Iffy Electronics

The sticker on the ribbon cover of this Olympia Carrera portable electronic typewriter marks it out as a recipient of a German industry iF Product Design Award for 1987 — a dubious honour it shared with other AEG Olympia-made ETs the same year: the ES 72i and the Mini Office 61. The iF Industrie Design … Continue reading Iffy Electronics →

Torpedo 30 Something

According to the TWDB, the Torpedo 30 was produced between the years 1958 and 1962. But given that the serial number on mine (1524295) goes beyond the range of numbers for 1962 (1506001-1516000), do I have something later? There are at least two Torpedo 30 variants. This one ... And ones like this Torpedo 30 listed on eBay … Continue reading Torpedo 30 Something →

Jirō Shirasu

Jirō Shirasu (白洲次郎) was a Japanese bureaucrat and businessman. He was born in Ashiya, Hyogo Prefecture, on the 17th February 1902, and was known for his good looks, his 185-cm height, his love of Bentley sports cars, and his fluent English. As a young man he studied at Clare College, Cambridge. During the Allied Occupation, Shirasu … Continue reading Jirō Shirasu →

Erika 11 out of 10

Following on from my post on the Groma Modell N, another East German typewriter with a similarly industrial colour scheme ... ... a typewriter I originally thought was an Erika 9. Luckily, I happened to notice the model number on the underside of the ribbon cover ... ... equally noticeable is the serial number stamped on the underside of the … Continue reading Erika 11 out of 10 →

A Pox on Olivetti Mex

This Mexican Lettera 32, which I bought out of curiosity for $30 AUD, compares well with my 1972 Lettera 32 made in Barcelona ... That is, until you lift the ribbon cover ... Horror of horrors! Plastic spools I can live with (when they can be replaced), but plastic spindles ... No surprise then, to find that the … Continue reading A Pox on Olivetti Mex →

Machines of Loving Grace

Affixing a postage stamp upside down on a letter to a sweetheart was meant to signify "I Love You" ... Who says romance (and the typewriter) is dead?

Cancelled Czech

Polish stamp and postmark on a 1977 Czechoslovakian philatelic cover with seals embossed in silver ... ... typeface with heart-shaped accents.

Groma Keytops (and the Three Bears)

There are some stunning Groma Modell N's on the TWDB. Real beauties such as Nick T's and Scott K's. Groma N's with square and round keytops respectively. This one (part of the stash of German typewriters I discovered in Fremantle) has oval keytops ... Not quite in the same league as some earlier Modell N's, but drab crinkle has its … Continue reading Groma Keytops (and the Three Bears) →

Le Typewriter Chat

The Latest addition to my typewriter-writer-related stamp collection ... The artist, Philippe Geluck (born 7 May 1954), is a comedian, humorist and cartoonist. He studied at the INSAS (Institut National Supérieur des Arts du Spectacle, National Higher Institute of the Arts of Spectacle). Sign language typewriter by Geluck ~ Geluck's best-known work is the … Continue reading Le Typewriter Chat →

Addressing Failure

According to Pitman's Commercial Typewriting, 9th Edition 1965: "An address of three lines should be double spaced. Single or double spacing may be used for an address of four lines; for more than four lines use single spacing, except in cases where very large envelopes are used, where double spacing or even treble spacing may … Continue reading Addressing Failure →