11 Sept 2013

Depression Typewriters: Olympia (DM) Style

1936 DM 5 55281










(Though it doesn't beat my Corona Sterling. Not quite yet...)

This really has a mirror-like finish if there ever was one. Which makes it both hard to photograph without showing reflections, and also very easy to make self-portraits with.

Typed on my DM 5

9 comments:

  1. Congratulations! It looks pristine indeed.

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  2. Congratulations! I never knew these existed. Yours looks factory fresh. I wonder how it compares to the 1932-33 Royal Signet. I like the spring. I have a Hermes 3000 needing a new drum and main spring and I thought of using a plain old tension spring.

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    1. They don't show up here in the US as far as I know.

      Aside from the decal wear below the ribbons, it definitely looks fairly near new.

      If you can manage to set the tension spring up, and as long as there's enough room for it to run under the carriage, I assume it would work great! Good luck.

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  3. I love love love love love it! German typewriters from the depression are truly beautiful. Especially the small ones!

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    1. They are! One of the pleasant side effects of the depression here and in Europe was the extra small typewriters. :)

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  4. A beautiful specimen! And very nice photographs.

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    1. Thanks! It took a lot of trying different angles, since I don't have a light tent or something similar.

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  5. Hi, what do you use to clean and polish the surface so that it gleams like that? I use Meguiar's Car Cleaner/Liquid Wax and microfiber cleaning clothes but they still scratched the surface ever so minutely.

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    1. I just use the cheapest liquid Turtle Wax and a normal soft cloth, nothing special. Sometimes I get odd little swirl marks that look like scratches from the cloth, but they are actually variations in the hard wax finish after it dries. I've found they can be rubbed out, with care.

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