contents etcetera - typewriteretconline.org/backissues/etc018.pdf · 2 / etcetera #18 / march, 1992...

ETCetera #18 / March, 1992 / 1

Number 18 ---- March, 1992

ETCetera Magazine of the EarlyTypewriter Collectors Association

Electric TypewheelTechnology,Vintage 1929

The Sampson PermagraphFull Story on p. 4

CONTENTSEditor’s Notes ...................... 2Telautograph ........................ 3Sampson Permagraph .......... 4Munson No. 2 ...................... 6Adler’s Rule......................... 8Book Review ....................... 9Curator’s Close Call ............ 9Looking for Lamberts ........ 10Letters, Ads........................ 11Ribbon Tin Roundup ......... 12

2 / ETCetera #18 / March, 1992

ETCeteraMagazine of the EarlyTypewriter Collectors

Association

March, 1992No. 18

Editor,Address ChangesDARRYL REHR

2591 Military Ave.Los Angeles, CA 90064

(310)477-5229

TreasuryJAMES KAVANAGH23502 Heritage Oak Ct.

Newhall, CA 91321 (805)254-6369 hm (310)553-2800 bus

German SummariesSiegfried Snyder

2018-2020 James St.Syracuse, NY 13206

(315)479-6162

©1992 by The Early TypewriterCollectors Association

Published four times per year inMarch, June, Sept. & Dec.

EDITOR’S NOTES

The Early Typewriter Collectors As-sociation celebrated its fifth anniversaylast month. For people interested inhistory, none of the “charter members”seem to have kept accurate records, butwe think we all met at the home of JackLacy in West Covina, California at theend of February, 1987 to get thingsgoing. The Southern California mem-bers have had fair success in meeting, atleast on a sporadic basis, and wish wecould encourage members in other partsof the country to do the same. Anyonewho wants to set up a meeting can get a

set of mailing labels for current mem-bers from ETCetera on request. We cansort by state, or give you the wholeshebang. All you have to do is slap themonto envelopes and get the word out.

†††

I experienced flea market heartbreakrecently after arriving at a local marketat 6:30 AM and spending three hoursscouring the aisles. I felt pretty goodafter buying a nifty toy phonograph (Inever expect to find typewriters there).However, my joy turned to gloom afterI saw someone walking through the exitwith a very respectable Edelmann un-der his arm. You can be the early bird atthese places, but you don’t always catchthe worm.

†††

After you write that first letter, ormake that first call to buy a machinefrom someone, it’s really important tofollow up if you don’t hear back. I’vefound that people are pretty carelessabout what they do with your mail. It’samazing how many times I’ve written afollow-up and received a reply like this:“I’m glad you wrote me a second time,because I misplaced your first letter,and…” True, you have to play it coolsometimes to avoid paying too much,but if you play it too cool, you maynever get the machine. It’s also a goodidea to send a SASE for reply with everyletter you send. It never hurts to make itas easy as possible for a potential sellerto respond to you.

†††

From Larry McMurtry’s bookCadillac Jack comes a collector’s tru-ism. The novel, if you don’t know, isabout a “picker” who finds rare thingsall over the country to sell to crazycollectors like us. One of the book’scharacters mentions the find of a super-rare Coca-Cola bottle on the side of ahighway somewhere in the south. Thecharacter was moved to utter a phrasewe can all live by: “Anything can be

anywhere.” Remember that whenyou’re on the Typewriter Hunt.

†††

TYPEWRITERS IN THE MEDIA:The Fox TV show Beverly Hills 90210made use of an old typewriter in a recentepisode. The scene was in the studentnewspaper office, and one of the kidsbucked current computer culture bywalking in, setting up a folding Corona,and beginning to clatter away, just likethe old days.

†††

Beginning with this issue, ETCeterais now being supplied with Germansummaries for collectors who speak thatlanguage. Siegfried Snyder, of Syra-cuse, NY, will be doing the translations,and we thank him for taking on the task.

Address ChangeConforming to the restless

lifestyle that has given me no lessthan six different addresses overthe past decade, I have movedagain. I hope this time will be thelast for a long time, but I make nopromises.

Any questions, comments, reit-erations or expostulations forETCetera should now be sent tome at:

2591 Military Ave.Los Angeles, California 90064

My telephone number will staythe same, though the phone com-pany gave us a new area code lastyear (310 instead of 213). So, ifyou’d like to call, the correct num-ber is (310)477-5229.


