Friday, June 24, 2022
Replacing missing parts - continuing the S.I.M. typewriter repair
Friday, June 17, 2022
Assembled type
Modifying the character-set on a typewriter was generally done by swapping out one type-slug with another - this one however got composite, modified type-slugs.
The uppercase symbols on the 3 and 4 were ground away and thin slivers of a different character soldered on top of it. It looks fragile, but after nearly a century they're still typing :)
Friday, June 10, 2022
Typewriters and cameras collectors museum
A couple of days after picking-up a Hammond Multiplex typewriter, finally got round to visiting the local little typewriter museum. Had been planning to go for years, but now finally got the push to do so :)
It is a small-scale 'collecting museum', with both a collection of Agfa cameras and a collection of typewriters. In display-cases an amazing array of Hammond machines! And many other machines too - a great cross-section of machines on display around one side of the building.
The camera collection was likewise interesting to discover. Recognised some cameras (that's our Billy Record!) and learned more about the development and variation of these very 20th century items. Both the typewriter and the camera collectors (or curators) were present, so great information on all the exhibits.
Overall a great little museum - well worth a visit. Some rare machines seen now 'in real life' and able to see how big (or small) e.g. an old Remington up-strike machine really is. With expert information from the knowledgeable collectors themselves - and a cup of coffee too.
An enjoyable afternoon-trip, completed with a walk around the grounds of the former Jongemastate castle nearby. (The moat and the 1603-built gatehouse are still there, but nothing else of the old buildings remains...)
(Those Hammonds looked magnificent - something to aim for in the restoration of the newly acquired Hammond :-)
Thursday, June 2, 2022
Something different - a Multiplex!
It was not too far away, so a quick trip to pick it up and no shipping-risk for something like this. This was the main object of the trip that also yielded that telephone - another typewriter! This one is certainly not within my usual 'scope' of interbellum portables, but a venture into a very different type of writing machine. Possibly paid a bit much (at least more than I've ever done for a pre-war portable), but we have a grand -albeit a little tired-looking- Hammond Multiplex typewriter complete with case.
It is the open, universal-keyboard model, probably made around 1915 or 1916. It just looks very impressive and somehow very Edwardian. And it's a completely new writing-mechanism to discover!
The case suffered from moisture, much of the glue has let go, seams are loose and veneer is delaminating.
The instructions inside the lid are still there. Oddly, for a machine sold in Holland with a Dutch keyboard the instructions are in English, French, German and Spanish. Rather a nice touch; the German text is in fraktur too.
Unexpected bonus; the missing bit of veneer from the back of the lid is still there. It is taped to the inside of the lid! The machine looks like it is straight from a shed or damp attic, but care was taken to save some bits that fell off.