have an attachment to the model then obviously the sky can be the limit as to cost. If it turns out to not work or not be worth the cost to repair, but you still want a manual typewriter be very careful buying one on Ebay. Manual typewriters addicting? I just took delivery today of my third over these past two months. The one I got today is fully functional. The one prior was described as "mint", it needs at least $100.00 worth of repairs. The one prior to that wasn't packed properly and so the carriage came loose and smashed up some of the mechanicals. So, when buying from ebay, etc. be very careful, it's not that there are people out there who want to rip you off it's more that they just don't know what they're doing because they have little experience with manual typewriters. When I get a chance I will start posting photos of my collection on my blog, I will also post a list of questions to ask when buying a typewriter from ebay etc. Best of luck with the typewriter. Oh, before I forget, don't use a ribbon that has a correction tape attached, the correction "fluid" comes off and gums up the mechanisms. To do corrections use correction tape.
Good luck, enjoy the typewriter(s).
Counting the number of "collections" we have ... books, cameras, books, cats, books, vintage Christmas ornaments, books... I don't think it'll take much to get us hooked on old typewriters. We just hate to see good, old stuff tossed aside with the trash.
Ah, Caretaker, I'm glad you chimed in! We read your letter very carefully before we went out, just in case we came across the one you typed with. But, alas, we didn't find a Brother Webster XL-800. Thanks for all the advice! I'm looking forward to seeing what you post on your blog!
I love old typewriters and your Royal Quiet Deluxe is especially charming. I have only one at my bungalow, a 1922 Underwood, which my grandchildren love.
There is something glamorous about a manual typewriter. Perhaps because every old film shows a writer using one. Seeing someone sitting in front of a computer just doesn't have the same feel of greatness.
BTW ... thank you for following Reduce Footprints. I'm going to follow you, as well, and add you to my blog roll.
Have fun with your new acquisitions!
Small Footprints
http://reducefootprints.blogspot.com
That manual is a beaut! That is wonderful that your daughter has found inspiration from it!
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I love old type writers, what a great steal!
Not to mention the "priceless" bonus of your daughter's stimulated creativity. That's way better than a buck fifty! :)
I have a manual typewriter in a cool hard case and it looks like it's in good shape but haven't tried it yet. I'm not sure I will have the patience since I'm a really fast typer on the computer and I can't go as fast on the typewriter.
I think it would be great to find some onion skin paper like they used to use and do some letters on that. I have a few of those in my collection that are fun to read.
That brown one in the photo looks like a ?green? one that I'm sure my mother still owns (as our entire family are packrats).
I was at a farmers market the other day and found a stall with old typewriter jewelry. So cute!
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