Fortress of Typetude

 The work has begun. I'm making the effort to display them all properly, but this is just a studio apartment. Not much I can do, really. They need their own room. There are more than thirty more.

Left to right: Scholastic T-4 (Royal Dart rebadge), Hermes Rocket, Sears Chevron, Underwood 330, Smith-Corona Skyriter, Montgomery Ward Escort 350.

Love Among the Typewriters

Typewriters on the March

The Deep East Texas Broken Typewriter Collection is on the move, and you are there! Or rather, I'm there. You're where you are, probably having a mint julep in the shade while being fanned by your manservant.

The new apartment offers more space, more room for typewriter experimentation, and more light for taking sexy photos. I'll be moving the rest of my stuff over tomorrow, and in a few days I'll be back to updating this blog on a semi-regular basis.

Holy Grail Found!

It's a 1936 Royal Model O and it's mine. MINE, do you hear me?!? Works, too. It's obvious that I'm not going to run out of things to write about any time soon in this blog, so STAY TUNED. I'll be back soon.

You Live, You Learn. But Mostly, You Just Live.

My science project. Curiosity may have killed the cat, but it ain't gonna hurt this typewriter any worse. I think we do crazy things that help us learn in the long run. At least that's what I keep telling myself. In a worst case scenario, I can always throw it back together and pretend none of this happened.

Packing and Unpacking.

Taking a few days. In the process of moving, though I'm not 100% sure where I'm moving to at this point. Still, I have to be ready when word comes through. It's quite cramped here and I'm looking for a much bigger place with better lighting. For example, a window would be nice. I do have a few more packages arriving in the mail in the next week, but beyond that I don't expect to be making any new typewriter purchases in the foreseeable future. When I make my next post, I expect to start breaking down and reviewing my latest purchases....some very interesting machines in there. Think Royals....lots of Royals, and maybe a very heavy Olympia or two. Also, lots of better-lit photos and an ongoing tale of tragedy and (hopefully) triumph with a massive Smith-Corona Secretarial 88. Back soon. Be there. Aloha.

A Quiet Update

Update on the Underwood Noiseless Portable typewriter. I was able to clean it up nice. It still has a lot of its original finish and is in remarkable shape. A little oil and the keys work fine, and it types fine with no skipping. The only thing I've noticed is that the bell doesn't work. The serial number 692302 puts the date of its manufacture a few years back further than I'd expected. It was built at some point between Jan. 1, 1934 and Jan. 1, 1935, making it 78 years old. This was from a time when things had to be built to last and could be repaired, and not just thrown away. I doubt those of you who live long enough will ever see an eighty-year-old computer that still works.