4 Mar 2014

Some call this the best flat typewriter

1953 Princess 200 36154











Sent from my new Princess 200

17 comments:

  1. Great looking typewriter. This is the first one of these I've seen. Another one to add to my wish list.

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    1. The Princess was never sold in the US (from what I know) so it's vastly under-appreciated! Definitely better than an Hermes Baby or Olympia SF. The build quality is excellent.

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  2. You certainly have a thing for those white typewriters! I love that switch. Nicely designed.

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    1. They're special in some way. You expect white with plastic, but on a proper metal-shelled typewriter it's nice. It's also harder to keep clean. XD

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  3. You manage to get yet another pristine machine! Looks a dream in a cream :)

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  4. Beautifully presented! I agree, these are outstanding typewriters.

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  5. Awesome. I like the white body on a burnt orange base. The indicator is cool. I've been eyeing a Princess for a while now but all I've found in the color scheme I want have been German QWERTZ machines. I'm sure that's a non-issue for you. Congrats!

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  6. Mmm, nice. I have missed out on a few of these having heard they are good and small and fairly light. I usually see them in two tone.

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    1. I'm not fond of most of the Princess color schemes, which is why I was pleased that this was all-ivory. But the first one that I really fell in love with the appearance of was this green one, I'm assuming very early in the production due to the crinkle paint: https://img0.etsystatic.com/023/0/7936467/il_fullxfull.501323276_lpow.jpg

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  7. Nice, very, nice! It looks just as clean and "yummy" as the ivory beauty sold a while ago by Filipa Freitas on her dazzling site, Typewriter Work Shop.
    I think you are correct about them not being sold in the U.S.; the only QWERTY keyboards I have seen for sale invariably come from the UK and have the "£" sign instead of the "$"
    I have always heard that the Princess is rather heavy (at least compared with a Tippa or Baby or Olympia SF). True or not true?
    But is the Princess really a "flat" typewriter? Maybe, to put it another way: would it have made your short list for being lugged about on your trip to Georgia?
    For what it's worth, the Machines of Loving Grace website says "[t]hese machines are properly between true travelling typewriters and desk models."
    Thanks for sharing it. Nice to hear that it has a quick, snappy light feel as well as a solid and pleasant feel. Light or heavy, any typewriter so-described is a real winner.

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    1. As long as you can get the color right, it's easy to photograph a white or very light typewriter and make it look good. :)

      It would have been my instant choice to take with me to Georgia. Smaller than the Lettera 22 I did take, and with a much nicer case. :) For me it definitely fits in the flat category along with the SF and Baby.

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  8. The Princess 300 was sold in the US in small numbers. If you look in a newspaper archive for a Princess Portable, you can find some ads.

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  9. Also available as the Scheidegger Princess Matic Typewriter (except for the body lettering it is exactly the same machine.) Also made by Keller and Knappich in [West] Germany and named after Willy Scheigegger, Swiss founder of an international typing school.

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  10. Hi there!
    I'm new to typewriters and have recently purchased an Olympia SM3 (love it!). I was looking to get a flat portable and am between the Princess 300 and a Groma Kolibri. Would love to hear your thoughts about the two and which one you would recommend. It sounds like the Princess types like a dream and would be travel-friendly.

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    1. I prefer the Princess to the Kolibri, myself. It's not quite as small or light, but it's better for long stretches of writing. Not to say the Kolibri isn't a fine typewriter! But a Princess would be an easier entry into flat portables for an Olympia SM3 user.

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    2. Thank you so much! Hunting for one now :)

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