Desert island typewriters

I was thinking, if i was ever marooned to a desert island and could choose just three typewriters to take with me, what would i pick?

The Brother Deluxe 1350 would of course have to be the first pick. It was the first typewriter i ever bought and is still going strong, indeed it is one of the better machines in the collection.

Next would be my Olympia Olympiette, my favourite typewriter of all. It works pretty well (maybe not quite as good as some others i could choose) but there is no way i would not pick this machine for my exile.

So, those two picks were easy, what about the third? I think it needs to be a solidly built and reliable machine, which means one of the Silver-Reed type portables of which i have quite a few, including re-branded examples. So, the third typewriter i would take on my exile would be my Silver-Reed SEVENTY which is a superb little typewriter that still looks brand new.

So, what would you choose?

Typing on a Brother Deluxe 1350

Updated video of the first typewriter in the collection.

Why i like typewriters (5) : Longevity

In an age of planned obsolesence and our tools lasting not very long before breaking (and often not being repairable), typewriters are reassuring long-lived and resilient. Some of the machines in my collection date from the early 1960s and still work perfectly well, and other collectors have machines which are much older still. Some typewriters have had a hard life, millions of keys pounded, treated poorly in terrible conditions and yet are still working fine after a clean-up and a bit of oil.

The first typewriter in my collection was my Brother Deluxe 1350, a late 1960s or early 1970s machine, which i bought in 2013. I took it out of storage a few days ago and used it for the first time in a couple of years and it still works perfectly. 

Now of course this longevity really only applies to manual typewriters, electrics suffer from the same bit rot and electrical decay issues as other electrical items. However, it is reassuring that even in the event of a global nuclear armageddon we will still be able to use our typewriters in the smouldering ruins of civilisation. Though getting replacement ribbons may be tricky.

Showcase (6) : Brother Deluxe 1350

This is the most important typewriter in the collection, because it was the first one! Without this one there might not be a collection. A lovely typewriter it is too from the late 1960s or early 1970s with fake wood effect styling. It certainly is very brown!

Unlike a lot of later typewriters which had a rigid case which snapped over the top of the machine, the Deluxe 1350 has a nice fully enclosing case with zip. The typewriter works pretty well though it seldom gets used much these days, maybe it's time to change that.

Typing on a Brother Deluxe 1350

Another typing video, this typewriter was the first one in my collection. It all started here.

What can you actually use your typewriters for? Cake labels!

So you have a typewriter collection, you are justly proud of it and often get one of the typewriters out to play with. But what can you use your typewriters for, in a proper useful sense? Well, one use i have found is to do ingredient labels for the cakes my wife makes. In the past i used to write down the ingredients on a sticky label but where is the fun in that? My beloved Olympia Olympiette, the best typewriter i have, makes a much better job of it. 

This isn't the first time i've used a typewriter "in anger". Once i had to write a very official letter, while the letter itself was done on my computer and laser printed i needed something to write the address on the envelope. My Brother Deluxe 1350 did a good job, as did it's distant cousin my Brother laser printer on the actual letter!