My attention was caught a couple of years ago by this Olivetti-Underwood Editor 2 (#E13-6003749, formerly in the Brumfield collection), as pictured on The Typewriter Database. Its beautiful typeface is Elite Correspondence Gothic, according to the 1964 NOMDA Blue Book.
It wasn't just the typeface that attracted me, but the stylish curves of the typewriter. Designer George Nelson had the honor of having the Editor 2 included in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art.
Nelson looks pleased:
Nelson also designed typewriters for Royal in the '60s. Here you can see what I believe is a prototype design for a Royal electric. Nelson's protege John Svezia also designed a machine for Olivetti: see the story on Robert Messenger's OzTypewriter.
The Editor 2 is not a common machine. I can find only a few other examples online:
| Tekne 5 (Editor) | |||||
| 6000351 | 1965 | ||||
| 6000870 | 1966 | ||||
| 6010785 | 1967 | ||||
| 6017973 | 1968 | ||||
| 6030000 | 1969 | ||||
| 6038000 | 1970 | ||||
| 6051000 | 1971 |
If that's right, then the ex-Brumfield machine that originally caught my eye, #E13-6003749, would date from 1966. The last machine shown above, spotted by Brian Brumfield in the wild, is #E13-6043025 (1970).
I note that production was very low in the first couple of years, and then sped up a bit. If some 50,000 machines were made, you'd think they would be more common. Maybe many of the typewriters in this sequence are Teknes rather than Editors. The Teknes and later Editors have boxy designs that are no match for the attractive lines of the Editor 2. (See Tekne 3, Editor 3, and Editor 4 on TWDB.)
As far as I know, all these Olivetti electrics use a system in which depressing a key brings down a hook (X in the diagram below) that catches on a bail (36). The bail then flips up and activates the typebar. What's particularly clever is that a mechanism prevents two typebars from being activated simultaneously; if you press down two keys at once, the keyboard becomes inoperative. Backspacing releases the mechanism and lets you type again.
The diagram above comes from a service manual for the Praxis 48 that you can download here for $6.99, thanks to Ted Munk. The Praxis 48 is the most readily available Olivetti electric of this type. (Image from Museo Tecnologicamente.) In contrast to the Tekne and Editor, the Praxis 48 is a modest-sized typewriter, primarily for home use rather than heavy-duty office use. It's a very enjoyable typewriter when it's working, but it has a reputation for being very challenging to repair.
Anyway ... three or four years ago I saved a search for an Editor 2 on eBay, and finally I was rewarded with a hit. But the seller said that it wasn't working. I was scared off. However, after it was listed several times and finally offered for a Buy It Now price of $8.99, I couldn't resist. Soon it was sitting on my desk.
This machine uses a carbon ribbon, so you can discover what's been typed on it. I had a sort of "Shining" moment when I read: "Now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of their country. Now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of their country. Now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of their country. Now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of their country. ..." But some older text before this seems to be ordinary business correspondence. If I find anything exciting, I'll let you know!
The shell comes off very easily, and I was able to clean and degrease the typewriter, which helped a lot.
But the carriage return was too feeble. With advice from Australian master mechanic John Lavery, I realized that the wheel that pulls the cord attached to the carriage (in the center of the photo below) needed more friction to connect it to a spinning disk against which the wheel is pushed when you hit the carriage return key. My clever (I hope) solution was to tape a circle of duct tape over the disk. So far, it's working well.
Along the way to this solution, though, I clumsily popped out the spring that winds up the cord.
Oops. That took a while to correct.
But this was not the most frustrating problem. Some keys just weren't working at all, and I figured out that some small springs had gotten disconnected. (See the red spring in the diagram from the service manual above.) But how was I supposed to get them back in? They were deep in the dark woods.
The problem was getting enough light, maneuvering in a tight space, and simply learning to see what was going on, when only small portions of the mechanism could be glimpsed at a time.
Finally I realized that the best approach was to come in from the top, gripping the spring with a hemostat, fumble around half-blind until the bottom of the spring connected, then connect the top.
Hours and days and many swear words later, the job was done. It is one of the hardest operations I've performed on a typewriter.
So, does the machine finally work?
Mystery: when was this typewriter made? The serial number is far above #6051000, the number listed for the beginning of 1971, and no further years are listed. Maybe I haven't found the corrrect serial number sequence, and maybe our data is partial or incorrect.
PS: You can find some attractive and informative literature for the Editor 2 on the manuals page of my website.
"Hours and days and many swear words later, the job was done" would be a great epitaph for a typewriter repairman.
ReplyDeleteHa! Just add "years and decades."
DeleteThe Editor series is so strange in the function of it. My Editor 4 is still gummy on a few keys, the sheer complexity makes it amazingly frustrating to get the old grease out of. They're very nice;, sadly information, literature, and any model of them are so hard to find.
ReplyDeleteThat's true, space is very tight, so I have had to apply several rounds of degreaser. Probably the best information is the service manual for the Praxis 48, the Editor's little brother, that I link to in this post.
DeleteHeh, I remember a time not so long ago that you were intimidated by electrics. Not so much anymore, I see :D
ReplyDeleteI've worked up a little courage.
DeleteCongratulations Richard on a very good job and especially on those springs. On the up side I have never had to re-attach them so I cannot share your experience but I can emphasize with you. I think that IBM selectric 1, the first model I mean, has the same ribbon so I think you will have no trouble getting supplies. Your duct tape is a good idea, I may use it myself as I have a Tekne 4 that is suffering in the CR dept. Generally, as a rule of thumb, these machines used a lot of grease on the heavy moving bits and very little oil on the other bits. A lot of the actions rely on things getting in the way of other things speedily to perform other functions, this is putting things simply. You will find that just cleaning with a nice spray can of somethings that does not leave a film will "fix" most problems. Best wishes. John
ReplyDeleteI also learned something else, that George nelson was the designer of the Editor 2. I wonder who George Nelson was? so I better look him up, very interesting.
