I See Dead Keys

I didn't really think I was in the movie Sixth Sense, but I did see some strange dead keys the other day.  Someone from town had been given this nice L.C. Smith Super Speed as a gift. It had come straight from the antique store with its crispy ribbon and coating of dust. I cleaned it up and installed a new ribbon after replacing the incorrect ribbon spools with two from a donor machine. Things were going along well except the period and comma keys were sort of dead. They would come about 3/4 of the way toward the platen and then stop. I was thinking the mechanism for these keys was jammed or their strikers were bent.  Looking at the underside of the machine again I saw that two brass stops were attached to the comb (or guide) underneath. This dampened the period and comma keys.  They key action returned to normal once I removed these stops. What I wonder is why anyone would put stops on the period or comma keys in the first place.  Come to think of it, why put stops on any of the keys?  

I put a call out to the typosphere for any enlightenment on what I found on this Super Speed.  Thanks!

From Very Small to Gigantic!

My typewriter weekend went from very small to gigantic. It started when I visited my local vintage/junk shop in search of a new typewriter.  They have lots of cool stuff in this shop but, alas, I have never found a typewriter there. What I did find while hunting their shelves was this neat little Type-Silk typewriter ribbon tin.  It actually has a new, yet dried out, Underwood ribbon in it.  Nice find for only $2.  I visited another vintage shop later in the day and came across two typewriters that I decided to pass on.   

One was this 1930's L.C. Smith 

Secretarial model in olive.  

Another was this 1960's Underwood-Olivetti 21

I actually did get one typewriter this weekend from a nice gentleman named Chuck.  He had heard about me through an article about my type-in and offered me his late father's 1958 IBM 11c.  This gigantic typewriter is in pristine shape and types like a rocket.  Every time I look at it I start to hear the theme from "Mad Men" in my head. (Yes, I know they had Selectrics in the series, but I still hear that music!)  Vintage television aside, I can't say enough about letting people know you are interested in typewriters.  They are in basements and attics just waiting for you.  There are people like Chuck who just want them to go to a good home!