1904 Oliver 3 #87205
Status: My Collection
Hunter: Brian Decker (bkdecker66)
Created: 12-20-2025 at 09:35AM
Last Edit: 01-17-2026 at 03:59PM
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Description:
I won this Oliver 3 in an eBay auction in March or April of 2001. My winning bid was $83.75, and with $20.79 shipping costs, my total came to $104.54. It came with its original case and wooden base. The machine has not been restored, and needs a lot of work, but it looks good cosmetically, and I was able to produce a typing sample with some effort. The biggest problem is that the star wheel is missing a tooth, so that it skips a space periodically. To produce the typing sample, I had to back up manually, eyeball the position using the very handy index guide, and type in the missing character. Also, it's missing a couple screws for mounting the chromed typebar tower covers. The typeface is pica, looks pretty standard to me. I hope to find replacement parts for what it needs and restore it some day.
Typeface Specimen:
Links:
Photos:
Hunter: Brian Decker (bkdecker66)
Brian Decker's Typewriter Galleries [ My Collection ] [ My Sightings ]
Status: Typewriter Hunter
Points: 2296
My interest in typewriters started in 1997, when I was in graduate school at the University of Georgia. I purchased and read Darryl Rehr's book, joined ETC, and started reaching out to known collectors. I had several email interchanges with Richard Polt dating from that period. I also bought some of my first machines from Bob Aubert, and visited him at his home twice. After marriage and relocation to New England, I continued visiting antique shops and eBay, until other priorities put my typewriter hobby on hiatus around 2008.
In late 2024, I started up again, working on my machines and having some of them serviced professionally by New England Typewriter (NET) LLC (Merrimack, NH), until they closed their doors in December of 2025. Since mid-2025, I have been adding to my collection again, first with a Hermes 3000 purchase from NET, then with various auctions and purchases on eBay, when I find something that catches my eye.
RESEARCH NOTE: When researching the Oliver 3 on a computer with lots of screen real estate, you may find that launching the Oliver Serial Number page and the Oliver 3 By Model/Year/Serial page in new browser windows can give you interesting perspectives on changes throughout the model series.
