Corona Typewriter Bargain Alert! 50% Off!

Someone had better snag this gem off ebay in a hurry! It won't last long at 50% off. As in it is now $75 plus shipping. But it works!

Sure, it may need a little elbow grease.

Or a sandblaster.

Someone in the Typosphere needs to save this machine! The keys will be irresistible to the key choppers with wedding season right around the corner.

Or not.

Last chance, peoples! Look for it on ebay as item number 190820286562. This diamond in the rough can be yours for a mere Benjamin. Did I mention that it works? Here is all the proof you need:

One tough hombre.

Okay, I have to confess that I'm having a little blog writer's block. I have a draft post with photos I like and the narrative just isn't coming together. <sigh>  At least I can count on never having a sarcasm block.

One Year Anniversary: Picture Heavy!

Today marks the first anniversary of Vintage Technology Obsessions.  Before I go any further, I want to thank all of you who regularly visit this blog.  I'd like to think that I would keep going without page views, but the truth is I like to see the number go up and the comments and conversations are greatly appreciated.

In the spirit of this blog and the Typosphere, this is a hybrid post.  I think I will use a few different typewriters.  Do you recognize the machines from their typefaces?

Yeah, typewriters are real; typographical errors and all.  The machines:  Underwood Deluxe Quiet Tab, Royal Signet, Olympia SM-7, Remington Mark II (a plastic Torpedo) and a 1932 Royal known as Keylime.  I lust after a machine with German blackletter or an Olivetti Graphika.

I've been surprised at some of the posts that have picked up the most hits; mostly from Google searches.  I'm glad that I diversified content from the beginning.  I blog because I love learning about many obscure subjects that have nothing to do with my professional life.  I also love photography and this is a fun avenue for me to share images.

Here are some of my favorite images from the last year:

This little guy was a graduation gift for a friend of the family.

Svetlana Optima is our mysterious Cold War throwback.  She was manufactured in East Germany in the early '50s and has some pretty serious trust issues.  This comes from her new ribbon day.

And now for some statistics.  Thanks to readers such as yourself, this blog passed the 16,000 pageview mark on August 11.  The top ten posts by pageview, paraphrased and in descending order, are:

ITAM Special Report: The Eight Millionth Remington

Remembering Ralph McQuarrie

Zeiss Ikon/ICA Folding Camera

Juvenile Cold War Space Fiction

Happy Typewriter Day from Keylime

The Birthday Blog Post from Space

Royal Typewriter Rescue(feature Old Red, a Royal with the Vogue typeface rescued from choppers)

A Tale of Two Cameras (the modern Sony NEX3 coupled with Olympus PEN F lenses)

Mousiest Royal Futura (a not all that fun to type on Royal with an awesome cursive typeface)

B-36 Restricted Report (Features an SM-9 keeping track of the dreaded Svetlana Optima)

And here is the subject of the top post, Remington number 8,000,000.

Just full of awesome and kind of OK to type on.  This machine receives plenty of Google search hits.

If only I could keep the bench this tidy.

Being an Art Deco icon, this machine starred in its own movie "Last Stand at the Remington".

This is an outtake from the hit movie "Last Stand at the Remington".

Yeah, totally growing up would be pretty boring.

This is the first typecast with our Senatorial Olympia SM-9.  Racoons had recently dug a hole through our roof.

This man of mystery was a hit at the 2011 Kansas City Maker Faire.

The dreaded Dollar Store "Spacebot" testing out that old saw about the pen being mightier than the sword.  However, Bill has some muscle in the form of a junk part R2-C4 unit.

I'm still bitter about losing a whole summer worth of B-grade movie reruns to the Watergate hearings.

You don't want to know.

Here's our family mascot, Trollie!  Isn't that the most creative name you've ever heard?

Gotta love southern Florida.  There was a guy shooting a monster handgun towards a 40 foot fiberglass panther on the other side of the parking lot.  Ah, the memories Trollie and I have together.

Two extremely shiny typewriters.  They don't get used nearly enough what with my weird typeface fetish.  The gold Royal goes by the name of Margo.

Thank goodness we have a good copy editor in the house!  What fate awaits this tough Royal?

Like a candle in the Windy City.  Poor Marilyn is about to lose her head.

Keylime and Old Red, the Vogue typeface Royals.  The one on the right is named Keylime.  That was redundant, but I am too lazy to reconfigure the link.

Such a happy couple.  Too bad they are about to be mauled by zombies!

"Do you hear moaning?  I swear I hear moaning."

Imaging the Transit of Venus with a pair of binoculars.

Shopping for the perfect violin for Hannah.  It was a great experience.  The bow cost more than my first car.  Sure, the car was a beater, but you get the idea.

In the violin finish lair.  This strings shop is a great maker space.

My portable typecasting machine for our summer vacation.  We came back to a very long stretch of hot and a drought that came out of nowhere.

Something shiny from the Art of the Car Concours.

