Last year posted about the acquisition of an Olympia Traveller de Luxe. That’s when I received a message from my co-author of The Official Ubuntu Book and friend of mine that started out: “I have an old portable manual typewriter (1940s/50s, I think, offhand) in excellent condition…”
You know where this is going, right?
By the end of the week a beautiful, single-family, 1940 Smith-Corona Sterling (serial number 2A 66470) was in my possession, having been very carefully shipped. Aaron helped me with the unboxing and first test.
The typewriter had been owned by his grandfather, who bought it new, and it is in stunning condition. In fact, of my collection, it may be the one that’s in the best condition. I haven’t had to do any work to it in order to get it performing perfectly.
As a nice bonus, he included a hand-written note to explain the provenance.
The iconic round, glass keys are actually quite enjoyable to type on and it comes in this legendary case that kept the typewriter safe and in great condition for years, which is no small feat for a machine that’s 83 years old.
Of my three portables it’s probably the least portable, but it’s also the oldest portable I have, and it’s obvious even from the names that both the Skyriter and the Traveller de Luxe (which I keep in Philly) had a very specific intent. So I think my Skyriter will remain my hipster outdoor coffee shop typewriter, and this one will be the one I use in my deck and back yard.
What makes this one really special to me though is that I have a real personal connection to it.