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Monday, March 9, 2020

The Italian Super-Riter

Here's a shiny, gray, jowly machine that I rescued from an antique mall recently. (You may have spotted it on my December safari. I came back a while later and couldn't resist the $39.99 price.)





It's a Remington Super-Riter, although that model name does not appear on the machine. The serial number, TJ 409832, does not appear in Remington records, and it's marked "Made in Italy."



Here are the company records. Note the lower-right-corner note about machines "manufactured in Naples, Jan. 1960." My guess is that manufacture continued there for some time afterwards, using a new serial numbering system.


Recently, the machine has been put to work writing comments on freshman philosophy papers.



So how does it perform? It's smooth, but for some reason does not feel as snappy as my Remington 17's and KMC's, which are mechanically very similar. Letters sometimes pile. It may be that it just needs more cleaning, or a tightening of the mainspring. Aesthetically, I appreciate its businesslike exterior.

Here is its pica typeface:


Does anyone else have one of these Italian Remingtons?


5 comments:

  1. I’d never heard of an Italian Remington...... but I’ve always loved these big Remington Super-Riter standards! I have one that’s a Radio Mill, and one thats just labeled Remington Standard.
    I like yours with a smooth paint finish, rather than the grey crinkle finish!
    Thanks for sharing it!

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  2. I never knew Remington made typewriters outside the USA, except maybe portables when it seem all companies changed to Japan. Very nice looking typewriter. I like the typeface.

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  3. Thanks, Bill. They also made some typewriters in Holland, such as the Travel-Riter.

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  4. Can't determine where my Super Riter was made, but most of my Remingtons are Canadian! The Ten Forty is Dutch however, via Germany and Torpedo AFAIK.

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  5. See another one here: https://typewriterdatabase.com/196x-remington-superriter.23240.typewriter

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