1934 Imperial Good Companion #P8712

Status: My Collection
Hunter: James Gifford (giffer)
Created: 09-24-2016 at 08:54AM
Last Edit: 09-24-2016 at 07:43PM

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Description:

I found this little beauty at a fairly junky outdoor market filled with smashed-in Remingtons and Underwoods on life support. The vendor wanted $200 for it and I wanted to pay $100, and he said the least he would take is $150, so I walked away. Fifteen minutes later, after laying out $50 for a nice Olivetti Studio 45, I decided I wouldn't see a nicer typewriter than the Imperial all day (keeping in mind this was a half hour into a ten-acre fair) and decided I'd pay his $150. I snaked my way back to his booth and thrust the money at him, and he told me I'd have to wait to see if the elderly couple who were fingering it wanted to buy it at $200 first. I think any collector knows that particular anguish, when you've passed on something, then decide you want it, and then see someone else admiring it, or even worse, taking it to the register. But after a two-minute discussion about how their Aunt Biddie had one of these when they were kids, they walked away and I fanned out three crisp red Canadian fifties. I walked out of the market with the Imperial in one hand and the Olivetti in the other and then snuck them both into the house when my wife was napping. Anyway, about this typewriter, I'm not familiar with Imperials as I've never seen one around Toronto, so I'm not certain of the model or date and welcome correction. It simply says "The Good Companion" above the top bank, and "Made in Leicester, England." below the space bar. The serial number P8712 suggests a 1937 model 50, according to the database, but the stencilling suggests an earlier Good Companion. It closely resembles my Remington Portable 2, and if I had to guess I'd date it to about 1930, so I'm stuck. Anyway, she's a beaut. The carriage seems to lean back, with the back plate almost parallel to my desk--can that be right? I couldn't find a way to make it stand up. Also, I apologize for the poor type sample. I couldn't see what I was typing and the double-space setting defied me.

Typeface Specimen:

Photos:

Original brushes featuring Imperial name.

Case clasp.

Hunter: James Gifford (giffer)

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Status: Typewriter Hunter
Points: 2325

I am a writer and book editor as well as a collector of typewriters. It started with an Hermes 3000 desktop, which I stupidly sold last year, but now another sits on my desk for typing envelopes with a beautiful sans serif typeface. I type every day on different machines in my collection, which stands at about 60 at the moment. Favourites include my two 3000s, a 1930s Smith-Corona Silent, the Olivetti Studio 44 (red case), and a crinkle, chrome-encircled Royal Quiet Deluxe. I have also been finding very inexpensive Royal 10s of late; I currently own three, two from the 1910s and the other a later model, and another (1931) I sold to a friend at cost for his son, who appreciates vintage things. I am always on the lookout for new and interesting machines and often trade or sell to try new models. Living and working in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.