Summer 2011: Typewriter finds in Geneva

It's been a pretty hot summer. Not today, though - it rained yesterday and has been unseasonably chilly all day. A nice respite from the days of relentless sun, but I hope those return too. I'm not quite ready to rediscover my collection of ragged fleece pullovers.

A favorite weekend activity this summer - as always - is making our rounds of the local markets. In addition to the usual flea market, each neighborhood in Geneva is given a weekend to organize a communal garage sale, and while I haven't yet worked up the nerve to set out my own unwanted items on the sidewalk, I don't mind browsing through others'. We went to quite a few of the markets this year, spotting the occasional Lettera 32, and then once coming across this impressive cluster: an Adler desktop (looks fun to use, look at that huge return lever!), a Hermes standard, and the ubiquitous Lettera 32 (seriously, enough already).

Of course, Lettera 32s are not the only typewriter that show up with unerring regularity in our outdoor markets: here, a Hermes Baby in the local flea market. Made of mint-green plastic, it was admittedly in good condition.

Did someone say Hermes? A '50s green Hermes Media steps out from behind a seller's table to say hello.

The thrift store did not bring many new thrills, but there was this Tippa which I was sorely tempted to bring home. However, the ribbon vibrator did not fall back down after typing each letter, and I didn't want to buy it and discover that it was a problem with no workable solutions. So we moved on.

I usually hesitate to describe typewriters as poorly-made, having shoddy construction, or just plain wretched. After all, they each have their charms and their admirers, even if I don't like them so much myself. This Remington Holiday, though, has tempted me to revise my stance. I have nothing against plastic when done properly, but the fit of the parts on this machine is atrocious. Just take a look at the bottom right-hand corner of the picture, where the ribbon cover starts to gape open.

A rather interesting find was this Underwood Correspondent typewriter, whose label claimed it was made in Canada. I've seen Leader, Star, Champion, Universal, etc, but the Correspondent is new to me. Very handsome - and it would be a stunner with a new coat of brightly-colored paint!

Back to the market, though, there was this shabby (but chic?) maroon Corona 4. And I was sort of interested, a little tempted... until I took in the peeling paint, the generous coating of dust, the mismatched ribbon spools (covers missing), the worn decals... and the seller's hefty quote of $30. Not to mention that a typebar was bent to the extent of blocking two others, and when I pointed this out he hastily proceeded to bend it back in the other direction... well, I couldn't leave his stand fast enough.

Not before taking a picture of his handsome glass-sided Royal 10...

And a less remarkable azerty-keyed brother of unknown vintage.

Also spotted on Saturday was this '70s Consul portable (model 231.3 of '69 according to Beeching). The Consul 232 is on my virtual wish list, but this one didn't do much for me. Too boxy and sharp-cornered; it was easy to pass up.

To conclude, it seems like the most interesting find this time around is the Canadian-made Underwood Correspondent! An internet search reveals nothing quite like this, although it is clearly a relabeled Universal of some sort. Any insights?

Collectors' Weekly

(Typed on a plakatschrift Swissa Junior.)

Here is a link to the Collectors' Weekly Typewriters page.

So, while this may seem like a bit of a mixed post, my excitement at being featured on their site was not at all tempered by the discovery of the picture thief. After all, this happens all the time and it's not like CW is affiliated with eBay or their few unscrupulous sellers. The auction has since expired, but you can still see it here: http://cgi.ebay.ch/250840256543?clk_rvr_id=242244489429

This is my Olivetti Dora post from a while back. It seems the fellow received positive feedback in the end, so apparently the machine was fine and in working condition (although I wonder whether it had the same typeface as mine). I'm just appalled at the cheek of this person watermarking a stolen picture! The irony. 

The summer of Georg

Finding my way around the Kolibri. It's a lovely machine, and I'm so excited to have one at last (since the last one I purchased online arrived DOA). It writes fairly well, but a thorough cleaning and lubrication would not be out of place. All in good time.

So, there I was taking a stroll through a passageway in central Basel, and what should we find but...

The typewriters.ch shop window! Lovely, isn't it? I would have a hard time deciding which of my typewriters to give up for that long, but I think the Princess 300 makes a great representative of the genre (and also fits in nicely with my last post, ha!).

The Montana that, for eighty bucks, was just a little out of reach for us. Not that I'm complaining, though, it looks fairly ordinary and seems to take after the early Underwood portables.

 

Back at Georg's, I admired several highlights of his collection, including this handsome Stoewer Elite with beautifully-preserved decals. 

There was also a flatbed Royal No. 1, typing none the worse despite being almost a century old! Really quite remarkable. 

Entering the Schreibmaschinenmuseum - you can just see the floor to ceiling arrangement of typewriters, which are in every nook and cranny of this small space. Viewing every one of those would take hours, if not a whole day! Fortunately, most of the collection is very well documented on typewriters.ch, so you can read up ahead of your visit.