Typewriters (15) : Adsit Graduate

This is an attractive and light weight (i.e. mostly plastic) portable typewriter from the 1970s, the Adsit Graduate is in fact a product of Smith-Corona as it states on the back of the machine (see below). The typewriter is a British made and locally branded version of the Smith-Corona Corsair.

Unfortunately, the typewriter doesn't work that well. A number of the hammers get stuck including the one for the letter A which is awkward (especially as you can't even type the word). Externally, the typewriter looks to be overall in decent condition and apart from the issues lifted above seems to be largely mechanically sound, so it may be fixable.

Typewriters (14) : Underwood 315

This typewriter joined the collection in late 2022 and so far is the only Underwood machine in the collection. It is a nice looking machine in a pleasing white and beige colour, though does have an annoying case which makes it a chore to get the typewriter in and out of! 

The typewriter has received a new ribbon (which was a slightly fiddly task) and types nicely, apart from the shift key which sometimes sticks. 

Typewriters (13) : Boots PT400

Boots the Chemist also sold office equipment back in the day (and music too, the first LP i ever bought was from the local Boots!) I have three Boots branded typewriters in the collection of which the PT400 is the latest to arrive. This is a very similar machine to the likes of the Silver-Reed SR10 and is in very good working order.

Interestingly, the machine came with it's manual which included details of when it was first purchased! That was in Cambridge in 1988. In the intervening thirty-six years the typewriter has been well cared for and still types as new.

Typewriters (12) : Litton Imperial 201

The Litton Imperial 201 was the thirteenth typewriter to join my collection and is a basically fine machine with some good looking black keys. The only snag with the machine when i got it was that the ribbon was completely worn out, the typewriter has now been fitted with a new one.

It types pretty well, though not as loud as some of the others in the collection. The Imperial Typewriter Company was a venerable old British company but was taken over by the Americans in the 1960s. By the time this machine was built, typewriter manufacturing has finally stopped at Imperial's factory in Leicester and this 201 was manufactured in Japan.

Typewriters (11) : Silver-Reed Seventy

This typewriter is similar to a few others in the collection, including the Silver-Reed Silverette. The Seventy is a nice compact little portable typewriter that is in remarkably good condition. When i first received it i thought it was brand new! It was only after a closer inspection that i could see there was a little wear and tear on it here and there, though not much. The typewriter looks like it has not been hardly used, if it has it has been, it has been very well cared for.

The Seventy types pretty well, a couple of keys on the fringes are a bit awkward but that might just require a little correction, usage or lubricant to loosen them. The Seventy only types in one colour (black).

The Seventy is one of the favourite typewriters in my collection. Indeed, a while ago on my old blog i listed the three typewriters i would take with me to a desert island and the Seventy was my third pick!

Typewriters (10) : KOFA 300

Quite a few examples of this typewriter are on sale on eBay at any one time, often listed as being "vintage" or even "1970s/1980s". You could of course wonder why such an "old" typewriter has the Euro symbol on it's keyboard! That must mean the typewriter was built no earlier than about the year 2000. New typewriters are still made in China and this typewriter came from there, it is listed on this website (though the site is pretty old).

As it isn't a very old machine it naturally works pretty well and has little sign of wear and tear, though is a little plasticky. 

Typewriters (9) : Boots PT800

The major British retailer Boots sold typewriters throughout the 1960s to 1980s. The typewriters they sold were Boots branded though built by established typewriter manufacturers. We have two Boots typewriters in our collection, one is an Erika made Model 42 from the late 1960s and the later Seiko built PT800.

This is a standard Seiko typewriter of the period. It is nice and clean and has had a new ribbon fitted though there are some problems with operation. At times it can be very stiff and the carriage hardly moves, at other times it moves all too quickly and far! These problems may be ironed out with a bit of typing though. Having visited a Boots store today i can sadly report that they no longer sell typewriters which is a shame.

Typewriters (8) : Smith-Corona XE1630

So far in this series we have only covered mechanical typewriters. These do form the vast majority of the collection though there are also three electrics too, though only the Smith-Corona XE1630 works. This was my Mum's typewriter which she let me have. It works fine though lacks the magic of a loud mechanical typewriter.

If you are going to collect typewriters then electrics are best avoided as so often they are broken, and if the issue is with the circuitry then this is likely to be much harder to fix than a broken mechanical, which is usually fixable with a bit of wire or some oil.