The

by Stephen SperberVan Nuys, CA

Named after inventor Elisha Gray, the Gray NationalTelautograph Company was chartered in 1888. According tothe original patent, the telautograph “enabled one to transmithis own handwriting to a distant point over a two-wirecircuit.”

Ironically, Gray had received much attention just twoyears earlier for filing an intent to apply for a patent for theinvention of the telephone a mere three hours after Mr. Bell.

While Gray’s first telautograph was rather crude, a moresophisticated unit was developed during the following years.It was this “Standard” model that drew record crowds at theChicago World’s Fair in 1893.

Improvements culminating with the “Eureka” model of1894 coincided with the first commercial installation of atelautograph in the offices of the American Bank NoteCompany. This achievement opened the doors for accep-tance of the telautograph as a valuable business communica-tions tool.

Hotels were among the first to take advantage of thisearly form of office automation. The ability of the telautographto receive written messages while unattended was a revolu-tionary concept that adapted readily to many other busi-nesses.

Throughout the 1920’s and 1930’s, telautographs couldbe found in virtually every form of private enterprise and

public service; manufacturing, banking, warehousing, whole-sale, retail, hospitals, railway, insurance, utilities, stockexchanges, clubs, restaurants, publishing, construction, po-lice and fire.

Advances in the 1940’s brought an improved telautographknown as the Telescriber. These were put to good use duringthe war effort and, in fact, many of these models are still inuse today.

In the mid 1950’s, the Telautograph Corporation movedfrom New York City to Los Angeles and began the researchand development on the technology known today as fac-simile.

Telautograph Corporation today exists as the marketer ofthe Omnifax line of facsimile.

TOP: Telautograph transmitter of 1892. ABOVE: Earlyinstallation of the Telautograph at the Library of the YaleClub. LEFT: Prof. Elisha Gray

CuriousTelautograph


Top view of Sampson Permagraph from Charles H. Sampson’s 1934 patent.

The Sampson Permagraphby Larry Wilhelm

made. A plate on my specimen says “patents pending,”which dates it before 6-5-34, but how far before, we can’tsay.

The patent describes the invention as a “printing machine,”electrically driven, and designed to “rupture or shred” thepaper. Obviously this is not a paper shredder, and Sampsonmeant that the machine would perforate the paper as itprinted, just as a check protector does. In fact, the machineappears to be just such a device, designed to write checks andother documents so they couldn’t be altered after the fact.Financial applications seem likely, since the keyboard hasthe £ sign in addition to $ and ¢, and there’s also the starsymbol often used on checks.

The Sampson Permagraph prints using a spring-loadedhammer positioned to whack the paper into the printwheelfrom behind, much like the Hammond. The paper is fed upfrom the back, making a 90-degree turn around the feedroller so that it comes up between the printwheel andhammer. The feed rollers are recessed into the machine andlinked to hand knobs by chains. The hammer’s mechanicallinkages run to the sides of the machine so it doesn’t interferewith the paper feed.

For years, typewriter collectors have enjoyed the blunder-ing claims of IBM, touting its 1961 Selectric as the firstsingle element typewriter. We know that Lucien Crandallinvented his single element machine in 1879. We know thatBlickensderfer electrified the single-element machine around1906. Now, there’s another single-element electric to jointhe gallery of those beating the Selectric to the punch. Thenew discovery is called the Sampson Permagraph.

The machine came to me in November of 1991 througha gentleman in New York who looks for old machines on mybehalf. He called me saying his son had bought a big electrictypewriter at auction. The machine bore the name “Sampson,”and had a printwheel plus a big motor on the side. Afterchecking around the collector’s network, I knew it was ararity, since no one had ever heard of it! The monster waslate in arriving, because the original shipment was returnedto the sender by UPS when the packaging weighed in at 71lbs.–one pound over the UPS limit!

The Sampson Permagraph was invented by Charles H.Sampson and his “Sampson Permagraph Company” of Roch-ester, NY in the late 1920’s. Its principal U.S. Patent(#1,961,644) was granted June 5, 1934, more than five yearsafter the application in January of 1929. At present we haveno clear way of determining when the machine was actually


Close-up of typewheel on the Sampson Permagraphshowing letters designed to perforate paper

Sketch of rear-strike hammer on the SampsonPermagraph, grooved to mesh with letters on

the typewheel and perforate paper

Diagram showing orientation oftypewheel, hammer, paper and chainlinking paper feed to hand knob.