This is a nice rat rod from the Kansas City Good Guys show.  The Duesenberg at the Concours was worth more than a Belgian dressage horse.  The rat rod?  Not so much, but it is awesome!

3-D printing pretty much rocks.  This is from the 2012 Kansas City Maker Faire.

Souped up kiddie cars in the Power Wheels racing series.

This is Super Awesome Sylvia and her dad, the Tech Ninja doing some live science at the 2011 Kansas City Maker Faire.

This is precisely why we need maker culture.  We are so proud of Curiosity's team!  I still have a rendering of the skycrane lowering Curiosity set as my wallpaper.  We haven't forgotten Opportunity, either.

The team, as seen on my LCD during the live streaming of the landing.  Dang, where is that sexy Mohawk Guy?

Ahhhh!!!! Not only is he adorable, the Christmas Squirrel will bring your family socks and undies.  Part 1 on "The Origins of the Christmas Squirrel" is found here.  Yes, there is a Part 2 and the story involves Nikola Tesla, Erwin Schrodinger and a certain Mr. Edison.  It was cold outside and I was on vacation.

Claire's most awesome repurposed Christmas present to me.

This is one of Claire's friends.  She is a convert to the ways of the typewriter.  We gave her an Olympia SM-9 with the Senatorial (robot) typeface.  She is a total typeface junkie and can tell you about the history and design of many typefaces.  That may be atypical for the average eleven-year-old.

Claire (aka: gingercat) and the Six Fingered Man's twin brother at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art.

Thanks again to all of you that follow or have happened upon this crazy, mixed up blog of mine!  It's gotten a little serious in the last couple of months.  Me thinks it is time to break out some Hong Kong knock-off robots and a jumbo Machinder.  Yes, that would do nicely!

Copyright:  The Copyright is a noble beast that I, the owner of the blog known as Vintage Technology Obsessions, claims for my own.  With the exception of the images of the amazing Curiosity, all images and text are mine and are copyright 2011 and 2012.  Regular readers would not need to be reminded that, in addition to legal recourse, if someone were to pilfer my images for use without attribution or for commercial use of any form they would likely be awakened in the middle of the night by the buzz and hiss of a flying, steam powered Oliver Number 99 hovering over their bed.  Thieves, you have been suitably warned.

A Royal Study in Toughness

Before we go any further, I want to assure you that this post is not an April Fool's Day prank.  The typecast below is from this typewriter, as found, with no lube, adjustments or ribbon replacement.  It was going to be taken apart until I happened to try a few keys.  Sigh.

Just like the Arrow (a rebadged QDL) said, I bought it for the sole purpose of cannibalizing a funky screw that actuates the back space mechanism.  (Correction:  that was $2.00 and worth it just for the screw.)  The love interest mentioned above is much prettier and exclusive and theoretically had an easier and pampered life.  However, the screw in question was missing or had been removed.  And I assure you that she required much lube and adjustment to work properly.  (Famous ebay seller quote:  "Looks like this has never been used!")

This beast looks like it has been to Hell and back, but it works nearly perfectly with only two typebars sticking at the platen.  I'm not sure if the margin release key works; I'll have to bend it back into position to find out.

In high school, when I first started working on cars and motorcycles, I liked the ones that were rough around the edges with good, strong engines.  It was partly due to not having much to spend on cars and partly because I just making things work.  I self-taught on engine rebuilding way back when and drove some really scroungy looking cars.  But they ran, and I respect that.

The guy I bought this and a mint Polaroid 95 Land Camera from organizes a great rod show that I absolutely must attend.  If you like homebrew rat rods and customs, check out photos of Greaserama taken by a friend of mine at http://public.fotki.com/boxstersys/all_thing_automotive/various_car_events/greaserama-2011/ 

My family unit has engaged me in a "discussion" on what degree of clean this machine should be.  I'm leaning towards the barn rat rod approach.  The essential nature of this machine is expressed through total neglect and still having the heart of a champion.  My three girls gazed upon me with various expressions ranging from baleful reproach to Sheldon-is-trying-to-make-your head-explode as they argued for continued existence and mechanical cleaning and lubrication.


If you have read their blogs (which I set up for them) you know how opinionated they are.  I am, perhaps, doomed.

So, gentle reader, what do you think?  Should I give the innards a clean and lube?  Should I clean the dirt off the body?  That risks removing some over spray, but I think the auto paint blobs aren't going anywhere.  Up front, I have to tell you that "boat anchor", "door stop" and "junk robot parts" are welcome opinions protected by the First Amendment.  However, sentimentality for functional mechanical things as outweighed reason in this case.

Also, 1950's car club nickname suggestions are appreciated.

Even the grubby type slugs eventually get their day at vintagetechobsessions.  We have an equal macro opportunity policy.

Heads up:  It is Royal week at vintagetechobsessions.  The aforementioned love interest was my birthday present and it really is pretty.  I'll just say it is a study in contrasts.  Stay tuned!