4 Matching Annotations
  1. Jun 2026
    1. reply to u/Typed_Anew at https://old.reddit.com/r/typewriters/comments/1ug4q1i/any_information_on_thisa_repair_question/

      There don't appear to be any examples in the typewriter database, so be sure to create an account and upload the data and photos you've got. https://typewriterdatabase.com/register-today.php (It's not every day someone gets to upload a new make/model!)

      Similar machines and details: - Gundka https://typewriterdatabase.com/no_info.414.typewriter-serial-number-database - Frolio https://typewriterdatabase.com/no_info.415.typewriter-serial-number-database

      By drilling down into the database and looking at pictures and descriptions of other models as well as looking at the galleries for specific examples, you may be able to troubleshoot what is missing or "off" on your machine (which is obviously missing the spools, though you may be able to fashion something similar to get yours working.)

      Other examples via online search may be helpful as well: - https://www.glennsantiques.co.uk/shop/p/02/060/11 - https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/vintage-toy-typewriter-emg-dover-1000802769 - https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=EMG+Dover+Junior+typewriter&_sacat=0&_from=R40&_trksid=m570.l1313

      Documenting your own example will make it much easier for collectors in the future.

  2. May 2026
  3. Apr 2026
    1. I've been doing this for many years and there are only a tiny few of us, beyond professional document examiners, who might care enough to delve into these questions.

      A few things to consider:

      You're more likely to find solid advice from typeface historians than you are SCM historians. You're also likely to find better advice on this topic in the more specialized fora like https://typewriter.boardhost.com/ or the typewriter discord https://discord.gg/UzaREHJnX

      You're better off using the exemplars from the catalogs (several .pdfs in the TWdb when you're logged in, or on munk.org in scanned photo format). The photos and identifications in the individual galleries of the database are USER IDENTIFIED and aren't always the most consistent as a result. Knowing some of the bigger, more knowledgeable collectors on the database and who knows what best or who has studied areas the most is incredibly helpful here. (Several of your examples are via James Grooms, who is a significant collector and generally does solid identifications, provides photos of slugs and foundry marks, but still often asks for confirmations of typeface identifications in the various fora.)

      The foundry marks on the numerals for most machines are very often are different from those of the alphabet so you may find that particular machines used something like Pica No. 1 for the letters but something different, but potentially close for the numbers.

      The slugs and designs for the number one are often the least reliable over time as it was often left off of machines entirely until the 60s or 70s. Even when a foundry specifically designed this numeral, many manufacturers left it off their machines though they often put an exemplar for it into their catalogs. Thus when you compare, you may be comparing the lowercase letter "L" in exemplars for individual machines. In particular, I've seen examples recently for Royal who had the number 1 in their catalogs, but almost never had a key on the machine for it and either relied on the user using the "L" or in cases of double gothic faces the letter "I", and as a result, you'll never find an exact "match" between the two.

      An exact determination is highly unlikely to change the value of your particular machine in the slightest.

      It would be nice if the Typewriter Database encouraged people to upload photos of their slugs and foundry marks specifically and had data fields for identifying the typefaces as well as fields for which sources they used to provide those identifications.

      The level of resources and knowledge in this area means that it's incumbent on you to do your own research and come to your own conclusions based on what is broadly available in terms of original catalogs and exemplars in the wild. This being said, the only way the state of the art changes is for people who do this sort of research to publish it with their lines of reasoning on their own websites, here on Reddit, or other typewriter related fora.


      Reply to u/frankinreddit at https://old.reddit.com/r/typewriters/comments/1sskes0/smithcorona_id_help_are_these_actually_pica_no_1/

  4. Jul 2024
    1. Differences between Olympia SGE typewriters

      reply to u/ingeniouskeys at https://www.reddit.com/r/typewriters/comments/1e0utt9/differences_between_olympia_sge_typewriters/

      The Typewriter Database is going to be one of your better sources, but will require delving into each particular exemplar to see what their owners may have written about them. So, for example, go to https://typewriterdatabase.com/Olympia.SGE40.61.bmys and then click on the individual galleries for all the machines. If you've got an account, you can message those who currently have them and ask questions directly.

      Given their manufacture in the late 60s and into the early 70s you're likely to find small incremental improvements in the electrical side, but you're also likely to find more dramatic changes in manufacturing which made them cheaper (replacing metal pieces for flimsier plastic.) I doubt the 45 (later 70s) is going to be incredibly much better than the 40, which I would suspect to be more robust from a manufacturing standpoint. You may have vaguely better "specs", but its build quality is likely going to suffer even more, so you'll have to balance out what you're after.

      If you want to delve into the deeper specifics, then try out the repair manuals for them: https://www.lulu.com/shop/ted-munk/the-olympia-sge-304050-typewriter-repair-manual/paperback/product-1e4pnd4v.html?page=1&pageSize=4