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  1. Last 7 days
    1. Spice Mixes Recipes by Naomi Braeden [2017] Cooking With Spices - 100 Recipes for Blends Marinades and Sauces from Around the World by Mark C. Stevens [2017]

      added to Zotero 2026-09-11

      via u/Anxious_Increase_219 at https://old.reddit.com/r/CookbookLovers/comments/1wc9gyb/spice_blend_book/

      They also recommend:

      Also about spices and cooking with spices:

      • Culinary Herbs and Spices by Ben-Erik von Wyk [2013]

      • Beginner's Guide to Cooking with Spices by Joseph Veebe [2019]

      • Herb & Spice Companion - The Complete Guide to Over 100 Herbs & Spices by Lindsey Herman [2015]

      • Herbs & Spices, The Cooks' Reference by Jill Norman [2015]

      • Spice - Understand the Science of Spice Create Exciting New Blends and Revolutionize by Dr Stuart Farrimond [2018]

      • The Encyclopedia of Herbs, Spices, & Flavorings by Elisabeth Lambert Ortiz [1992]

    1. An attorney from that office, John Yoo, infamously suggested that executive branch employees could have the power to crush a child’s testicles if doing so could extract national security intelligence from the child’s parent. The Justice Department later found that Mr. Yoo had committed “intentional professional misconduct,” but the courts granted him and other policymakers broad protection from civil liability.
    2. After Watergate, Congress exposed how the F.B.I. had surveilled, blackmailed and intimidated activists, celebrities and politicians. To prevent such abuse, President Gerald Ford’s administration prohibited the agency from opening investigations without reasonable suspicion of a crime. In 2008, Attorney General Michael Mukasey and his Justice Department worked around that reform by creating a new category of F.B.I. investigations called “assessments.” Under the new policy, agents could use physical surveillance and interview acquaintances, as well as informants, to gather information, even in the absence of a demonstrably high level of suspicion.
    1. reply to u/InIt2WihnIt at https://reddit.com/r/typewriters/comments/1wba3iq/first_typewriterribbon_right/

      Kudos!

      Here's your manual: https://site.xavier.edu/polt/typewriters/SCMClassic12.pdf

      Try to put your paper straight down from the start and place it flush with the adjustable paper guide as you roll it in with the platen knob. If it's still crooked, use the paper release lever to remove tension on the platen and rollers and then re-align it using either the line indicator, the paper bail, or the paper table. Then roll the paper back to where you need it to be to start writing.

      See also: https://boffosocko.com/2025/08/17/the-uses-and-subtleties-of-the-line-indicator-on-a-typewriter/

    1. Ad poster for the Remington typewriters, made by Leonetto Cappiello (1875-1942), France, c. 1910

      Possibly inspired by the preface to the novel Penguin Island (L’Île des Pingouins. Calmann-Lévy, 1908) by Nobel prize laureate Anatole France, in which a scholar is drowned by an avalanche of index cards which formed a gigantic whirlpool streaming out of his card index (Zettelkasten)!? (See: https://boffosocko.com/2022/10/24/death-by-zettelkasten/)

    1. From what I read, the little bit of oil that can be used should only be on active machines. If it’s sitting for a long time it’s better to have them dry. Have you used oil? If so, any recommendations on brand?

      reply to u/grenierdave at https://reddit.com/r/typewriters/comments/1w86wy5/first_typewriter/

      I like this Sewing Parts oil because it's got a nice, long "zoom spout" for dispensing a drop at a time. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BV4G9R1Sypers.html

      I also sometimes use Rem Oil in a spray can, but that can be overly aggressive, so I follow it up with my air compressor at 75-90psi to blow off the excess.

      Using a toothpick, screwdriver with a long shank and flat blade, or a long q-tip saturated in oil, and doing a "drop" at a time on moving parts is an old-school trick as well. A 4 oz bottle of oil should last you nearly forever.

      Another trick some will use is to do a 10:1 mixture of mineral spirits to oil on their last treatment of a machine. The mineral spirits will flash off fairly quickly and leave an incredibly thin coat of oil on all the parts that need it (with exception to the segment.)

      A drop of oil on your carriage rails every couple of weeks is also useful for ongoing maintenance.

