I had a few hours to spend this afternoon, so I went to the local thrift store. I was surprised by the nice machines they had for sale for very reasonable prices. All machines were in working order (of course! Back than, they were made to last forever). I had the chance to fiddle and play with each of them, which made me happy. As space is limited, I didn't buy one, but I had one aesthetic favorite (the Everest) and one functional favorite (the Japy). Which one would you chose? For international comparation; 1 euro is currently 1,07 dollar. All machines are for sale at Wawollie, in Maarssen, The Netherlands.
The first one is a Hermes Standard 6, azerty, sn 562041, made in 1946. Inside was a lot of typewriter eraser gunk. The tabulator system was a bit sluggish, but after a few minutes I figured out how it worked. These machines were made between 1943 and 1953; in total around 80k specimens left the factory in Switzerland. I don't see them too often here. This one costs 25 euro:
Next one, a Japy P.90, sn 7002021, made in 1970. This is a rebranded Hermes 3000. It's the third, plastic version of the hyped curved model from the fifties. It has the same tabulator system with the funky red line as the curved model and I guess the other mechanics are similar as well. A very good deal for 10 euro, if you ask me, although cosmetically, it wasn't in the best shape. This plastic version of the Hermes 3000 was sold all through the 1970's. Around half a million of them left the factory. This is one of the earliest examples of the plastic version and also has a azerty keyboard:
Than the Everest Mod ST. The surprise of the day! I had never seen an Everest before (other than on pictures). They are not that rare, but I am normally not that interested in post war typewriters. I really like the 1950s look of this typewriter and what I also like is how heavy it is. This is 20 kilo of quality. The machine is in working order and for sale for 35 euros. This specimen (sn 254653) left the factory in 1953, but this model was made in Italy between 1948 and 1954. Only 67k Mod ST's were made in that period. You can pick it up for 35 euro. Less than 2 euro per kilo. Unfortunately, this typewriter also had an azerty lay out. I guess they came from the same person?
Last, an Olivetti Lexikon 80 (qwerty). This one was made in 1950 (sn 2106231). Lexikons were made from 1948 to 1956. The earlier versions have the name on the paper table embossed, like this one. It seems like Olivetti sold a big batch of early versions to The Netherlands, because I see these a lot here. I even scout the earlier and very rare Olivetti M80 every now and than. In total 570k Olivetti Lexikon 80's were sold. This one is for sale for 25 euro. In the plastic bag attached to the carriage are some spare ribbons.
What's your favorite?