Plate on machine indicates a serial numberof “L2029,” with “Patents Pending”

Inking is by ink roller (missing on mine). Each characteris made up of little protrusions on the wheel which mesh withgrooves on the hammer to perforate the paper. Printwheelmovement is rotation and up/down. Rotation is motor-driven via a thin belt travelling a long 90° path through themachine. The hammer is linked to the motor by a series ofshafts making three 90° turns through the machine.

The motor on the Sampson Permagraph is 115V DC,which presented a problem until Bob Aubert, of Riverside,NJ solved it by sending me a simple rectifier to convert DCto AC. Once in operation, the machine sounded like an oldelectric Varityper, making a loud “clack-clack” as it chuggedalong. After the first 30 seconds, the printwheel belt broke,and I’m afraid it’ll be a chore to replace.

Bob tells me that factories in the 30’s often used DCcurrent and the utility system in New York was providingDC at that time as well.

The machine appears to be a somewhat cumbersome,complicated device that might not have worked all that welleven when new. It appears the machine was never manufac-tured in any great quantity. With the patent application filedin early 1929, the enterprise arrived just in time for the GreatDepression. By the time the patent was granted in 1934,conditions were so bad, it’s unlikely that the SampsonPermagraph Co. could have made a go of its product.

If nothing else, the Sampson Permagraph is an imposingexample of old office technology. It measures 26 incheswide, to accommodate the 11-1/2" carriage, and it weighs amodest 52 pounds. It also came in a carrying case, qualifyingit as the latest “portable” of its day.

Just before press time, we managed to make contact withC. Scott Sampson, the inventor’s grandson. He promises tosearch the family papers and provide us whatever details theSampsons still have on their illustrious relative. Look for theresults in a future ETCetera.


One of the long-range projects on ETCetera’s burners isa survey of the popular Munson/Chicago family of typewrit-ers. While the research isn’t done on that one, I did discoversomething that’s worthy of an article all by itself.

Actually, this stems from an ad in the December, 1893issue of Cosmopolitan, shown to me by a couple othercollectors. The ad shows the familiar open-framed Munsonand a somewhat unusual Munson No. 2. At a casual glance,one might think the Cosmopolitan ad shows the precursor tothe Chicago, the Munson’s direct descendant.

A closer look gives a different picture. Examining thedetails of the tiny illustration, you can see two importantdetails that tell us this machine is indeed different. First,notice four rows of keys, not three. Have you ever seen aMunson or Chicago with anything other than three rows ofkeys?

Now, look at the type wheel–or should we say typewheels? Yes, the Munson No. 2 in the Cosmopolitan ad mostdefinitely appears to have two type wheels.

With no mention of this unusual Munson No. 2 in othertypewriter literature, I gave it little thought until I wascombing through patent files in research for the largerMunson/Chicago project. Among the patents I found was#548726 for the very machine appearing in Cosmopolitan.

The patent was filed April 19, 1893 (just eight monthsbefore the ad) and granted October 29, 1895. The patenteewas Samuel J. Seifried, the chief inventor behind all of theMunson/Chicago products.

In the patent, Seifried clearly describes his effort as onespecially suitable for manifolding work. The two type cylin-ders are mounted on pivoting arms, enabling them to swungagainst the platen with considerable force. The action issimilar to that of the Emerson with its pivoting type bars.Gone is the single type cylinder of the Munson (No. 1) alongwith the rear strike hammer. The ribbon travels parallel to theplaten, unlike the perpendicular orientation of the original.

I know of no examples of the original Munson No. 2 tohave survived. The advertisement in Cosmopolitan indi-

The OriginalMunson No. 2

ABOVE: Ad for Munsons 1 & 2 from Cosmopolitan,December, 1893. TOP: Enlarged view of Munson No2.

cates the machine was ready for market soon after the patentwas filed. However, considering the dearth of later literatureon the machine, I consider it possible that it was neveractually manufactured. The Munson No. 2 apparently waspassed over as the company went on to other things, givingits original machine a facelift and marketing what we nowknow so well as the Chicago.

by Darryl Rehr


ABOVE RIGHT: Munson No. 2 introduced c. 1897. The machinewas soon after renamed Chicago. ABOVE: Cover illustrationfrom Siefried’s 1893 patent for the original Munson No. 2. Four-row keyboard and swinging type-wheels are clearly shown.LEFT: Patent detail showing mechanism for rotating type wheel

RIGHT: Patent detail of original Munson No. 2 show-ing key levers and linkages to typewheel.