      See also:<br /> - https://boffosocko.com/2024/08/09/on-colloquial-advice-for-degreasing-cleaning-and-oiling-manual-typewriters/ - https://boffosocko.com/2025/06/06/typewriter-use-and-maintenance-for-beginning-to-intermediate-typists/

    1. reply to James Grooms at https://typewriterdatabase.com/show.21794.typewriter

      Notes on differentiating the Underwood SS/Rhythm Touch, SX-50, SX-100, and SX-150


      How was it that you identified your model here as an SX-50? Are there ads/photos/manuals for an SX-50?

      The SX-100 ads you show seem to have a similar 5 stripes of chrome on the side which is similar to the previous SS/Rhythm Touch Models, but this chrome detailing seems to be missing from your SX-50 as well as the SX-150 advertisement.

      Your SX-50 exemplar and the SX-150 advertisements also seem to have/show vertical touch adjustment and ribbon selector switches while the SS/Rhythm Touch and the ad for the SX-100 have horizontal sliders for the touch adjustment and a vertical ribbon selector.

      The main page of the database mentions an SX-50 and an SX-150 in July of 1953, but doesn't have a corresponding mention of an SX-100. It reads: "Oct. 1953: Model SX 150, SX 50 started (7500000)"

      Polt's site has an explicit manual for the SX-150 which may help to differentiate on both form and functionality: https://site.xavier.edu/polt/typewriters/Underwood150.pdf though there are no corresponding manuals for a 50 or a 100.

      This Tumbr identifies Sean Connery's machine in Finding Forrester as an SX-100: https://www.tumblr.com/typewriterspotting/16181699692/spotted-in-finding-forrester-2000-forrester-and <br /> Here's an extended clip from the film: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=juko0sAndsA <br /> and some still photos of it from Robert Messenger's site: https://oztypewriter.blogspot.com/search?q=finding+forrester <br /> Given the appearance in the film, it might actually be an SS/Rhythm Touch, but it's difficult to distinguish this as well without a clear view of the front.

      The database still seems to have empty landing pages for the:<br /> - SX-50: https://typewriterdatabase.com/Underwood.SX-50.4.bmys <br /> - SX-50 11\": https://typewriterdatabase.com/Underwood.SX-50+11%22.4.bmys - SX-100: https://typewriterdatabase.com/Underwood.SX-100.4.bmys <br /> - SX-150: https://typewriterdatabase.com/Underwood.SX-150.4.bmys <br /> Presumably they existed previously, but without clear delineations of features/changes over time and were concatenated into the SX page?

      Additionally, I'm noticing that some of the SX exemplars at the bottom of the page at https://typewriterdatabase.com/Underwood.SX.4.bmys are really badged as Underwood Golden Touches!

  2. Sep 2026
    1. On receipt of orders from designated person in authority, destroy typewriters as completely as time, means, and personnel permit. Priority will be given to the obliteration or destruction of all unit identification lettering or markings, all serial numbers, and all manufacturer's nameplates. Smash typewriters and components with a sledge or other heavy instrument ; burn with kerosene, gasoline, fuel oil, flame thrower, or incendiary bomb; detonate with firearms, grenades, TNT, or other explosives. In the absence of other means, bury, sink, or scatter parts and components.

      Department of the Army. 1955. TM 10 601 Dept of the Army Technical Manual: Underwood Typewriter Maintenance and Repair. http://archive.org/details/TM10601.

      https://archive.org/details/TM10601/page/n65/mode/2up

    1. I have a weird affection for ”reciept/cheap bible” paper, and I don’t intend to type on both sides, so I’m actually pleasantly surprised that such a giant is actually surprisingly gentle with the paper! I have a Hermes 2000 that is the opposite; I call her the ”Swiss Machine Gun” because she punches ”bullet holes” in so many papers if you are not careful haha 😅

      reply to u/240snusit at https://reddit.com/r/typewriters/comments/1w55sxd/dream_machine_aquired_1959_olympia_sg1_with_two/p7ciyaz/

      I'll never understand how people love their typewriters so much, but refuse to take care of them. It's like driving around a nice Ferrari, but with bald tires.

      Go ahead and spend the money to recover your brick hard platen and then get a proper ring and cylinder adjustment. It'll keep your machine from punching holes in your paper, your ribbon will last a lot longer, and your machine will love you for it.

