Monday, August 1, 2011

August 1st, and a new '70s Hermes Baby

 


The color on this Hermes Baby is a very deep orange, almost red. Compared to the one I had last year, which had half the paint worn off its spacebar, this one is really quite lovely. (I should also add that this is one of my favorite pictures on the blog so far; courtesy of J who kindly photographed the typewriter on a rainy day last week - I'm not very good at taking pictures with artificial light. Since I refuse to concede to the thieves and use watermarks, I'm just counting down till this appears on eBay...)

 This poster never gets old - look how happy she is! (Courtesy of M. Perrier's typewriter museum in Lausanne.)

The mechanism on the Hermes Baby is not to everyone's taste (see: Strikethru), but I really do like how mine writes and it compares favorably with other carriage-shifted portable typewriters of its era. And as far as looks go, I will be glad to put this up against any Olivetti Valentine!

9 comments:

  1. Great find! I would love to find a techno-font Hermes around these parts.

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  2. Wow, the swiss cross is great. Like this machine. I also thought about an entry on the August 1st, but then decided to post my summer series, which you gladly liked. :)

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  3. Love that color! And the poster is great.

    And hooray for techno week! I admit I prefer Olympia's narrower take on the typeface, though that may just be because it's the one I'm most familiar with. But the Hermes version is so open and friendly!

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  4. so you're planning on "dispatching" your techno Swissa Jr.? Might one inquire how many greenbacks would convince you to "dispatch" it to the American desert? I ask although I'm aware that shipping alone would be well beyond my normal typewriter budget, however I'm compelled to ask because it is quite a special little machine, and might warrant an exception. (:

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  5. @LFP: I haven't come across a techno Olympia yet, but the typeface looks lovely on your blog and Strikethru's. I'll post up a techno comparison later with the three I do have.

    @Ted: You do realize the techno Swissa Jr. is this one: http://genevatypewriters.blogspot.com/2011/01/swissa-junior-manual-portable.html

    I was thinking of it as a prime candidate for a paint job, but the can of paint would cost as much as I paid for the typewriter, haha.

    Anyway, I'm perfectly willing to let you have it for just the cost of shipping - I'm not in the habit of selling to fellow typospherians :-) Unfortunately, once boxed, this will weigh in at more than 5kg, thus costing CHF 77 for economy shipping. When I sent an H3k to Deek last year, that translated to $80; today, with the strong franc and USD decline, it's $100. Bummer. Feel free to email me if you'd like to consider it.

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  6. Yep, I've been envious of your Swissas for awhile, so I know which one it is. (:

    I think that Swissa might satisfy my desire for a "can't find in the US without paying outrageous prices on ebay" machine, and my desire for a robot-font machine all at once. Plus it's an exotic that will show well at our Phoenix Type-ins, and I know that nobody else here in our local collector's scene has one.

    For that, I think I could justify the cost of shlepping it halfway across the globe, especially since I know it's going to be packed with care by someone who knows how to pack a typewriter right :D

    (and I will love it and feed it good ribbons and give it a good name, assuming you haven't named it already)

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  7. I love your blog. I just found this yesterday and I am in the process of reading through it. I would love to find such a Hermes Baby typewriter in Copenhagen but alas typewriters are soooooo rare here. Let me guess your not going to sell this one are you?

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  8. Hi, I just discovered this site as I was Googling Orange Hermes Baby Typewriters.

    I am curious. Mine looks just like yours, and it has the same typeface. I've never known what it was called.

    On the back of my machine it indicates it was made in Germany, so I am curious where your machine was made.

    I collect typewriters, but primarily because I am always in search of the machine with the perfect touch.

    I like this Hermes very much, more for the typeface than the touch.

    Also, I'm unclear if you sell typewriters where you are listing them.

    I will look for a reply. Thanks.

    Dave

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  9. W o W
    I love that typestyle indeed...xD

    But I don't understand it... Are you from Switzerland?
    It would be the only, unique reason which most of your typewriters have the QWERTZ keyboard. It also would mean "Du sprichst die Deutsche Sprache"...xD

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