BACK TO BASICSfor beginning collectors

Adler’s Rule

The definitive English-languagebook on typewriter history was writtenin 1973 by Michael Adler, of TunbridgeWells, England. Entitled The WritingMachine:a History of the Typewriter, ithas been responsible for hooking manypeople on collecting these things. Apartfrom its wealth of information, Adler’sbook has also proven to be extraordi-narily influential in establishing a clearline dividing collectible typewritersfrom non-collectible ones.

Adler’s “rule” is not really a rule,nor is it necessarily followed by allcollectors. However, it is quite clearthat many, many collectors generallyadhere to it.

Put simply, it says that all four-row,front-strike, ribbon-inked typewritersare conventional–the inference beingthat they are not collectible. All othersare collectible.

Here’s how Adler put it in the intro-duction of his book.

“There are literally hundreds and hun-dreds of makes and models of ‘conven-tional’ front-stroke, type-bar machineswith four-row keyboards. Frankly, theyare of little interest, and despite theextravagant claims of rival manufac-turers, they are all virtually the same. Itis the unconventional ones that are in-teresting; one day, someone will write ahistory of standardization and mass pro-duction in the twentieth century and listthe others.”

Unfortunately, this fateful paragraphgives many a new collector an inferior-ity complex–particularly if he alreadyhas a roomful of 4-row portables of the1930’s-50’s. These machines certainlyhave their charms, but Adler is correctthat they are essentially all the same.

A large section of the book is called“A Catalogue of Unconventional Type-writers,” which lists all such machines

The Remington portable of the 1920’s meets Adler’s criteria for“unconventional typewriters” because of its “pop-up” type bars. Mostof these machines came in black, but the colored versions are moredesirable. This one is Remington’s Ivory and Como Green combination.

known to the author at the time. Adher-ing to his rule, Adler omitted at least one“conventional” typewriter that is con-sidered quite collectible today. This isthe Daugherty of 1893 (later reissued asthe Pittsburg). The Daugherty ishistory’s first four-row fronstrike andshould be considered our first “mod-ern” typewriter. The Underwood is gen-erally given that distinction, because itwas the first truly successful machineusing that design.

The 4-row Underwood is also omit-ted, but many collectors consider anUnderwood No. 1 desirable. So toowould be a Wagner typewriter, if onereally exists. The Underwood, you see,was invented by Franz Wagner, but wasfinanced by John T. Underwood, whoput his name on the machine. BeforeUnderwood bought the machine, theremay have been a Wagner typewriter. Anillustration of the Wagner does exist(looks much like an Underwood, ofcourse), but it’s unclear whether it is aphoto of an actual machine or an artist’srendering.

Other four-row fronstrikes that mightoverride Adler’s rule are extraordinary

issues of common typewriters. Wouldyou like to have a brass Underwood onyour shelf? At least four are known toexist. They were apparently made foruse on Navy ships. There is also anUnderwood that’s completely nickel-plated with mother-of-pearl keytops, anexhibition model.

Precious metals play their part inother extraordinary ordinaries. The ster-ling silver Corona portable was issuedin the 1930’s, and apparently about 100were made. Royal issued a portable inthe 1950’s with gold-plated metal trim.Olympia did the same about 1960.

In essence, Adler’s rule is a goodguideline for beginning collectors whohave no idea what’s “good” and whatisn’t. After a while, however, you’lllearn that your personal tastes will helpyou decide when the rule doesn’t apply.Many collectors love brightly-coloredmachines. Others will seek out the sleekportables of Art Deco’s Moderne era.These machines are not rare, nor arethey monetarily valuable, but are theycollectible? That’s an answer only youcan provide.