  3. Aug 2026
    1. I am an old typewriter repairman. I worked at the underwood assembly plant in Hartford Connecticut for two years and became a typewriter service man for 20 years in St. Louis. I don’t own any typewriter’s I know the gray fives like the back of my hand. As well as the scriptors and forums. Still interested in those fabulous machines that I made a living off.

      via Jim Tuxbury on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/groups/705152958470148/posts/1355024096816361

    1. Throckmorton sign, also known as John Thomas sign, refers to when the penis points in the direction of unilateral disease, typically of the pelvis or hip. Throckmorton sign is a slang term used humorously by medical students and residents.According to the first serious study of the sign published in 1988, the sign is less accurate than tossing a coin 2. This finding was supported by another subsequent study and also a meta-analysis 5,7.

      https://radiopaedia.org/articles/throckmorton-sign-pelvis?lang=us

    1. The purse on Erasmus’s lap may be included in order to illustrate his generosity. Erasmus and Gillis made a point of informing More that they had split the cost of this gift because they wanted it to be a present from them both.

      Compare this suggestion of the purse as an attribute suggesting generosity to Jardine's (1996) suggestion that its meant to place Erasmus in the merchant class.

      (Of course it could be doing both.)

    2. The books on the shelf behind the scholar have inscriptions relating to his recently published works: Novum Testament[um] and Hieronymus refer to Erasmus’s editions of the New Testament and St Jerome; Lovkianos refers to Erasmus’s and More’s collaboration in translating Lucian’s Dialogues; and Hor, which originally read Mor and must have been altered during an early restoration, spells the first letters of the Englishman’s name and refers to the ‘Praise of Folly’ (Encomium Moriae), a satirical essay written whilst Erasmus stayed with More in Bucklersbury in London in 1509. The words on the paper are a paraphrase of St Paul’s Epistle to the Romans, the handwriting is a close imitation of Erasmus’s own hand, and the reed pen was Erasmus’s favourite writing tool.
    3. https://www.rct.uk/collection/405759/desiderius-erasmus-1466-1536

      One ought to notice the shears hanging on a nail or hook on the bookshelf in the background. Presumably these would have been a primary tool for Erasmus' ars excerpendi practice.

      Cross reference Lisa Jardine (1996) who calls out the purse on Erasmus' chest which identifies him as part of the merchant class.

      Also cross reference Hans Holbein's portraits of Erasmus.

    1. Coke contains phosphoric acid, which chemically breaks down iron oxide (rust) into iron phosphate. And Diet Coke isn’t sticky like Coke. And aluminum loses electrons and oxidizes, while the iron oxide (rust) gains electrons. This chemical reduction fundamentally changes the rust back into a form that easily breaks away from the base metal.

      Craig French recommends soaking rusty typewriter springs in Diet Coke and then wiping them with aluminum foil to remove rust.

      https://www.facebook.com/groups/705152958470148/posts/1354433773542060

    1. I would be more than happy to help you fix it, or if you are just done with it, I have a large number of machines for sale. I have everything from the 1920's to the 1980s, Manual, electric, electronic. I have portables and ultra portables. I also sell mine for about 1/3 of normal shops because I do this for the fun of it, not for income. I have a large number of Royal Quiet Deluxe and can even custom paint one if you want. Depending on your location, I'd even take that one in trade.

      via Milton Solomon at https://www.facebook.com/groups/705152958470148/posts/1354754280176676/

    1. reply to u/dragonfenixbird at https://www.reddit.com/r/typewriters/comments/1vuht9b/about_to_buy_my_first_ibm_selectric_supposedly/

      Honestly, unless you're in the game to spend months/years learning IBM repair and maintenance, the single best thing you can do for yourself is to buy a refurbished machine from a repair shop.

      Chances are almost 100% that your machine will require some level of servicing and in addition to the $30 you'll have lost you'll end up paying as much or more to have it serviced than you might have done just buying refurbished from the start, especially if you just want to start typing.

      Save yourself a lot of time, effort, and heartache and just buy one that you know works: https://site.xavier.edu/polt/typewriters/tw-repair.html

    1. Of all coincidences, the post immediately after yours in the sub was for a refurbished Studio 44 out of Berkeley Typewriter Shop with a script typeface: https://www.reddit.com/r/typewriters/comments/1vtctas/will_i_regret_it_passing_on_this_olivetti_studio/

      The though thing is recognizing how to identify potential script machines in online auctions when they don't explicitly state or show the typeface. For many machines prior to 1970 the clue to a script machine may be a dedicated "1" key as script lower case "l" typically won't suffice to also stand in for the number 1 as it did for most other typefaces.

