Friday, October 28, 2011

The third Thrift Store Find of Oct. 24: Webster XL-747 portable typewriter made in Japan!


15 comments:

  1. Good old Brother portables. I did a lot of pages on mine last year. Hope you enjoy it!

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  2. That's one bit of Jap Crap I wouldn't mind getting ahold of! :D

    Excellent find, especially with all that historic documentation. If we ever get around to listing Brother serial numbers, we at least have one serial number with a definite date attached.

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  3. Yay to that 70's typewriter!
    I was eyeing a Brother of that same blue and wood-grain combo as Plan B in case I didn't land the faux bois Royal Caravan. The papers are a great bonus!

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  4. I also adopted a machine with segment fur issues. It is a Western Auto branded Brother. What is it with Brother typewriters and shedding pets?

    These really are attractive machines in their own way. The splash of fake wood grain is certainly more subdued than the station wagons of the same era.

    I'm sure your typing style is cleaner than mine; either way the end product looks good. The surviving literature is a really great find.

    I'll get photos of mine up after it's clean and before it is gifted to a friend of the family.

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  5. Spiffy! I love that all the original documents came with it! What a great find!

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  6. Wow! You saved the best 'til last. The clashing colours and visual 'language' work a treat. And a never-ending typewriter ribbon too. I have never typed Japanese iron but if they bring to typewriters what they did for motorcycles, it'll be a smooth and faultless ride. And that name, XL-747. eXtra-light? Wonder if 747 was a nod to Boeing? Their 747 took off just a year earlier, in 1970.

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  7. @ Rob Bowker: Actually, this is not the last of my thrift store finds; I will soon be posting about the final & 4th typewriter of that day, a Remington Quiet-Riter Eleven which I believe was made @ 1960. I just took it apart and gave it a much-needed bath, and need to re-glue the cardboard panels back on the insides (which makes it a QUIET-RITER, ha!)

    I Googled the Webster XL-747 and read on one site that many typewriters of that era WERE in fact named after jets.

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  8. I love all the ephemera, especially the guarantee page with the joyful lady! That is the sort of thing that makes my day - finding a great typewriter and also getting the documentation with it. It's been a while...

    I haven't tried - or even found, come to think of it - one of those lovely blue Brothers over here, but your review is nice to read and I will keep it in mind. What nice luck you are having!

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  9. Love the paneling. Are you telling me that Sacto is fertile typewriter hunting ground? Who knew?

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  10. I remember this one!!!
    I wish I could remember when and where though!

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  11. She's pretty! You certainly are having a lucky streak finding some great collectors items. What fun! :o) Donna

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  12. I am guessing you would be great in an Easter egg hunt. Amazing finds!

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  13. great collection! i remember we had 2 typewriters when i was little, one manual and one electric (olivetti). can't remember what happen to them. mom must have given them away. my sis went for typing class! so funny to think back those days now. typing class?!! lol!

    i have been seeing 11:11 for a few years now. all i know with my little numerology knowledge is that it's a master number and means that great change is coming.

    it's no coincidence when you left that comment on my blog i was reading about it too. here's the excerpt: "... the 11:11 shows us the perfect balance of the above and below, the inside and the exterior, the past and the present, and more. as above, so below: in the heavens and on earth, an event of great significance will occur..." from the book " the secret history of consciousness. ancient keys to our future survival" by dr. meg blackburn losey.

    magical number, magical time. and you live in the most magical woods! love the post on the walk few post below.

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  14. Hello, I own a Webster XL-747 and I don't have the owner manual. I would really appreciate to find pictures of the pages so I could know how it work. Thanks! majorielapierre@hotmail.com

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  15. Hello, I own a Webster XL-747 and I don't have the owner manual. I would really appreciate to find pictures of the pages so I could know how it work. Thanks! majorielapierre@hotmail.com

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