Book Review:THE ROMANCE DIVISION…

A DIFFERENT SIDE OF IBMby Cornelius DeLoca and

Samuel Jay KalowD & K Book Co., Inc. 449 GlendaleRoad, Wyckoff, NY 07481, 223pp.,$19.95

International Business Machines,better known as IBM may be fighting itsbattles in the computer world right now,but its past has some important land-marks for students of typewriter his-tory. IBM was the first to score big withan electric typewriter: the IBMElectromatic of 1933. It also turnedtypewriter technology inside out with1961’s Selectric. Along the way was anumber of intriguing products, whoseintroduction and marketing are the sub-ject of The Romance Division… a Dif-ferent Side of IBM, by Cornelius DeLocaand Samuel Jay Kalow.

DeLoca and Kalow, both formerIBM employees, look at their company’shistory from the sales and marketingperspective, mentioning lots of names,and offering lots of old war stories fromthe people who did IBM’s selling. Thecompany’s typewriter business, we aretold, was nicknamed the “RomanceDivision,” because of the sweet-talkingsalesmen did with office secretaries,who were the end-users of the products.The authors, though expert in IBM his-tory, are not as strong on the rest of theindustry’s past. In discussing single-element machines preceding theSelectric, they mention the numerousexamples of the “Beiderbecke” machinein the nation’s museums. They actuallymeant Blickensderfer, and they tell me“Beiderbecke” was an interpretation ofsomeone’s poorly-scrawled notes.

We do learn from this book, how-ever. For instance, the authors tell usthat among the chief ingredients of theElectromatic’s success was its ability tohammer through thick layers of carboncopies. This made it an ideal product forGovernment offices, which requiredmany copies of the same form. TheElectromatic needed such a market. Itsprice was $225, a tough sell in the

depths of the Depression.Other points of interest include some

history of IBM as a company prior to itsacquisition of Elecromatic Typewrit-ers, Inc. of Rochester, NY. IBM beganin 1912 as the Computing, Tabulatingand Recording Co., a merger of Interna-tional Time Recorder, Fairchild Scaleand the Tabulating Machine Co. (mak-ers of the Hollerith punched card ma-chine). The name was changed to Inter-

national Business Machines in 1924.The Romance Division… is not an

indispensable book for the typewritercollector, but it does have its points, andwould be an appropriate purchase forthe collector who wants his library tohave everything.

As the curator of the Carl P. DietzTypewriter collection at the MilwaukeePublic Museum (MPM) between 1977and 1985, I had the privilege of buildingthe collection, nearly doubling the num-ber of typewriters and expanding tradeliterature and ephemera from a few hun-dred pieces to nearly 4,000.

I developed a network of paperephemera dealers across the UnitedStates who routinely sent typewritermaterial on approval. Every week some-thing new and exciting arrived in themail, and I scavenged through flea mar-kets and antique shops on every occa-sion.

In one instance, however, I collecteda little too aggressively. I probably cameclose to ending up in jail and quitepossibly ruining my career. Lookingback, it is an amusing anecdote, but atthe time it was quite serious.

I was visiting my parents in Mary-land one spring and on Sunday morn-ing, my father and I went to the Balti-more Flea Market (unfortunately, nolonger in business), where I found a fewodds and ends, including an interestingtypewriter ribbon tin.

It was an unusual off-brand tin, not aWebster or a Smith Corona. It was cer-tainly one I had not seen before. It hada little rust, and its lid had been some-what squashed down, making it diffi-cult–indeed, impossible–to open. Tryas I might, I could not get the cover offto inspect its inside condition. The

scruffy-looking dealer had no better luckthan I. I offered $1.00, which the dealeraccepted. I placed the tin in the pocketof my sport jacket and continued look-ing for a Hansen Writing Ball or anAutomatic (neither of which I found).

Later that afternoon, I boarded aplane at Washington’s National Airportand flew to Milwaukee. On Mondaymorning, I took the tin upstairs to myfriends Jim Burnham and Ron Harveyin the MPM Conservation Department.Perhaps they would be able to get the lidoff. With special soft-jawed pliers, theyfinally succeeded. What we found tookmy breath away. There inside the tinwas a cache of marijuana!

Although my accidently acquiredstash was “mostly stems and seeds”according to my friends, the very thoughtof being caught in possession of such alittle hoard was frightening. Thankfully,the tin has escaped National Airport’smetal detecting system. Had it not, Iwould certainly have found myself insome Virginia jail until the matter couldbe straightened out. At best, I wouldhave escaped a most embarrassing situ-ation. At worst, I might have been con-victed of a felony, which would likelyhave cost me my job and reputation.