      If you'd like to scroll through some and do some research, the database has a section for typefaces: https://typewriterdatabase.com/typefaces.php If you log in there are also downloadable typeface catalogs you can browse through in addition to the resources Ted Munk has at https://typecast.munk.org/category/typewriter-typestylesfonts/

      On machines with stated script faces, you may need to be prepared to pay $100-150 on average above the cost of just the machine itself. Less common (and more expensive) variations are machines with Fraktur, Vertical Script, or Spencerian typefaces.

      Good luck in your hunt for one, they're definitely out there and not rare.

      Reply to u/Ganimor at https://old.reddit.com/r/typewriters/comments/1vtcpjz/cursive_typewriter/

    1. reply to u/rjekyllhyde at https://old.reddit.com/r/Libraries/comments/1vruija/typewriter_request/

      Librarian Suzanne LaPierre wrote an article last year about typewriters in libraries. I'll link it and some additional references below for those who are curious.

      The Los Angeles Public Library has recently been doing some events with LA poet laureate Brian Sonia-Wallace who creates on his typewriter: https://www.instagram.com/p/DXufGLmgRB3/

      There are more than a handful of typewriter enthusiasts who have been holding "Type-Ins" at libraries in the US over the past 5 or more years. I've held a couple of these at a nearby bookstore in Pasadena, CA and we had over 200 people stop by at both of them. (I'd have held them at a local library, but our main branch is undergoing a huge renovation and some of our other nearby branches have been affected by the Eaton Fire in January 2025.)

      I know one collector who recently did a display at a library: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJqYPVOb2Ss

      I've run across one or two libraries that have typewriters as part of their Library of Things collections along with other analog materials like sewing machines, binoculars, and telescopes.

      There are still lots of reasons to want to use a typewriter including for creativity, distraction-free writing, getting away from screens and having a more analog writing experience. Woz Flint has a relatively recent book about using typewriters to create first drafts of writing projects. In the last five or so years a lot of children in the 7-21 year old bracket have been drawn to typewriters as a means of getting away from their computers and screens and allowing them to concentrate better on their writing work. Richard Polt, a typewriter collector and professor of philosophy at Rutgers, wrote a book about the resurgence of typewriters. A handful of college professors have recently been reintroducing typewriters to their pedagogy. Creating art with a typewriter is also still a thing. Taylor Swift has been using typewriters in her songs and videos which adds to the cool factor, especially for the kids.

      Is it worth mentioning that Ray Bradbury wrote Fahrenheit 451 on a typewriter at the UCLA Library which was coin operated?!?

      I've personally got a small collection of typewriters as well as a list of articles and resources on them for those who may be interested in considering them. I'm happy to chat with any librarians who might consider adding them to their collections.

      Happy typing!

      References:<br /> * LaPierre, Suzanne S. “BiblioTech: Typewriters in Libraries.” Computers in Libraries 45, no. 2 (March 2025): 24–26. https://www.infotoday.com/cilmag/mar25/index.shtml. * Polt, Richard. 2015. The Typewriter Revolution: A Typist’s Companion for the 21st Century. 1st ed. Woodstock, VT: Countryman Press. * Flint, Woz Delgado. 2023. The Distraction-Free First Draft. One Idea Press. https://www.oneideapress.com/product-page/the-distraction-free-first-draft.

    1. There are dozens of books (and websites) out there that have writing prompts which may help you. Flip open to a random page and start writing.

      Here's a good example: https://www.amazon.com/Things-Write-Francisco-Writers-Grotto/dp/1452105448/

      If there's some longer work you're hacking away at, another exercise I like to do occasionally that helps on the work at hand, but also gets me away from it is to put one or more of my characters into other popular books or movies. For example, what happens when I drop the 15 year old high school girl from my work into the middle of Die Hard? How would her dad attempt to fit into the milieu of Regina George's gang in Mean Girls? It can be quirky and fun, but also works to hone who those characters are by having them interact with other well developed characters.

      reply to u/Sinfully-Dead https://old.reddit.com/r/typewriters/comments/1vrnldl/neglecting_my_typewriter_not_really/

