Swap meet on May 2

 

The sale is underway

My list of nearly 200 typewriters for sale went out to about 300 people on Saturday morning. I've had a good response, with about 1/3 of the typewriters sold or receiving bids so far.

There is a good opportunity now to acquire the remaining 2/3 at quite affordable prices, as long as you're willing to pick them up in Cincinnati by the end of May (perhaps at the May 2 swap meet). Here are pics of a few of the remaining machines. If you're interested, email me and I'll send you a spreadsheet.

A wooden typewriter kit

Seen on eBay this morning. What do you think? They're honest about the fact that you can't type with it, but it looks like it can do more than the Lego typewriter and its imitators. The aesthetic is a little too cutesy for me, but this could be a fun weekend project. As for the inspiration, I think it's clearly based on an Underwood, somewhat simplified (just three banks of keys) and decorated.

Preview of my typewriter sale

Psst! Here are glimpses of a few typewriters I'll be offering. All told, there will be about 175 typewriters from my collection plus about 100 free parts machines.

Here's the plan again:

My sale: On Saturday, April 11, at 9 am Eastern, I will email a spreadsheet that lists the machines I’m selling. You will be able to buy them then for the asking price or make a lower offer. Typewriters will need to be picked up in Cincinnati, Ohio before the end of May.

Swap meet: On Saturday, May 2, there will be a sale at WordPlay Cincy, 1556 Chase Ave., Cincinnati. Unsold machines from my collection will be available, and you can bring your own typewriters for sale or trade. I’ll provide details and instructions in my April 11 email.

If you're not yet on my email list and want to be, let me know.

Two more free Olivetti fonts

Now on The Classic Typewriter Page.

Typewriter sale from my collection and Cincinnati swap meet

 

I am offering most of my collection for sale, in an attempt to simplify life. (I've reached my sixties, and I feel it's a time for streamlining and downsizing.)

I’m also organizing a swap meet that is open to all sellers and buyers. 

My sale: On Saturday, April 11, at 9 am Eastern, I will email a spreadsheet that lists the machines I’m selling. You will be able to buy them then for the asking price or make a lower offer. Typewriters will need to be picked up in Cincinnati, Ohio before the end of May.

Swap meet: On Saturday, May 2, there will be a sale at WordPlay Cincy, 1556 Chase Ave., Cincinnati. Unsold machines from my collection will be available, and you can bring your own typewriters for sale or trade. I’ll provide details and instructions in my April 11 email.

Do you want get that email? Send me one.

More Evertype mail

I expect you'll forgive me for sharing these compliments along with others. Evertype is not going to make the bestseller list, but it is inspiring some readers, who have made my day by typewriting their reactions.

The thought that the story actually has changed how someone lives makes it more than worthwhile!

Here's more information about it.

Psst!

Psst! Who would like a copy of the catalogue for the recent Breker auction? There are a few nice typewriters and hundreds of other interesting mechanical antiques. Plus, it smells good. Just be the first to send your US address to me by email. I'll update this post when the catalogue has been claimed.

Update: CLAIMED.

 

Two new proportional typewriter fonts

 

Right here.

Olivetti Lexikon 94C typewriter

OK, I just acquired a little 46-pound addition to my collection.

I know, I know, I'm trying to cut down. In fact, I plan to host a swap meet in the spring and sell off a good chunk of my collection. But as a temporary possession, and a chance to explore a rare and remarkable typewriter, I couldn't resist the offer of a free Olivetti Lexikon 94C. It was located in beautiful southern Indiana and had been used in a small-town pharmacy nearby. The son of the original owner was obviously an orderly person—it was immediately apparent from his neat house—and the typewriter came with four elements and the user's manual. The typewriter needed thorough cleaning, but eventually all the functions were there.

For a rundown of all the remarkable features of this typewriter, you can read the manual yourself here. (It's dated 1978.) Basically, this machine attempted to combine the best features of IBM typewriters: the Executive proportional-spacing typebar machines and the single-element Selectrics (including the rare proportional-spacing Selectric Composer). Like a typical Selectric, the Lexikon 94C uses interchangeable elements in various styles—but they rotate on a horizontal axis, unlike the vertical axis of a Selectric ball or Olivetti's own Lexikon 82 (aka Smith-Corona Vantage). Like a Correcting Selectric, the 94C uses a correctible film ribbon cartridge and a correcting tape that can lift a mistake off the paper. Like an Executive or Composer, the 94C can type proportionally—and it can type in three different monospaced pitches, including the tiny 18cpi (useful, say, for pharmacies typing on small labels). 

Simpler typewriters with similar mechanisms include the Lexikon 90, 90C (aka Underwood 1190C), 92C, and 93C. (C=correctable.) I owe this information to a brief video in Italian about the series.

Here's the proportional "Venezia" element.

Am I right to detect a little influence of the beautiful Cassandre typeface used on the Graphika? Look at that little x.

The proportional characters come in three different widths (2, 3, and 4 units, as explained on p. 29 of the manual). To select the pitch of your typing, you adjust two levers:

Like Executives, the 94C has a "no print" setting (useful for invisibly typing a line of text in order to calculate how to create a justified right margin) and an  e x p a n d e d  print setting.

Like some Olivetti typebar electrics such as the Praxis 48 or Editor, the 94C freezes the keyboard if you make a mistake such as hitting two keys simultaneously; the backspacer frees the keyboard.

A clever detail is a little wire that pops up when you're backspacing or correcting to show you the printing point—very useful when trying to manage proportional typing.

The bold, simple, serious look of this machine is an Ettore Sottsass design. 

As for the mechanism, which achieves all these functions without the benefit of any electronic chips, I think it may have been designed by Piranesi.

This typewriter was manufactured in at least two countries: in the Olivetti hometown of Ivrea, Italy, and (in the case of my machine) in the Olivetti-Underwood factory in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, U.S.A. Olivetti made a strong effort to crack the dominance of IBM. Did it work?

As of today, there are over 100 IBM Selectric IIIs for sale on eBay, and one (nonfunctional) Lexikon 94C.

Flying fingers postcards

 

Want one, free? Send me an email with an address in the U.S.A.

At this link you'll find a very high resolution version with improved typography, suitable for an 18" x 24" poster.