Today, I look back on that episodewith amusement. However, I did learnmy lesson. I have purchased hundredsof ribbon tins since then, but never onethat I could not and did not open first!

by Donald HokeAppleton, WI

A Curator’s Close Call


Looking for Lambertsby Ken GladstoneJacksonville, FL

Speeding to SuccessFrom “Success” Magazine’s 100th an-niversary issue, Nov., 1991.

How did Mary E. Orr, “BEGINNING

WITH A SALARY OF $6 A WEEK WITH NO

INFLUENCE, NO ‘PULL,’ NO RELATIVES TO

ADVANCE HER,” asks SUCCESS in 1907,become the first female director of acorporation, the Remington TypewriterCo.

Orr started her career as a school-teacher. She abandoned that career andbecame a “copyist,” duplicating docu-ments by typing them.

Once she mastered her new trade,she started her own business. As a side-line, Orr began entering typewriter speedcontests. Her record: 98.7 words perminute for 10 minutes.

A chance encounter at one of hertyping contests landed her a job withRemington.“A FTER JOINING REMINGTON HOUSE, MISS

ORR’S DUTIES GREW LIKE THE FABULOUS

PUMPKIN VINE.”Her secret? Becoming indispensable.

“SHE MADE HERSELF SO VALUABLE THAT

THE REMINGTON PEOPLE HAD NO ALTERNA-TIVE BUT TO MAKE HER A MEMBER OF THEIR

BOARD OF DIRECTORS.”

Submitted by Tom RussoWilmington, DE

Mignon MadnessGerman collectors Fritz Niemann

and Heinz Schropp are writing a book-let about the history of the famous “Mi-gnon” Typewriter with special infor-mation about different models, colorsand similar machines (Heady, Yu Ess,Genia Tip Tip).

Fritz and Heinz already have 1100serial numbers, but need more. They’realso seeking advertisements, instruc-tion booklets, etc. American collectorsshould be on the lookout for the Yu Ess,a Mignon lookalike made in NY. If youhave one, or know of one, send its serialnumber and any details to: FritzNiemann, Niemannsweg 6, D-4503Dissen, West Germany. FAX: 01149-5421-1272. Ph: 01149-5421-4895.

Over a year ago, a friend ofmine in St. Augustine (which isabout 35 miles south of Jackson-ville, where I live) gave me a tipthat an antique dealer at a fleamarket in Daytona Beach (100miles south of Jacksonville) had aYost for sale. So, I dutifully madethe trip to Daytona, found thedealer, and was disappointed tolearn that he had already sold themachine.

But since I’d already made thetrip, I figured I might as well lookaround. Well, next thing you knowI walk into a dealer’s booth andfound he had nothing but old toolsfor sale. I don’t care a thing aboutold tools and was giving the boothan obligatory quick scan whenmy eyes did a double-take as theycame across the word “Lambert.”Sure enough, sitting high on aback shelf, partially hidden, was amarvelous old Lambert, completewith its instruction manual. I askedthe dealer how much he wantedfor the old machine, and he said itwasn’t for sale. He said he kind ofliked it, and although he might getaround to selling it someday, hethought it really belonged in amuseum. No amount of carefulprobing and persuasion on mypart could even begin to get himto come up with a price. All hewould say was to check back withhim from time to time, that some-day he might change his mind.

Over the course of the nextyear, I stopped back to see himthree times — and each time re-ceived the same story. “I like themachine. It belongs in a museum.Maybe someday I’ll sell it.” Tosay the least, he was quite eccen-tric and obviously wasn’t the leastbit interested in selling the Lam-bert to me.

Several months ago, I was in

Daytona with my girlfriend Kathy Melum,and we decided to stop in at the flea market.She was familiar with what had already tran-spired with the Lambert quest, and I wasn’teven planning to stop to see the guy this time,but she said she’d at least like to see themachine that I’d spent so much time babblingabout over the last year. And as we werewalking toward his booth, she matter-of-factly said, “Maybe he’ll sell it to me. Wantme to try?”