    1. https://axminsterheritage.org/industry-commerce/

      J H Shand Ltd.<br /> From 1940 until the late 1980s J H Shand Ltd employed highly-skilled engineers and technicians, designing and manufacturing steel type used in office equipment and industrial marking systems; and the manufacture of tools and equipment for use by other manufacturing companies. The company’s original role was to supply individual letter type blocks to manufacturers of manual typewriters which they could build into their machines. As electric typewriters took over, the company specialised in the manufacture of plastic ‘daisy wheels’. As well as producing raised characters for use in typewriters etc , the company made embossing type to produce raised letters or numbers when pressed into metal or plastic. This technique was used to make credit cards, many millions of which have been issued. Another side to the business made larger equipment including precision machine tools.

    1. Example of female typist covering keyboard up with handkerchief to show how light the touch needed would be.

      "Note that the handkerchief is hardly ruffled."

      I feel like that time period and the century before, being able to do something through a thin piece of cloth was indicative of how little effort was required, or how dainty something could be. It definitely feels very gendered to me, but I'll have to find other historical examples to back this argument up.

    1. In the digital age, these typewriter superfans hold the keys<br /> by [[Victoria Hoffmann]], [[Mackenzie Farkus]], [[Melanie Stetson Freeman]] in The Christian Science Monitor CSMonitor.com<br /> accessed on 2026-08-15T16:33:28

      a mini history along with some reasons to use typewriters in the 21st century. nothing really new here...

    1. I suspect the memory-aiding features of the bookshelf itself are qualitatively different from those of a plain list of the books in that bookshelf. The book shelves are a kind of ‘memory palace’ for the books themselves. In fact this realisation is quite important to me. It might explain why I get frustrated when someone reorganises these books: they’re literally reorganising my memory.
    1. A 1955 Smith Corona Silent-Super in Vertical Script, made its way into my hands. In Whitefish, MT currently, and of course I had to check FBmarket for any machines in the area. The ONLY one for sale was this ad with a bad-photo'd SCM with no photos but the machine sitting in an upside down case. BUT, I saw that little "I" on the @ key and BAM! Vertical script.

      via nickila_typewriter at https://www.instagram.com/p/Db9wFQ2G8eW/

      Smith-Corona machines with an @/1 key on the home row can be indicative of a machine with vertical script.

    1. The sharpest increases include lunch boxes (26.8 percent), notebooks (23 percent), index cards (22.2 percent), notebook paper (20 percent), and tissues (20 percent).

      As Students Head Back to School, Families Face 11% Price Hikes<br /> by [[Elizabeth Pancotti]], [[Zoe Butler]], [[Natalie Forman]], [[Janelle Jones]]<br /> accessed on 2026-08-12T14:37:28

      2025 price: $3.16<br /> 2026 price: $3.86<br /> Increase 22.2%

    1. https://www.facebook.com/groups/705152958470148/posts/1307796088205829/

      You'll notice that the gallery on the TWdB (https://typewriterdatabase.com/Remington.Streamliner.42.bmys) has a number of different prefixes for these models. I've got two that start with "AX" while others are "EX", "FX", "HX", "IX", "MX", and "NX". These different prefixes surely indicate something, but what that is isn't known.

      My first guesses are that it may have something to do with the keyboard configuration or number of keys or maybe it's the country of manufacture as Remington went from manufacturing in the US to Canada, Holland, and England all around the time of these machines. it might also be platen width, color, or it maybe something internally like the specific assembly line they rolled off of or incredibly subtle style or manufacturing changes which may relate to spare parts replacements. You can use the examples in the database to try to compare and contrast them to puzzle it out.

      Where was yours manufactured? What keyboard does it have?

      Be sure to upload your example to the database with the details you do have as more examples make these things easier to puzzle out as time goes by.

