So... Underwood's name for their special 50s typeface was Continental! It also appears that the only reason to actually buy a De Luxe over a Universal was to get this typeface, other than the contrived styling. (Well, a paper rest, too.)
Remington was selling Brother machines alongside its own Holland-produced Torpedo derivatives, in 1970.
The De Luxe is probably the only portable Underwood I have any interest in owning - and for that matter, only because it looks so beautiful.
ReplyDeleteInteresting advertisements though!
Well if it works any bit as well as my Ace Golden Touch then it should type well too. :)
DeleteI have a DeLuxe on my wish list for quite awhile and now I need to add a Continental just for the type face.
ReplyDeleteInferring from the ad copy, Continental would have been standard on the De Luxe rather than an option. I am really fond of the Continental Elite myself.
DeleteValuable information, I haven't seen these before. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteI've got a few other ads in store, hopefully they will help in dating later Smith-Corona portables, among other things.
DeleteContinental Elite is what my '57 DeLuxe has, so that makes sense! Good to know what it was called. I simply referred to it as "slab serif".
ReplyDeleteAlso, Mark Adams will be happy to see that Brothers and Holland-made machines were marketed together. (:
I'd always just called it "that Underwood typeface". Althought now we have two completely different Continental Elites...haha
DeleteI had his recent Remington posts in mind when I saw this. :)
I am a little surprised that the 333 was a more expensive machine. I expect to receive a Ten-Forty today in the mail, so I will do a comparison. I do own a Fleetwing, which in many ways is a nicer machine than a 333, though I find the action on the space bar abrupt. I think the same of the 333.
ReplyDeleteI find it interesting that the Streamliner is pitched as a light-weight machine -- "so light the airlines ignore it" -- but that it weighs the same as the all-metal 333.
By the way, what is meant by "so light the airlines ignore it"?
I'd consider the 333 to be accurately priced. Better than the Streamliner, definitely, but not quite as good as the Ten Forty. I've never used a Ten Forty but I've heard good things about them and they seem to be much better than the Streamliner.
DeleteI have no idea what that means...maybe they charged your baggage by weight? Of course Remington at this point was in no state of good health so who knows what they might be thinking. XD
Having just tested a Streamliner, I must agree. The 333 is a nicer typer. The 666 (and similar Brother machines) is nicer still.
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