So, while I waited around the corner, outof sight, Kathy began talking to the guy.When she was still gone after 30 minutes, Istarted getting excited. When she finally cameback, she said the guy was willing to sell andthat they had negotiated a price. She told himshe needed a few minutes to think it over andwould return shortly. I was happy with theprice and told her to go ahead and make thepurchase. Kathy told me that during the courseof the negotiations the antique dealer saidthat some guy from Jacksonville had beenafter the machine for over a year and that hewasn’t going to be happy when he found outit was gone. Kathy and I kept our secret toourselves, but I was sure thankful that herbargaining powers were a lot better thanmine.

Kathy Melum & Ken Gladstone with theLambert she bought because he couldn’t!


INTERNATIONAL NEWS

GermanyThe roller coaster world economy is

causing a new gap in Dollar-Deutsch-mark values. The Mark gained 17.5%on the Dollar in December, and as ofmid-January has settled to about $.65,14% above the low level of 1991. Thismakes machines from America a littlecheaper for German buyers, and ma-chines from Germany more expensiveto American buyers. Always somethingto keep in mind when trading/sellingoverseas.

Netherlands/BelgiumBob Aubert, of Riverside, NJ writes

of his experience in attending collectorsmeetings in Holland and Belgium dur-ing his recent trip overseas. Bob gavetalks on his experience in restoring theMilwaukee Public Museum’s Blickens-derfer Electric to working condition. Ina photo of his talk to Belgian collectors,a woman is seen laughing in the fore-ground. Bob explains that he had justspoken of the moment he pressed thecarriage return on the machine, and thecarriage came flying off! Someone, itseems, had put the margin stop on thewrong rack.

New JerseyA double issue (labeled “Summer/

Autumn - Number 2/3”) of The TypeWriter reached ETCetera aroundChristmastime last year. Editor PaulLippman explained it was intended toput his magazine back in synch with theseasons, and he hopes to have Number4 out in time for “Winter/1992.”

Number 2/3 features a black-and-white cover photo of the Buckner Lino-Typewriter, a Smith-Premier #1 fittedwith Linotype-style keyboard. Inside,there’s an 11-page, detailed descriptionof the workings of the Smith PremierNo. 2, complete with dozens of intricatediagrams. The piece comes from a bookcalled Text Book on Typewriter Repair-ing written by H.C. Frierson in 1912.Frierson’s book also dissects theUnderwood, Royal, blind Remington,Smith Premier 10, Oliver, L.C. Smith,

Monarch and Fox Visible. Paul sayshe’ll consider republishing the book infull if there’s sufficient collector inter-est.

Paul’s own long-awaited AmericanTypewriters: A Collectors’ Encyclope-dia is in its final stages of production.He hopes the price will be under $45,and says it should be available soon. Ifyou’d like to put in your order, write tohim at 1216 Garden St., Hoboken, NJ07030. Considering Paul’s remarkableknowledge, it should be quite a volume.

ADVERTISEMENTS

BLICK 7 - with Armenian type ele-ment. Mrs. Arax Goode, Box 4725,Clearlake, CA 95422. (707)995-5027

WANTED : Flawless condition Smith-Corona Silent Super (late 50’s) andZephyr Deluxe (late 30’s). Green colorpreferred, with case. State asking priceand notify: JEFF PENNIG c/o Warner-Chappell, 21 Music Square East, Nash-ville, TN 37203. (615)254-8777. (Ob-viously not hot collectibles, but I typefor a living and prefer these machines).

TIPS: The following are from peoplewho have written in to “inquire” abouttheir machines. Some, but not all, havebeen informed their machines would beadvertised. It’s up to you to make yourown deal.

CORONA 3 - case, instructions, tools.Ruth Steele, 5335 N. Deerfield, Flush-ing, MI 48433BLICK 9 - w/case. Joseph Backes, 317Longbow, Peoria, IL 61604. (309)674-4482.BLICK 5 - Reba Souders, 3125 36thSt., #109, St. Petersburg, FL 33713.CORONA 3 - excellent condition.Marie N. Lombard, 3870 Sabal Dr.,Oviedo, FL 32765.BLICK 7 /case - Homer Dalton, 4730State Rt. 60N. (4730), Wakeman, OH44889BLICK 7 /case - ser. #472693, very