    1. An article from American Machinist Magazine (January 4, 1923). The article, "The Organization and Management of a Medium Sized Plant," was written by Percy S. Brown, a Works Manager at The Corona Typewriter Company in Groton, NY. He would become vice-president of Corona in 1924. Here's a snippet on what went into making one Corona typewriter. "There are 671 parts on the typewriter, 139 on the case, 110 on the folding stand, a total of 920 parts. There are 355 different parts on the typewriter, 61 on the case and 37 on the stand, a total of 453 different parts. There are 1,999 manufacturing operations on the typewriter, 210 on the case, and 205 on the stand, a total of 2,414 operations, exclusive of inspection. To these must be added 38 subassembly operations and 15 assembly operations, a total of 53 assembly operations, and a grand total of 2,467 operations of all kinds, exclusive of inspection. If inspections are added, the total number of operations performed amount to approximately 4,600."

      via https://www.facebook.com/groups/TypewriterCollectors/posts/10163958948944678/

      check original source

    1. A typewriter contains approximately 1800 to 2000 parts, which require approximately 20,000 different operations to manufacture. An operator typing at the rate of sixty words per minute actually motivates, with his or her fingers, 10,000 to 12,000 parts per minute, approximating 200 moving parts per second.
  4. www.instagram.com www.instagram.com
    Acme Typewriters on Instagram: "This rare and extraordinary typewriter is one of the most complete surviving factory Fraktur typewriters known. Manufactured in 1985 for the “Bund für deutsche Schrift” (Association for the German Script), it combines the exceptionally rare factory Fraktur typeface with its original documentation recording delivery to the association, factory identification tag, spare Fraktur type slugs, and original carrying case—all preserved in exceptional original condition. Unlike earlier Fraktur typewriters, the Erika 127 was manufactured in 1985 and belongs to the final generation of mechanical writing machines, allowing the distinctive beauty of this historic typeface to be enjoyed with a light, fluid typing action that is both practical for extended writing and remarkably easy to master. Few typefaces are as closely associated with the cultural history of a nation as Fraktur. Developed from late medieval blackletter scripts, it became the principal printed typeface of the German-speaking world for almost four centuries. Although its official use declined during the twentieth century, Fraktur experienced a remarkable revival among typographers, calligraphers, book artists, and collectors who value its extraordinary visual richness and unmistakable historical character. Typed on paper, Fraktur produces a page that recalls fine letterpress printing more readily than conventional typescript, giving even ordinary correspondence a distinctive presence. The *Bund für deutsche Schrift* was founded to preserve and promote the traditional German scripts—Fraktur for printing and Sütterlin or Kurrent for handwriting—at a time when they had largely disappeared from everyday use. During the 1980s the association commissioned a limited number of Fraktur-equipped Erika typewriters from VEB Robotron so that members could continue producing authentic Fraktur documents using modern mechanical equipment. This typewriter is available for purchase now. You can read more about it on our website. See the link in our bio/profile. #typewriter #typewriterrevolution #typewritercollector #frakturtypewriter"
    1
    1. The *Bund für deutsche Schrift* was founded to preserve and promote the traditional German scripts—Fraktur for printing and Sütterlin or Kurrent for handwriting—at a time when they had largely disappeared from everyday use. During the 1980s the association commissioned a limited number of Fraktur-equipped Erika typewriters from VEB Robotron so that members could continue producing authentic Fraktur documents using modern mechanical equipment.

      https://www.instagram.com/p/DbgXamRguND/

    1. Davis Typewriter Works: A Royal Safari at Eighteen Years on the Net<br /> by [[Will Davis]]<br /> accessed on 2026-08-06T20:57:15

    1. Service Calls: $55 + $75/hour for labor within Greater Dayton Area. Service calls outside of Greater Dayton: $55 + $75/hour drive time + $75/hour for labor. (Currently servicing Ohio and Indiana, for other states please contact us.)​ ​ Cleaning: $75-$200+ Prices fluctuate based on the method we have to use to clean your machine. Call or come in to get an exact price.​ ​ Replacement of key legends and polishing key rings: $100   New/Replacement Parts: Ribbons $8 Metal spools $25 each Recovered platens  $90-150 Recovered feed rollers $10-50 each Felt removed and replaced $5 per piece Replacement draw bands $35 New feet $35-45 ​ Other Services: Type height adjustment $35 Ribbon height adjustment $30 Main spring tension adjustment $25
    1. reply to u/dazzleshipsrecords at https://old.reddit.com/r/typewriters/comments/1vhiow0/passed_this_on_up_will_i_regret_it/

      You'll always regret the typewriters you don't get (or can't carry—just yesterday I had to pass up on a $44 Olympia SM3 in good condition because I couldn't physically carry it with me on vacation and I'm still irked about it).