Typewriters (7) : Triumph-Adler Tippa

This typewriter joined the collection earlier this year and is a rather lovely little portable. It types well, especially after the ribbon was changed. The carriage does seem to get stuck before the end of the line, hopefully this will not be unfixable.

The most interesting thing about the Tippa is the keyboard layout. It has a German layout with a few keys dedicated to accented characters and the eszett. It also has the Y and Z keys switched so has a QWERTZ layout not QWERTY!

Typewriters (6) : Smith-Corona GT

Ghia are well-known for their car design, especially for deluxe models in the Ford range, but did you know they also designed a typewriter too? The nice but somewhat curious Smith-Corona GT has Ghia (and thus automotive) styling. This is a typewriter with go faster stripes and pieces of rubber on the trim including the carriage return lever. When you open the case (which carries the Ghia badge like a proud owner's Ford Grenada Ghia) you get the smell of rubber!

Although rather plasticky the typewriter works pretty well, the Q key sticks when used but other than that there are not any other problems to report. It is the typewriter i am currently using for my touch typing practice. The ribbon was recently changed, this was a much more fiddly (and inky finger dirty) job than usual. 

Typewriters (5) : WH Smith Red Fox

From the late 1970s is this rather fine WH Smith branded typewriter. It was actually made by Silver-Reed and is very similar to the Silver-Reed Silverette we have seen already. One key difference is this typewriter is red of course! It works pretty well and has some rather tasteful grey keys.

Can you use typewriters in anger these days? Well of course, the world runs on text still. I have used my Brother Deluxe 1350 in anger once, typing the address on an envelope which was much less bother than trying to do it on my laser printer (which is Brother too incidentally). I have toyed in the past with trying to organise a type mob where typewriter wielding hipsters descend in a cafe and drown out the place with the sounds of keys and carriage returns. No one would probably turn up though if i did it so i'll leave that kind of thing for cool people to do.

Typewriters (4) : Imperial 2002

Another typewriter from the 1970s is this Imperial 2002, and very of it's time it is too. Its in a rather nice cream with a space age font for the model name. The typewriter is in good condition and rather clean too unlike some of the others in the collection.

Continuing the musing of why i like typewriters. As well as the physical presence, a typewriter wins over another sense too, smell. Typewriters can smell amazing, well thats if you think the smell of ink and lubricant oil mixed with decades of dust smells amazing. I do of course, but then again i also like the smell of garlic. My Macbook doesn't really smell of anything at all.

Typewriters (3) : Silver-Reed Silverette

A popular typewriter in the collection, very compact and desirable in black. This typewriter dates from the late 1970s. It looks like a typewriter that has worked hard over the years, all the keys are somewhat yellowed apart from one which indicates it has had some maintenance and repair over the years. It types pretty well, as this video i recorded a few months ago shows.

Continuing the musing on why i like typewriters so much, there is a physical presence about them and their output, a tactile feedback you get from using one which is hard to get from a computer, except maybe my Mac mini with it's incredibly loud keyboard (though a typewriter is louder natch). 

Typewriters (2) : Olympia Olympiette

After the Brother 1350 which started the collection, this is my favourite typewriter in the collection. We are now in the 1980s and plastic is used more and more. So why do i love this typewriter so much, apart from the fact it types really well i love the fact it has London map stickers on it. It seems to me this was a typewriter that worked hard throughout it's life.

Another question you might be asking is why do i love typewriters so much? I shall endeavour to answer that over the last few weeks. Typewriters are very physical machines, unlike computers which are largely esoteric (well being a computing graduate and having had a 27 year career in IT i know what happens inside the box but it isn't very visible!) However, with a typewriter everything is straight forward. You hit a key, the lever it is connected to then impacts a piece of paper. Who knows what goes on inside Microsoft Word? Literally no one.

Typewriters (1) : Brother Deluxe 1350

This new series will take a look at our growing typewriter collection.

The series has to start with the Brother Deluxe 1350, the first in the collection. This is a fine typewriter which would have been built in Japan in the early 1970s. Unlike most of the other typewriters in the collection, it had a fully enclosing case with zip, later typewriters tended to go for a plastic half cover with the bottom of the typewriter exposed. 

The typewriter works well and has some pleasing late 1960s design touches with a fake wood finish above the keys.