How a bad thing can be a perfect opportunity

The real challenge will be taking this apart. It looks a bit daunting.

[edit] Taking this apart was pretty simple. It's easier than it looks—you just have to find the right screws.

Sent from my new Olivetti Studio 42

The Great Feeling of Loss / Consul and Olympia

TYPEWRITER DAY 2013

It's difficult to capture the beauty of this typewriter. The lines are pleasing and it is painted a very glossy rich cream colour that doesn't show well in photos. It tends to look a bit washed-out. When it was new in the late 50s, it was doubtlessly very dated to the eye of the American consumer.

If you'll remember, the Olympia SM3 was thoroughly caked with dirt. I finally gave it a fairly rough scrubbing that seems to have got most of it out! The pictures are not ideal as the sun began to set during this mass photoshoot.

Thus ends Typewriter Day 2013 for me. Two posts is hardly sufficient to devote to typewriters, which is why we have all the rest of our lives. :) "I raise my ribbon in a toast to Typewriter Days for the rest of the days typewriters exist."

Typed with and from my Consul Silent.

Carbon Ribbon 3000 / Ravishingly Red Royal

My original Hermes 3000 post
The original bulk ribbon purchase post

Natslaptaps

Hermes 3000s look almost as ungainly and cute skinned as they do whole.

I suggest that from now on everybody does their type samples according to keyboard layout.

(That title was contributed by the Royal...I really don't know. These Royals are so vain!)

As a sidenote, I will no longer be grading new typewriters. The numbers I was coming up with had no relevance, they were always clustering around 5 and that doesn't really give an accurate view of a typewriter if all of them are approximately 5 out of 6!

Sent from my Hermes 3000 and a mystery pica donor.

Lettera 22's New Colour

1953 Olivetti Lettera 22 178129

I used electrical tape to protect the nameplates

My original photos of this before repainting didn't really show the true colour, so comparing them isn't very useful. Basically, picture the entire typewriter in the tan on the paper table. It's weird that they named the paint 'Italian Olive' because it looks less like an olive and more of a foresty green.

My original Lettera 22 post.

Incidentally, he matches my Hermes 2000 now.

Written with the express approval of my Olivetti Lettera 22

Olympia SM3 / Ribbon boxes / Royal painting progress

I couldn't resist some glamour shots of Henry Guikema's my SM3.

Olivetti made ribbons for Olympia and Adler...why?

shordzi's (Georg Sommeregger) flickr photostream

Typed in an ancient way on my Olympia SM3

Two painting projects / First eBay typewriter

The rinsing out actually didn't do much good at all. It's still rather dirty. I definitely don't need to oil it though! I'm guessing that if a true cleaning takes place, the oil will be gone too. Either way, it's not filled with eraser crumbs any more. I did do a thorough soap washing of the exterior panels, especially the ribbon cover to be painted this week.

Written with speed on my Speedwriter.

After waiting 9 years, an Olivetti...

1953 Olivetti Lettera 22 178129

Typed on my new Olivetti Lettera 22

In addition, some slight updates to my sidebar and a mildly updated header photo! I changed it slightly to fit in with my colour scheme. I also slightly widened the blog to accommodate larger images. Refresh your page if the header does not fill the entire width of the blog.