      Watch Shopgoodwill.com and surely you'll run into a few KMMs in similar condition that you can pick up at nearby shops in the $15-25 range.

    1. reply to u/betonyourself19 at https://old.reddit.com/r/typewriters/comments/1vhjuav/what_am_i_looking_at_here/

      It's a Smith-Corona 5 series from the 1950s, likely a Silent-Super (though it's difficult to read the lettering on the back of the paper table. Looks like it may have been either originally a pink machine and someone repainted the body grey or someone chopped the pink parts off and put them on a gray machine.


      Repair shops in the US typically run $40-75/hour of labor plus parts or a few hundred for a general clean, oil, and adjust. You can ask for the bare minimum to get it going again all the way up to a full restoration depending on your needs and budget. Typically based on what you need a shop will give you a quote before starting work.

      https://site.xavier.edu/polt/typewriters/tw-repair.html

  5. Jul 2026
    1. 1st hand, Because his assistant was the one who contacted me first, then I talk to Larry via phone, after working on 2 Hermes 3000's, the 3rd typewriter I delivered myself to him at his place in Tucson. After he died, all 12 of his Hermes 3000's were auctioned of for about $3000.00 ea, I was hoping he would have willed those to me . . . .

      via Duane Jensen at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJxFzACiISM&lc=UgyDGDDU6cEskMvsPmh4AaABAg.9Vb0zueAXOFAEfXxtmCuPo

    2. Royal KHM 1940 Typewriter, Special Order for Frank Lloyd Wright, W-I-D-E Carriage, Unique Type Fonts

      1940 Royal KHM typewriter that as customized for Frank Lloyd Wright. 20" platen with custom slugs. Oversized mainspring for wide carriage.

      Serial number KHM 20-92-2155513

      Custom slugs include. <br /> - 3 space wide oval/Rectangle (Moved Q to effectuate this) - Circle with plus /2 - filed diamond/3 - filed circle/4 - plus/5 - double dagger/6 - octothorpe/7 - section/8 - filled triangle/9 - filled circle/0 - six point asterisk/ hollow square <br /> - ( / ) - , / empty circle (next to P and Q on second row) - $/+<br /> - 1/2 / & - - oval / larger square<br /> - % / ,<br /> - ; / . - : / pilcrow - " / _ - arrow up - thermometer-esque glyph

      The extra-wide slugs were at either end of the basket. They moved the letter Q to the far side of the keyboard to fit the custom left slug into the machine.

    1. IBM Selectric Service Training (1978, Restored)<br /> by [[Thickboy]] on YouTube<br /> accessed on 2026-07-31T10:13:34

      I just finished a project and I think a lot of you would like it. I found the old Selectric training videos but the narration is very outdated, slow paced and the slides were all burned red and miscolored.

      With the help of AI I restored the photos and created a new narrator. The script has been modernized to sound more palatable to our ear. "Stop the reel" updated to "pause the video", for example and is now narrated at a natural pace in a woman's voice.

      These courses, for me at least, are way easier to sit through and absorb. There maybe be some coloration errors or glitches in some photos, but for the most part they came out pretty good. Take a look and let me know what you think.

      I'm also putting together some review videos with quiz questions for each section that I will release soon.

      IBM Selectric Service Training (1978, Restored)<br /> via u/Mike3521 at https://www.reddit.com/r/typewriters/comments/1vbcsob/just_finished_restoring_the_old_selectric/

    2. 250. Tackling ‘Big History’ feat. Ian Morris<br /> unSILOed Podcast with Greg LaBlanc

      • Most of human history and evolution is about energy capture.
      • Investing 80x energy into land to get 4x output from it has been transformational for modern farmers. (Turning oil into bread.)
      • Marshall Sahlins - synopsis: agriculture is a really bad idea.
      • Morris Theorem: human history is driven by lazy, greedy people.
      • "Fossil fuel values" (00:39:00)
      • fairness is a fundamental human value; justice is dramatically different across time and space (00:45:08)
      • Morris' "5 Horsemen of the Apocalypse" (the five problems humans encounter when they reach the limits of energy extraction): massive movements of people (mobility); epidemics; climate change; war; governmental collapses;
      • The price of overhunting for one person versus the price for the collective. How do we solve these collective problems (particularly for lazy, greedy humans)? (00:52:35)
      • Regional failures were the general pattern before; now failures are a global scale problem.
      • Morris' explanation of Brexit based on his Big History thesis as one of how Britain maintains power with respect to both China and Europe. (01:05:40)
    1. I have possibly the rarest machine on the planet. Owned by the CEO of Coca-Cola who contracted Royal to make a special slug in the 50s for business correspondence. This is one slug, shift produces the Coca, flat gives cola. To my knowledge there's not another in existence...

      u/NashvilleTypewriter reports that he owns a typewriter with a custom Coca (shift) - Cola (unshifted) slug that came from the daughter of a former Coke CEO.

