What? I exercised some restraint? Yes, believe it or not. The following items were at the Ohio Valley Antique Mall yesterday.
Olivetti Studio 44, $85.
Made in Italy. Dated to 1956.
What made it very tempting was this double gothic typeface:
("Gothic" today suggests Goths and heavy metal bands, but in traditional typography it refers to simple sans-serif typefaces.)
However, I already have a double-gothic machine (a noiseless portable), and this one would take some work to restore. I'm too busy.
Here's a cardboard box with lots of history and character. The serial number of the L. C. Smith that it once contained dates the box to around 1940.
A few more tempting typewriters:
Very clean Smith-Corona in an unusual color for $59:
Underwood DeLuxe Leader, $69:
Royal O, $69:
These were all good machines at fair prices—and yet I let them be. What self-control!
This morning I heard from another collector who passed through the same mall yesterday and picked up one of these:
It's a Campus Mark I made by Nippo in Japan. My fellow collector is staying a couple of miles from me, so we may get together today.
Yesterday I also got to meet collector Scott O., who was in town. And there will be another visitor next week. Viva the typosphere!
Another experience yesterday: I went to a show of Star Wars costumes and saw this 1975 "process plate" that shows that work on the original movie was very much non-digital, including typewritten notes and white-out.
In other news, the summer ETCetera is out, featuring this beautiful Waverley from the Martin Howard collection.
Olivetti Studio 44, $85.
Made in Italy. Dated to 1956.
What made it very tempting was this double gothic typeface:
("Gothic" today suggests Goths and heavy metal bands, but in traditional typography it refers to simple sans-serif typefaces.)
However, I already have a double-gothic machine (a noiseless portable), and this one would take some work to restore. I'm too busy.
Here's a cardboard box with lots of history and character. The serial number of the L. C. Smith that it once contained dates the box to around 1940.
A few more tempting typewriters:
Very clean Smith-Corona in an unusual color for $59:
Underwood DeLuxe Leader, $69:
Royal O, $69:
These were all good machines at fair prices—and yet I let them be. What self-control!
This morning I heard from another collector who passed through the same mall yesterday and picked up one of these:
It's a Campus Mark I made by Nippo in Japan. My fellow collector is staying a couple of miles from me, so we may get together today.
Yesterday I also got to meet collector Scott O., who was in town. And there will be another visitor next week. Viva the typosphere!
Another experience yesterday: I went to a show of Star Wars costumes and saw this 1975 "process plate" that shows that work on the original movie was very much non-digital, including typewritten notes and white-out.
In other news, the summer ETCetera is out, featuring this beautiful Waverley from the Martin Howard collection.
Such self restraint indeed! I would have fallen for the Studio 44. I love sans-serif typefaces, and have always preferred the taupe color Olivettis over their blue ones.
ReplyDeleteAdmirable self control :-)
ReplyDeleteThat forties' Underwood does look grand, it so looks its period!
( Admission: have been seeing an early forties Speedline Standard listed online for a cpl of weeks now, it's 1km away and bidding's stuck at EUR 5,- - not restraint: just can't afford to sneak one more into the home ;-)