I gave away many before I ever sold one. Somehow that helped. I'm always sorry to see them go, but that sorrow is easily overshadowed by the thrill of finding another. (:
Good point, Richard. The Corona 3 folder I sold recently (see my post below) went to a dad who got it for his son to tinker with. Hopefully he will get hooked as we have by the pleasure of working on and using these lovely machines.
I bought a late 1930s Remington Portable back in 1987 from an antiques store. I already had an Olivetti Lettera 32 that got me through secondary school. And when I began collecting a few typewriters a couple of years ago, I managed to snag a 1938 Remington Remette because I had heard that they were pretty rare. And so, I put the other Remington on eBay and it sold to a lady who planned to have it on display on her wedding day for guests to leave best wishes to the newlyweds. I'm glad that it was going to be put to such good use, even if it was for a day. I did email the buyer to say that the machine was sturdy enough to hammer out an entire novel on. As for Olympia SM models, my SM2 and SM3 are two typers that aren't going anywhere. They type too nicely. Nice post, too!
I haven't sold any typewriters yet (I don't have that many), but I can imagine that it feels weird and it's hard to make a decision about it. If I would sell one of mine, it would probably be the Royal 1 flatbed. It's big, it's a lot of work. But, because it needs a lot of work and already received some TLC, this will be a hard decision to make.
A very interesting post and question, which has struck a chord with me as I am in the process of whittling down my little collection. Limited space and funds prevent any serious representative collecting, although I will retain my series of Olympias. The keepers will be users. My goal is to get my 20 or so down to, say, eight daily typers, pleasant to use and without egregious "quirks" that I will rotate for letter writing to my family and tolerant friends. All of the Olympias meet that criteria, including the typewriter my folks purchased for me as I was completing high school.
That 1957 Olympia SM3 (http://typewriterdatabase.com/1957-olympia-sm3.1311.typewriter), which appears identical to the machine in your post, will be sold over my dead body. The recollection of the pleasure of using it through high school and college has inspired my current interest in typewriters. That interest has resulted in the accumulation of about 20 machines, including three Corona 3 folders. One the Coronas was my first sale, the next to go will probably be manother Corona 3 with pharmaceutical symbols. http://typewriterdatabase.com/1921-corona-no-3-pharmacy.1295.typewriter - it may be on eBay this week if I can decide to part with it.
It's hard to let them go. I put a bit of myself into all of them, cleaning, polishing, lubricating, "re-forming" bent parts, etc. I should let one of my two art-deco Remingtion Noiseless go - but they are so lovely ... OK, perhaps I will keep ten ...
I gave away many before I ever sold one. Somehow that helped. I'm always sorry to see them go, but that sorrow is easily overshadowed by the thrill of finding another. (:
ReplyDeleteYou're spreading the joy, and that will bring you joy too. Go for it!
ReplyDeleteGood point, Richard. The Corona 3 folder I sold recently (see my post below) went to a dad who got it for his son to tinker with. Hopefully he will get hooked as we have by the pleasure of working on and using these lovely machines.
DeleteI bought a late 1930s Remington Portable back in 1987 from an antiques store. I already had an Olivetti Lettera 32 that got me through secondary school. And when I began collecting a few typewriters a couple of years ago, I managed to snag a 1938 Remington Remette because I had heard that they were pretty rare. And so, I put the other Remington on eBay and it sold to a lady who planned to have it on display on her wedding day for guests to leave best wishes to the newlyweds. I'm glad that it was going to be put to such good use, even if it was for a day. I did email the buyer to say that the machine was sturdy enough to hammer out an entire novel on.
ReplyDeleteAs for Olympia SM models, my SM2 and SM3 are two typers that aren't going anywhere. They type too nicely.
Nice post, too!
I haven't sold any typewriters yet (I don't have that many), but I can imagine that it feels weird and it's hard to make a decision about it. If I would sell one of mine, it would probably be the Royal 1 flatbed. It's big, it's a lot of work. But, because it needs a lot of work and already received some TLC, this will be a hard decision to make.
ReplyDeleteA very interesting post and question, which has struck a chord with me as I am in the process of whittling down my little collection. Limited space and funds prevent any serious representative collecting, although I will retain my series of Olympias. The keepers will be users. My goal is to get my 20 or so down to, say, eight daily typers, pleasant to use and without egregious "quirks" that I will rotate for letter writing to my family and tolerant friends. All of the Olympias meet that criteria, including the typewriter my folks purchased for me as I was completing high school.
ReplyDeleteThat 1957 Olympia SM3 (http://typewriterdatabase.com/1957-olympia-sm3.1311.typewriter), which appears identical to the machine in your post, will be sold over my dead body. The recollection of the pleasure of using it through high school and college has inspired my current interest in typewriters. That interest has resulted in the accumulation of about 20 machines, including three Corona 3 folders. One the Coronas was my first sale, the next to go will probably be manother Corona 3 with pharmaceutical symbols. http://typewriterdatabase.com/1921-corona-no-3-pharmacy.1295.typewriter - it may be on eBay this week if I can decide to part with it.
It's hard to let them go. I put a bit of myself into all of them, cleaning, polishing, lubricating, "re-forming" bent parts, etc. I should let one of my two art-deco Remingtion Noiseless go - but they are so lovely ... OK, perhaps I will keep ten ...
I need one. But I bought a printer Yesterday.
ReplyDelete