good shape. Barbara Foiller, HiddenTreasures, 1509 Huron Avery Rd., Hu-ron Ohio 44839. (419)433-2585.BLICK 5 /case - William L. Purcell,4239 Windsor Castle Way, Decatur,GA 30034. (404)-987-1639.REM-BLICK - Myra R. Ditch, 3019W. Garden St., Peoria IL 61605.BLICK 8 - Lincoln J. Harrison, 199979th Ave., Baton Rouge, LA 70807.BING - Leo Bazar, 20 Schuylhill St.,Cressora, PA 17929-1409.HARRIS VISIBLE - w/ instructionbook, type-cleaning brush. BlancheBrown, 1019 N. 19th St., Pheniz, AZ85006.SMITH PREMIER 4 - base & cover/working cond. Sidney Green, 209 LeeSt., Franklinton, NC 27525-1115.CALIGRAPH NO. 2 - Wilmer Bader,R-1, Box 79, Palmer, Nebr. 98864HARRIS VISIBLE NO. 4 - JeniSkidmore, Rt. 2, Box 80, Jane Lew, WV26378ROYAL NO. 5 - Elizabeth Skeffington,909 Center St., Dixon, IL 61021CORONA 3/case - Dean Fredendall,RR1, Box 100, Janesville, WI 53546HERMES ROCKET - Denise Gra-ham, 579 Parkway Rd., Balsam Grove,NC 28708WILLIAMS - with case. Model un-known. Fair cond. Joseph Nicolosi, 16Governor Sawyer Ln. Dover, NH 03820COLLECTION - 41 machines, mostlyconventional, but including Blick &Std. Folding. Calculators, too. DorranceA. Williams, 2909 W. 7th St., LittleRock, AK 72205. (501)664-2690INTERNATIONAL ELECTRO-MATIC - Robert Tibbetts, 12638 GableHill Dr., Sun City West, AZ 85375BLICK 7, HAMMOND MULTI.,ROYAL 5, CORONA 3 (green), SP 4,OLIVER 9 - Karen Fickies, 2121 S.Sandstone Rd., Jackson, MI 49201.(517)750-2303PARTS!! Old TW repair shop goingout of business. Screws, springs, type-bars, etc. Alan Kendall's Office Spe-cialists. 22 West St., Keene, NH 03431.(603)357-0500


RIBBONTIN ROUNDUP

TOP PHOTO: Row #1: Standard - orange, silver, black;Ditto - black, silver, white, red (Ditto, Inc./Decorated Metal);Sunset - silver, black, red. Row #2: Secretarial - silver,black, white, green(L.C. Smith & Corona Typewriters, Inc./J.L. Clark); Ultimo - dk. blue, lt. blue, orange, white, silver;made by same maker as the famous “Panama” line (ManifoldSupplies/); Herald Square - green, black, silver (F.W.Woolworth/Decorated Metal)

BOTTOM PHOTO - Row #1: Fine Service - blue, white;made by a company in Portland, Oregon & frequently seenon west coast (Stenno Carbon & Ribbon Mfg. Co./Deco-rated Metal), Sundstrand - ivory, black, red (SundstrandDiv., Central Office Equip. Corp/), Kreko - yellow, red,silver (Kress Stores/). Row #2: Fine Service - blue, white(Stenno Carbon & Ribbon Mfg. Co./), U.S. Brand - blue,white (U.S. Typewriter Ribbon Mfg. Co./), KoDye - silver,red, black(Kodye Products co./)

A nice collection of tinsfrom the Art Deco era in thisissue.

As always, we encourageyou to send in photos of tinsfrom your collection. Pleasephotograph tins close so thatsix tins fill up one frame offilm. Place them against aplain background and keepcamera square-on. Shoot out-side or near a window duringthe day, and don’t use flash, oryou’ll get hot spots. Also,avoid red-on-black tins— theydon’t reproduce well in blac-and-white.

KEY:Brand - colors; descriptivedetails, if needed (Ribboncompany, if known/Tinmanufacturer, if known)

This back issue of

is brought to you by

The Early Typewriter Collectors’ Association

The mission of the Early Typewriter Collectors’ Association is to support

communication and interaction within the community of typewriter lovers

and collectors, and to encourage its growth. Our magazine, ETCetera, serves

that mission by gathering and sharing knowledge about typewriter history

with the community and beyond.

Learn more at

etconline.org

contents etcetera - typewriteretconline.org/backissues/etc018.pdf · 2 / etcetera #18 / march, 1992...

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