Friday, September 16, 2011

Where do you keep your Typewriters?


20 comments:

  1. Anonymous11:10 PM

    I am fortunate to have a study. I am unfortunate that that study is full! I have about 30-35 machines, the portables generally live in their cases. I have two large conference folding tables; that's where most of the office manuals and electrics reside under covers. I have a Lowe's shelving system thing in there that has both books and typewriters on it also. IOW no more system than yours; just more machines! I do rotate most of mine. Thanks for sharing!

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  2. You guys have a lot of things -- there doesn't seem to be much room for typewriters. Still, there is always room for just one more ...

    I have to update my inventory, but I think I now own about 225 machines. About 90 are on bookshelves and tables at work, 80 on bookshelves and tables at home, 30 are stashed in closets in their cases, and another 25 are sitting around my basement in various spots. Not a great system. But how can I get rid of any of my babies?

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  3. Okay, I have only 12 machines (+ 1 Guest machine from my neighbours), but they all fit the Billy-bookshelf from IKEA, except the brother 1613 with it's huge case and the Olivetti Studio 44, which is exceptionally long, I store them somewhere next to the shelf.

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  4. At today's count, I have 32 typewriters (whew, I'm glad there aren't more!). One is at work, and I plan to take more there if more arrive and we're pressed for space at home. Of the 31 at home, one is under my secretary, 11 are on a large Ikea Expedit shelf next to me, ten are on a smaller Expedit in the middle of the room, one is on top of a narrow Expedit in the doorway, and eight are in the entry closet. (We love Ikea around here!). In fact, one of my considerations for getting a new typewriter is that it has to be "Expedit-sized". Otherwise storage is a problem. Anyway, it's all contained, but just barely...

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  5. Mine are cluttering up the usable rooms on the third floor. I bring a few down to the second floor so I'm not abandoning my wife when I use them.

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  6. ha ha ... so many typewriters! I have ONLY ONE! The others I left behind when I moved to Mexico! The ONLY ONE (Tootsie), sits by the door in her case, handle up, at the ready in case of emergency. She is coming with me. Enjoy your harem.

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  7. Yowza, you guys.

    I have a mere five typers: the Selectric I sits on my desk next to my monitor, the Antares and the Olivetti underneath the desk for easy access, the Underwood FIVE on a bookshelf next to the encyclopedias, and the Olympia SM9 on an end-table in the living room. I just can't imagine sitting any more into the house. And neither can my wife!

    By the way, the Valentine really works there. Nice pop!

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  8. I keep one typer out on the desk in my office at a time. Currently it's the Olivetti Lettera 22, whose color matches the room's recent paint job.

    The other machines are stored in their cases in the closet, and get rotated around periodically.

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  9. @Richard: Wow, 225 writing machines? You're like the Cat Lady of Typewriters! ;-)

    I must admit that I found all of your answers fascinating.

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  10. You guys are all so neat and careful.

    I have 35 typewriters in my 76-square-foot office--so I'm just one of the mechanical sardines in here.

    Three are on the formica school table and the postage meter machine table that make up my L-shaped work-surface: a Remington Noiseless 10, a Fox 24 and an Oliver 9. Four are on the floor, their guts hanging half out: a Smith Premier 2, an Oliver 5, a Royal 5, and an Underwood 3-bank portable. I've also got a Klein Adler and an Erika folding that are out and awaiting some kind of rebirth.

    The rest are staring at me moodily from the confines of their cases, their sight line blocked by piles of paper, scores of books, and the detritus of various repair efforts--rags, cans of PB blaster, tubes of Flitz, and an odd collection of gunsmithing screwdrivers.

    In other words, there's no decor in here. It's only me and the machines.

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  11. rn writes: "You guys are all so neat and careful"

    Most of it is Smoke & Mirrors, believe me! An illusion.

    Your typewriter space sounds interesting, and at least you're doing some repairs! More than I can say for myself at this point.

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  12. You're way too modest. Your typewriters fit perfectly into the decor, so relaxed that they actually look comfortable.

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  13. what a marvelous collection; thank you for sharing it with us.

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  14. Thanks for showing us around!

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  15. The whole point of creating Typewriter Heaven was because all my typewriters usually live unseen and accessible by ladder only, in the attic, except for the odd couple currently in use or awaiting fettling, and the beast of an Olivetti Linea for which I'd need to install a winch). They sit cased, in the dark, side-by-side (not stacked), waiting.

    w/v: abith:n.deep hole fallen into by lispers

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  16. I'm just happy I was able to somehow (against all the usual, unwritten laws of Matrimony and Home Ownership) move all the machines back into the house from their quarantine in the shed.

    They're under desks, under beds, tucked in corners in the loft. Anywhere where there's a square foot with no foot traffic. I've managed to squeeze twenty-five or so in this way.

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  17. I'm late to the party, but I'll post anyhow...

    I don't have all that many compared to some, so I don't really have a system. The Olympia SG-1 lives in the office, on the stand that came with it, and most of the portables are lined up in their cases in one corner. The Lettera 31 is small and light enough to tuck away easily, so it lives in the living room, ready to grab at a moment's notice...which, along with its impeccable behavior, leads to it being the primary typecaster of late. The SCM Galaxie Deluxe keeps sneaking in by the bed, but it doesn't technically belong there.

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  18. I currently have 10 machines. Three are on display on a wall shelf in the dining room, four are on display on a book shelf in the kitchen, two are on display in the living room, and one is on my table because it's the main one I use. Of my 10 typewriters, there are really only two, maybe three, that I could never part with.

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  19. "...the cat lady of typewriters." Something to aspire to. My wife will get a kick out of that.

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  20. Love your lamps! Nice work weaving the typewriters into your space. I mostly have mine on bookshelves, but there's talk in the house of getting rid of the shelves (and the books, oh dear) so whatever will I do?

    My office at work also sometimes takes the overflow.

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