Typewriter bucket list
Introduction
I have a typewriter collection which you can see to a large extent on TWDB. But a collector is never entirely satisfied, and there are several machines I’d love to find, if they are affordable and/or in restorable condition. Below is a list of such machines.
Please note that shipping many of these machines is difficult, although possible with care.
Remington 2
I already own a beautiful Remington 6 from 1902. I’d love to find its predecessor, the Remington 2 standard.
The Remington 2 standard is not really a rare machine: more than 100,000 were made and many have survived. However, for some reason I have not yet been able to find one, at least one that is affordable. Here is what one looks like.
Credit: National Museum of American History
The Remington 3 and 5 are wide-carriage versions, and much rarer. The Remington 4 only did capital letters and 35,000 were made, approximately. Needless to say, I’d be happy to find one of those as well!
Remington 11 adding and subtracting machine
I own a Remington Model-121 Vertical Adder, a Model-23 Bookkeeping Machine, and a Model-21 Vertical Adder. Missing from this small collection is the beautiful, and earlier, Remington 11 with Adding and Subtracting mechanism. This features the so-called “Wahl mechanism” in the front. Here is what one looks like.
Credit: National Museum of American History
I know that a few of those are around, as I’ve seen them for sale a couple of times: once in Europe, and once in the US, but too far away from me. Hopefully one if waiting form me somewhere.
VariTyper Model 160/660/720/1010
I own a small collection of Varityper-branded machines, including some 1930s and 1940s models, and a beautiful Model 610F from the late 1950s or early 1960s. I’d love to find some of the missing models, such as the Model 660 or 1010, shown below, as well as models 160 and 720.
I have seen a few 1010 for sale, but in places too far for me, and proper shipping is a challenge.
I am also interested in completing my collection of Varityper shuttles (or fonts). Those are sometimes sold as “Hammond” shuttles, but they are typically not compatible with Hammond typewriters. They have a gray metal look, unlike the original black Hammond shuttles.
IBM Magnetic Tape/Selectric Typewriter
I’d love to find the rare IBM Magnetic Tape/Selectric Typewriter (MT/ST, also known as MT72 in Europe), which came out in 1964. It is a large machine, with a special desk and a large console, as you can see on the picture below.
As of 2023, there is a Mag Tape with missing parts (including the typewriter top case and platen), for sale on eBay. The seller even has a video tour of the machine. However, this is a “make me an offer” type of scenario and the seller doesn’t appear eager to sell the machine. But this is very interesting because of the video tour, and it is good to know that at least one example of the machine is out there.
I have also obtained diagrams/schematics for the MT/ST’s electronics and relay-based system of the machine!
IBM Magnetic Tape/Selectric Composer
This unit was designed to work alongside the IBM MT/ST. It is unknown to me if any of those machines have survived.
Credit: Norsk Teknisk Museum
Other machines of the IBM Mag Card family
I own the following “Mag Card/II family” machines:
The following machines would be nice to complete that collection:
- The first IBM Magnetic Card/Selectric Typewriter (MC/ST), which came out in 1969. It had a different style of console from the newer and more stylish MagCard/II console, in fact it looks more like the MT/ST, although a little smaller.
- The Mag Card II proper.
- The Mag Card Executive
Olivetti Programma 101
This is not a typewriter, and it’s also probably a very long shot, but I’d love to find an Olivetti Programma 101, the first desktop computer ever produced, all the way back in 1965.
Credit: Museoscienza.org. Museo nazionale della scienza e della tecnologia Leonardo da Vinci, Milano