1934 Underwood Universal #F796535

Status: Typewriter Hunter
Points: 1430

I'm a semi-retired software/web developer with a now eight-year-old grandson, Jaxon, who is crazy about typewriters. In late 2021, at age six, Jaxon got a Montgomery Ward Escort 350 portable from Goodwill that absolutely fascinated him. He still takes it everywhere, and remains especially pleased that it has a key for the number one. He considers his Escort to be our best typer, but I think that honor goes to our second generation 1969 Hermes 3000. Jaxon's got me hooked, and now--between us--we have a growing collection of writing machines. Together, we've set up and equipped a small workshop area and, whenever we get the chance, we clean and perform minor repairs on our typewriters. Now that Jaxon's reading and writing skills are steadily improving, he rarely needs anyone to tell him how to spell the words he wants to type.

Newer to typewriter collecting than Jaxon, I am particularly interested in ultraportables and portables, and have developed a special fondness for Gossen, Hermes, and Rooy machines. I am also very interested in any brand/model with a HCESAR keyboard layout. A collector-at-heart--I have long collected West Indian fiction (40+ years) and Haitian art (30+ years)--I am old enough to have owned and regularly used typewriters back in the pre-PC days.