Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Sightings Out and About, and a Brief Hiatus

I will be leaving for a two-week vacation in a few days, and all my good intentions to typecast and blog regularly have flown out the window as I obsessively pack and re-pack, weigh and measure luggage, and wonder if I have left anything out. It is unlikely I will be posting again before mid-April, and while I had wanted to leave a more contemplative typecast up for that time, I don't see myself having enough time to conceive and type one before dashing off. Hence, I shall leave you with a run-down of recent typewriter sightings in Basel and Geneva, and hope to come back to more responses to "21 Questions"!

This Hermes Media 3 popped up a few weeks ago - the same day we scored a Valentine for $10, actually. I examined it and it looked great - nice and clean with a techno pica typeface.


The flea market in Basel was surprisingly productive - and sometimes just surprising. Here, a standard-size typewriter of who-knows-what make and model that has been spray-painted gold -- down to the keytops, type slugs, and paper. The seller gave us a demonstration to show it still worked!

Spotted from afar in Petersplatz, Basel - a Valentine waiting to be discovered, offered for $65. I think the seller would have had better luck if he actually displayed the typewriter - we knew what it was, of course, but I'm sure other observers were puzzled.

I was excited to see this Scheidegger Princess-Matic, exactly like the one we have! And not in bad shape, either.

Next to it was this Brother, which is rapidly becoming one of the top five typewriters I see most often in the wild.

Hermes Baby - not just in the top five, but possibly in the top two! So, of course in that sense Basel was predictable...
Ah, this is a bit out of sequence: a bright yellow Adler Tippa spotted in Geneva three weeks ago. So tempted! But the CHF 30 was a bit high for an impulse buy, and there wasn't a special typeface to compel me to fork over that kind of cash.

Basel pulled out all the stops on this one: a beautiful, pristine, Mercedes Prima for only CHF 30. It was with great sadness that I pulled myself away from this one! However, I knew Florian would be bringing me a similar-looking Continental, so I didn't want a duplicate (or almost) quite so soon. Sigh.

Back in Geneva, the ubiquitous Hermes Baby makes another appearance in a local thrift store, for a rather fair price of CHF 10. Good condition, but nothing special.

Oho, so this is what happens when thrift store clerks take a look on the Internet - or maybe they just price by weight? CHF 100 on this (admittedly decent condition, but not that you can tell from my photo) Underwood standard is far too much to ask.

A Basel thrift store near Georg's house seems to have received the same memo - and they're asking CHF 80 for this Olympia Splendid with burgundy keys. I hope this will not be a trend...

Well, that is that for a while. I look forward to returning to a regular schedule after Easter, and in the meantime I will continue to enjoy the trickle of responses to "21 Questions". So far:


...have all joined in the fun. Will you be next? :)

Happy Easter!

15 comments:

  1. Easter greetings, Adwoa, a safe and enjoyable trip to you!
    Can you at least give us a clue as to your prospects of finding typewriters during your travels?

    I would have swiped that Valentine without thinking.

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    Replies
    1. Headed off to the tropics, so prospects of finding typewriters to bring home are slim to none. Still, I'm planning an excursion to find some in use and photograph them for the blog!

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  2. The thrift-store next to our house sets a high level for typewriter prices, but is isolated, as most other thrift-stores in town are way cheaper.
    What's the Hermes Baby´s serial number?
    Bon voyage!!

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    Replies
    1. Glad to hear that, Georg! I know you said you sometimes donate typewriters to them... I was wondering whether the Olympia was one of yours? :)

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  3. Hope you have a great trip! That gold one is fetching. All it needs is a gold ribbon.

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    Replies
    1. But then you wouldn't be able to read the text on gold paper!

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  4. Have a wonderful and safe trip.

    I think if I lived in Geneva I would be constantly broke or bankrupt due to purchasing all the typewriters.

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  5. (Retro Tech Geneva is number one on my Firefox SpeedDial so I will spot it right away when you start posting again... )
    Will you pick up another typer while you're away, d'you think?? Have a nice time, whether it is type-free or not!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm afraid my vacation will be type-free... although perhaps not since I'm actually taking a typewriter with me as a gift for someone! If I come across any typewriters in any context, I will be sure to document them for this site.

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  6. Thanks for the typewriter spotting update, and bon voyage!

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  7. Have a safe, but exciting, trip!

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  8. Once again, I love the typo-photo-essay. And am envious! Enjoy your time away, Adwoa.

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  9. As out friends south of the border say, "Vaya con Dios!"

    In other news, I can't for the life of me believe how thick on the ground Valentines are out your way. Color me jealous.

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  10. Adwoa, come back!! All is forgiven!!! ;-)

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