    1. reply to u/NoFace125 at https://www.reddit.com/r/typewriters/comments/1vb701u/thoughts_on_3d_printed_parts_on_typewriters/

      I've heard mixed things on 3-D printed platens and there aren't many out there from what I've seen/heard.

      I've seen lots of broken spacebars, though never run across a 3-D printed one.

      As for the platen knobs on the Hermes 3000, they're probably one of the most commonly broken parts of any typewriter out there, and I've seen dozens of variations of printed knobs for those. It's almost like you don't own a real Hermes 3000 unless you've replaced the knobs on it.

    1. I also still use the BSI function on the iPhone which stands for Braille Screen input. It allows you to type in landscape if you were using a brailler. So using the 6 dot method and once you have 'got your fingers lined up and done a command to tell the phone where your fingers are on the screen you can type as if you were using a brailler and it then translates that into normal keyboard / number presses and types the appropriate letters in. So because of the fact that we use contractions in grade 2 for words, arguably it's quicker than typing normally on the on screen keyboard on the phone. I can use both though using the screen reader Voiceover. I prefer the sound of a typewriter over a brailler though. Much quieter and more pleasurable to type on honestly.

      via u/liamkembleyoung at https://old.reddit.com/r/typewriters/comments/1v19s46/got_my_first_typewriter/

    1. https://reddit.com/r/typewriters/comments/1vajqs7/olympia_sg3_question/

      Olympia SG3 typewriter with an optional carbon ribbon set up?

      My guess:

      Is it just a holder or is there some sort of drive mechanism associated with it? Is the other side a mirror version of it?

      I have seen a handful of custom machines (all of them standards) in the late 50s/early 60s that had dual ribbon set ups: one being the standard cloth ribbon mechanism and the second, usually in a "Princess Leia's hair bun" configuration on the sides of the machine (similar to your photo) in which a secondary carbon ribbon was stored for secondary use when/as necessary. I've never seen one on an Olympia however.

      It could also potentially have been used for white correction tape as well.

      Here's an example of a Royal FPCP with such a feature: https://www.facebook.com/groups/705152958470148/posts/1203433725308733/

      It could be the passive holder side for an optional carbon ribbon that is then threaded to the spool on the left side which does the pulling. Typically most carbon ribbons are single use only, so you wouldn't need/want an auto-reverse mechanism.

    1. reply tu u/liamkembleyoung at https://old.reddit.com/r/typewriters/comments/1v9g96o/best_prewar_typewriters/

      Best by what criteria? Manufacturing, design, materials, user interface, ease-of-use, portability, serviceability, price, features, value, collectability, rarity? There's a lot to consider here and your analogistic comparison to the Olympia SM3 leaves out a lot. Even worse, you're asking for opinions from a crowd that is typically not using the best exemplars of machines by which to be making such comparisons, not to mention the personal bias that enters into these sorts of comparisons.

      Generally you'll get a lot more bang for your buck on all the criteria (except for portability) with a solid well-tuned standard like a Royal Ten, an Underwood No. 5, or even a Woodstock No. 5, but then I'd also be more partial to the Olympia SG1, SG3, Hermes Ambassador, Remington Super-Riter, or a Royal HH or Royal FP in the post-war era.

      Really the hidden secret to any era is to be using a typewriter that has been properly cleaned, oiled, and adjusted with properly functioning replaced rubber.

    1. I regularly use this “Renaissance” wax to protect paintings and, above all, very fragile inscriptions. After it dries (10 minutes) and is lightly buffed, the surface becomes very slippery and is no longer susceptible to friction or fingerprints. It also helps preserve nickel plating that is beginning to deteriorate on levers or axles, for example. It’s a truly reliable product.

      via u/Tall_Garage_7398