Typewriters!

Recent updates—My typewriter collection, grouped by model—Links to typewriter posts

Recent Updates

Typewriter Giveaway 2024

Last year, I gave away two lovely red Smith-Corona Galaxie typewriters to two Paper Blogging subscribers.

The beautiful typewriter for this year’s giveaway is at Tom Furrier’s shop, Cambridge Typewriter, for a deep clean and repair.

Once it’s ready, I’ll write a post about how a Paper Blogging newsletter subscriber can enter to win it!

Not a subscriber? Pop your info in below.

Typewriter Diaries

It’s been quiet here on Paper Blogging for the summer, but look out for new installments in this series! The story of each typewriter in my collection.

Each post will also point to the manual, ribbon, and serial number location, along with a list of writers known to have used that make.

On My Desk(s)

On my Studio desk for daily typing: Olympia SM3! The beautiful, the irresistible, the seamless machine.

On my bedroom's little folding Victorian sewing table-desk: Olympia Splendid 99. The robin’s egg blue ultra-portable, made fresh and new with a silk ribbon. Great also for typing in bed.

On the huge basement desk: Royal KMM. A behemoth machine with a tiny typeface, but matching the size of the space.

Those are the three machines in circulation, small, medium, and large. For a Goldilocks experience, size right for whichever task or day, they are each ready with paper at their side to spring into ineffable typing action.

Also, now I look about me, I see more typewriters sitting about. The blue Smith-Corona Silent-Super with blue/green ribbon is on the dining room hutch, paper always rolled and ready, for writing haiku as a family. My daughter’s ‘30s Underwood with Greek script stays out on her desk, ready for homework for her Ancient Greek class. And her Sears Tower/Lettera 22 rebrand and hunky Royal 10 are always on desk and worktop also.

Typewriters!

Collection by Model

Just tap the ‘+’ for any section and it will expand. Linked to the Typewriter Diary for that machine.

List updated 9/24

Remington Portable #2, a best-beloved machine, esp for typewriter poetry
Remington Portable #3 in two-tone lavender, tiny typeface, a real looker
Remington 5 - Streamlined with Touch Regulator, rescued from the trash, handsome matte black
Underwood 4-Bank, two-tone green, another absolute looker, bought from Tom Furrier
Underwood Standard Portable with a green and black finish, latest purchase, from Cambridge Typewriter
Folding Corona 3, narrow early model, shift keys on one side only
Corona 4, black, early model; out for repair
I call them ‘the twins’
Silent-Super in Seafoam Green with a blue-green ribbon
Silent-Super in Alpine Blue with a blue-green ribbon
Royal KMM, came with the above, both hefty fellows, recently restored, and now a daily typer
Royal 'P' belonging to Red Sox Hall of Famer, Bobbie Doerr, a stunning eBay find, repaired twice by Tom Furrier
'P' with Vogue typeface and woodgrain finish, with quite a story, yet to be written. Use for typewriter events.
'P' found in a summer barn in Vermont, for typewriter events; perfect decals and types like a dream; repaired at Cambridge Typewriter
Royal 'O', just a shiny black one, that I simply love the shape of, from Brimfield Fair
Quiet DeLuxe, Dreyfuss model, with a brilliantly but incongruously painted case, for sharing with other poets at typewriter poetry events
Safari, tomato red, and beautifully restored, great for sharing with others
The one and only, but oh, what a story!
'The Good Companion', the earliest model. Found in the backstreets of the East End of London; restored, with cork platen
Possibly the best-engineered typewriters for long-form writing
SM3 in creamy yellow and burgundy, my first typewriter, pica type
SM8, elite typeface, earlier body style
SM8 cursive typeface, later body style
SM9 lovely elite No. 60 typeface, earlier body/later key color
Splendid 99 in robin's egg blue, British keyboard, bought from Tom Furrier
MP1 ICO with AZERTY keyboard. The hardest repair ever.
Lettera 22 with Venezualan keyboard, an absolute favorite machine for daily use. Congress elite typeface. Also, has a ‘Bs’ key (Bolivares currency, but hey, every typewriter needs a BS key.)
Hermes 3000, my daughter loves this machine so much, it makes her cry to use it. Odd, I know.
Luxe Portable, a Hermes baby clone, sadly waiting for a missing type slug, for giving away
Facit 1620, this Swedish typewriter is in perfect shape and in a great leather case. For typewriter events.
Tippa Triumph, early 60s, two-tone beige travel typewriter. Flew it home from Washington State as hand luggage.
Most given as gifts, because more fun than getting a typewriter is giving one
Olivetti Lettera 22, blue
Olivetti Lettera 22, rebranded as a Sears Tower
Olivetti Lettera 35i in grey
Olympia SF in steely grey (givent to my mum who took it home to the UK)
Hermes Ambassador, sold. Perfection on a monster scale, seen in this TV interview.
Torpedo 18b, wide carriage machine with a math specialty keyboard. From the math department at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Sold.
Remington Portable Noiseless with a perfect shine
Royal 10 standard, repaired by Cambridge Typewriter, and now given to my teen for a daily typer
Royal 'O' in gorgeous shiny green with chrome trim
Royal QDL in elegant grey
Smith-Corona burgundy flattop
Corona 4 Professional, in a depression era 'travel case'
Smith-Corona Sterling, blue
Smith-Corona Skyriter, repainted deep red, with green keys
Triumph Tippa 'S' Portable in black
Underwood Champion in shiny green, pictured two images into this Cambridge Typewriter Instagram post, an absolutely perfect mint machine, a gift
Early Underwood with Greek Keys, including all the breath marks for typing Ancient Greek; gifted to a student of Greek