July 5th Typewriter Safari: Burlington, VT

I found myself with a little extra time in Burlington, one of my favorite Vermont cities so I set off for some typewriter hunting.  I came home empty handed but it was fun to check out my typewriter hunting ground. 

My first stop was at the Champlain Valley Antique Center which is actually down the road in Shelburne. I found a Smith-Corona Secretarial in excellent shape for $45.

I also found the book that would have taught anyone to be an excellent secretary.

Next it was down to Pine Street in the artistic South End of Burlington.  I found this Underwood (Remington) Noiseless in need of a full restoration for $45.

I also found this "last gasp" Smith-Corona electric for $59.

I rounded up my trip at Anjou, an upscale antique shop on Burlington's Main Street.  This was the first ABC 2000s I had ever seen. A little internet research tells me that it was probably made in the early 1070's in Portugal.  I think it is the same machine as the Sears Malibu. With an all plastic body and no cover, it was certainly not worth the $79 they were asking for it.  Just another example of how fickle typewriter prices can be.  This is the same shop where I purchased a gloss black Smith-Corona Speedliner a while back for $40.  It pays to know your machines and know where to hunt for them!

Typewriter Safari: Worcester, MA

I've made many trips to Worcester, MA to visit my recent college graduate daughter. We like to go to Birchtree Bread Company for lunch and visit the Crompton Collective vintage shops in the basement of an old mill building on Green Street.  I walked away with a brownie from the bakery but no typewriters that day.  Which one might you have taken home?

A fun little shop in Worcester.

Nice Galaxie Deluxe for $40

It didn't travel too far to get to Worcester.

Post-War Royal QDL without a case and loose felt under the type slugs for $45.

Brother aka Webster from the mid 1960's for $92

Pre-War Royal KMM for $110.

Olivetti-Underwood Lettera 22 for $75.

Think With a Typewriter - Joe Van Cleave Writing Post #2

Joe Van Cleave's second writing prompt asks us in the typosphere a familiar question. Why use a typewriter?Since I spoke about editing with a typewriter, I included a clip of my first draft below my "final copy."

First Draft

Typewriter Assignment #1 The Typewriter Speaks

Joe Van Cleave's Blog is a creative source of typewriter information and whimsy.  He is currently running a writing project for typewriter enthusiasts. Here is my first assignment from this project:

Typewriter Day Interview

I celebrated World Typewriter Day  being interviewed by Todd Moe at North Country Public Radio.  It was a lot of fun and he put together a nice little interview.  You can listen to the interview at THIS LINK.

That's me in my office at school with some of my collection.

Celebrate World Typewriter Day!

The Hunt

Postscript:

I did fix those key tops.  Turns out that the 30's and 40's Smith-Coronas did not have celluloid or glass on the key tops.  Instead, the letter for each key is printed on some sort of vinyl-like plastic.  Fortunately, the keys from the Speedline were a perfect match for the Standard.

Also, please excuse the typos in my typecast.  I guess that's what comes from excitedly typing on a park bench.  In any event, the image has been scanned and there's no going back.