ReplyDeleteMy deep awe and admiration to you and everyone who can manage that sort of work. Sorcery.
ReplyDeleteWell here goes. I sold those machines, and you are correct, everyone wanted an IBM. Well, not everyone or I wouldn't have lasted 19 years with Olivetti. I sold a lot of P48's in an office environment. We had a deal going back in 1968 I think it was, where if you bought 5 of them the fifth one was free. A great package. I was in Detroit in those years and you had to be blind, crippled or crazy if you didn't sell over your quota every month. As far as the Editor 2 is concerned, it had too many mechanical problems. I always thought that all Olivetti's incorporated the STEEL FLUTED SHAFT which they picked up from the Underwood Corp. Well, If I can think of anything else to post I will be back, but in the meantime if you have any questions you can look me up on Facebook. I have a page called Typewriter Salespersons Page.
ReplyDeleteThanks for commenting! The Praxis 48 is a very good smaller electric that would do lots of office jobs just as well as (and more quietly than) the Editor 2. I recently picked up another Editor 2 that was being offered locally on Craigslist. Like my first one, it needed lubing and cleaning, and the carriage return was too weak. I tried lessening the tension on the mainspring (which, of course, resists the carriage return) and that did the trick. This second Editor 2 uses a cloth ribbon, not carbon.
DeleteI spent years as a service repairman on Olivetti typewriters. What you needed for the springs we called a spring hook. Easy to make and well worth the time. The carriage return idea was ok. Normally we just replaced that part after cleaning the metal disk. If you run into a problem you cannot figure out reach out to me, I am on Facebook as Guy Ingram
DeleteMain thing about the Olivetti Praxis and Editors is to keep them clean and lubed. Beyond that they shouldn't need much attention.
ReplyDeleteI too was a salesman for Olivetti in the sixties and I sold a lot Of both Praxis 48's and Editor 2's, I eventually moved on to the Programa 101, which is another whole story. The previous commenter was right, it was an uphill battle to sell the I think, beautiful Editor 2 against the Selectric, I left Chicago at the end of 1969, and perhaps wasn't around for repair issues. He is also right about selling Olivetti equipment, in those days I made my first years quota my first year in 9 months on the job, and got a free trip to the Bahamas. The new machines that Olivetti was making in the late 60's were designed beautifully, but the earlier calculators, not so much. We used to joke with customers that if you put a pencil at the Divisumma 24 top window it looked just like a tank(it was very heavy to carry around so it felt like one to me also). Anyway, I would still love to have an Editor 2, I think it's not only good to look at but useful as well.
ReplyDeleteI have always felt my time at Olivetti was some of the best in my life. Thanks for reminding me of my youth!!!
I didn't know Olivetti had the technology to make such a kind of typewriters...
ReplyDeleteI always wanted to get an adding machine. It's said the Divisumma 24 is a good model. xD
Where I worked in the 80s, 1 tech knew the D24. We all could fix Quanta's.
DeleteReattaching those springs, wow the memories. I seem to remember using a follow through curved wire (from a junker) that holds the type bars in place. Push it to the point where you can back it off a tad and remove the type bar, attach the spring, put the type bar back and PUSH the pivot wire out.
ReplyDeleteLove the image of the typebar bail mechanism.
As for the carriage return, you know by now you can't pull the return actuator plate away from the plastic cord winder spool because the spring is attached to both. Gotta pull them away together. You may need to replace, sand, or -carefully- degrease the cork, a high mortality part.
We got some of our parts from Olivetti and some from Ames. I don't know that any of these would be available anymore. It's been a long time.
Thanks for the tips and memories!
DeleteJosh, whilst I was never a Calculator expert when I worked at Olivetti I could always appreciate the work and design that went into these machines. My time was spent on the Diasprons and Editors, wonderful machines not just the engineering ideas but also in the beautiful designs that were so pleasing to the eyes.
ReplyDeleteEditor 2's were replaced with Editor 3's. Basically the same machine with a few mechanical improvements. The case styling became squarish like an Editor 4 but the top cover still pulled forward. The Ed 2 & 3 were a mid size machine, whereas the 4 and 5 were full size. Ed 5 had proportional spacing.
DeleteThanks! I hadn't realized the 5 was proportional, but that feature is indeed mentioned in its specifications (oddly, it isn't highlighted as much as I would have expected). The 5 also offered mechanical ways of justifying the margin.
DeleteDid you work at Olivetti? Interesting...
DeleteYes. Olivetti machines include astonishing designs. It's like mixing architecture (as art, not buildings) and engineering. <3
Olivetti Diaspron looks like the Olivetti Lexikon 80, which reminds me of the Olivett Lettera 22 and 32, but full-sized. It's like having a war tank in front of you. <3
Another 80s memory. Olivetti Logos calculator series. L40, L42 printers sounded like they were grinding sand. ;)
ReplyDeleteI have one of these in good shape with cord.
ReplyDeleteI own one exactly like your first picture.
ReplyDeleteI recently bought an Editor 2 at a yard sale for my kids who begged for it. We plugged it in and... nothing happened. Still worth the $2 just to watch my kids lug it at home in anticipation of being typists. We have "buy a functioning typewriter" for a future goal.
ReplyDeleteIt might be worth investing in a couple of gallons of mineral spirits, removing the typewriter's shell (easy), and soaking it in the spirits for a few days. Let it dry out thoroughly, then plug it in again while praying to Hermes, god of communication.
Delete