Sunday, May 13, 2012

Typewriter Sightings: Exploring New Hunting Grounds

 


The entrance to the thrift store - full of the usual bric-a-brac, a good sign...

First sighting: a Hermes Standard 8. 

Right next to it, this Facit 1620. There were several machines and none of them particularly special or appealing, so I didn't bother to test any. 

Some already had typing samples due to curious customers playing with them, like this techno pica Adler Gabriele. 

The ever-predictable Hermes Baby. 

An Olympia Monica (SM-8)... but that case was most definitely for an Optima Elite originally!

Another Olympia SM-8; the later generation. 

Yet another Hermes Baby. 

Something different, for a change, an American-made Royal Quiet de Luxe with tombstone keys. Nice. 

Another American, an Underwood Champion that had been shoved under a table and was consequently difficult to photograph.

American in name but perhaps not in manufacture - a Remington Envoy. 

The sewing machine/ typewriter corner, with a couple of machines I didn't bother to drag out and examine - an Olivetti Lettera 35 (second from left), and a red Brother portable that was firmly stuck in its case. 

A whirlwind tour, but a nice thrift store and certainly one we'll be putting on the list to hit up a couple of times a year from now on. I doubt the stock changes much, since it is open so rarely I bet they don't move much of anything, but I won't know for sure without visiting again in a few months. 

Now, some more sightings from just this afternoon, when we went over to the Carouge neighborhood next to Geneva, which was organizing a community garage sale. There were four typewriters to be spotted, and they were evenly split between:


Lettera 32s: 


and...


Hermes Babys:


Of course.

19 comments:

  1. ahh, the 1950 Royal QDL, last of the Tombstone keyed ones. I woulda liberated that (:

    and jeez, *2* Letteras, and you left 'em behind? You live in a bountiful typewriter land! :D

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    1. We're swimming in Letteras over here :) Come to think about it, this isn't the first time (it's probably the 3rd or 4th) I've left two behind at once... do they travel in pairs?

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  2. Doo you think they jeweled decoration on the Hermes baby helped it sell? Ooooohhhhh shiny things!

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  3. A fine group of machines. I could hit every thrift store for about a 30 mile radius where I live and never see a typewriter. Zero typewriters out of the stores in and around Daytona Beach yesterday and that is not all that unusual.

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  4. Hey, Adwoa, thanks for the mention, happy that you went for the single-spaced Hermes script.

    As always, I am energized by your adventures! I'm glad you haven't retired from your market sighting gig after you've reached the pinnacle of your collection, that impossibly awesome Olivetti Graphika. ( :

    Two machines draw me- the Hermes standard 8 (not bad at all, makes me wonder if it has that Hermes 3000 feel, perhaps even better), and the Olympia SM-9 (I call the SM8/9 "Brady Bunch" typer for obvious reasons, but I find the gray-and-forest green combo rather attractive).

    More please!

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  5. That thrift store with the inconvenient hours is an odd-looking place. Sure has a lot of typewriters, even if they are common ones. (But I like the Hermes 8, like Ton.)

    Of course I have dreams about wandering through jumbly shops like this and bumping into a completely unknown prototype typewriter...

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    1. That's what keeps me looking too, Richard! One of these days... well, who knows?

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  6. Wow, The predictable Baby and Lettera! I had to elbow a woman to get my hands on a 32

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  7. Oooh, I'd be interested in that QWERTY Hermes Baby! Too bad it would cost so much to ship from Switzerland.

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    1. Indeed, for what it would take to ship this to you from here, you could probably find a decent one in the States. I agree it looked very nice, though.

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    2. I have had typewriters shipped to the USA from Holland, Germany, and France. Really not that expensive in the $70.00 to $90.00 range which still makes it a great deal when you can buy a good looking Hermes Baby for 10.00 Swiss Francs. And by the way all the typewriters shipped to me to the USA from Europe have arrived intact and in fully working condition, by opposition to the 1/3 of the typewriters I get shipped from within the USA that arrive broken due to careless packaging or just totally non functional. I'm going to be in Geneva for a couple days next week and I'm not sure I have enough room in my luggage for all the typewriters I would like to take back!

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    3. This particular Hermes Baby was being offered for CHF 20, a tad bit more than usual but still acceptable. I am perfectly happy to send typewriters to the US when asked, but I can understand that for most of my readers it is a bit of an investment! So while I see many nice typewriters, I leave them behind unless I know for sure someone will take them off my hands - it is enough trouble to get rid of the ones I already have and no longer want! You should have let me know about your trip to Geneva (is this Michael H.???); I would have been happy to get a typewriter to set by for you (if you wished)...

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  8. I wish I lived in a city with so many available typers, but then I'd end up hoarding. Hermes baby are very tempting.

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  9. That Hermes 8 is a big, hulking dream machine. Thanks for sharing your tour of typertopia!

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  10. Carte Blanche looks intriguing. I wonder how they come up with these prices, 10 Fr. for the Baby that looks very nice, but 20 for the Royal with a little wear. Maybe they charge for weight?

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    1. I wouldn't be surprised if they did that; it's the only reason I can think of why our local thrift store tried to sell a battered Underwood 5 for 100 Fr, and only asked 10 for a very nice Hermes Baby.

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  11. That red Brother in its case looks too familiar! :)

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  12. Hermes Babies... please it would be so kind for you to take down the serial numbers - in the name of typewriter science, thanks in advance, yours truly!

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