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Home » Fox » 23 » 1909 #33683
1909 Fox 23 Serial # 33683 1909 Fox 23 typewriter, Serial # 33683 Javier Vazquez del Olmo's 1909 Fox 23 typewriter. 2016-08-23 From the Virtual Typewriter Collection of Javier Vazquez del Olmo: 1909 Fox 23 Serial # 33683 The big one! This typewriter is absolutely incredible!

I´ve read a lot of great things about the Fox typewriters, and I was eager to get one and see if it passed a fact check.

Thing is it still hasn´t passed it, but soon it will. Here you can see the original condition I received it in. Dirty, broken drawband, semi-frozen carriage and maybe worst of all, the "5" key doesn´t work. The key lever and the typebar are detached, and this machine is way more complex than later typewriters which only needed a piece of thick steel wire to replace the link. This looks like another technical nightmare: LC Smith Super Speed 11.

I will have it repaired as soon as possible, because I want it fully operational and I don´t know if I´m able to do it on my own.

But in the meantime I´m enjoying having a Fox at home. They´re pretty uncommon in Spain, and it´s a fascinating invention. Things inside it are made to last, and somehow it´s so different. I mean, it´s like someone said "Hey, I´m gonna make the best typewriter in the world, and I´m going to do it from scratch!"

---UPDATE---

Serial number added after finally managing to convince the carriage to move.

--- YET ANOTHER UPDATE ---

Finally! It´s alive! Pascual and Alberto have done it again, and now in a record time. They´ve left all the battle scars untouched, but nothing can beat a fully functional machine with 106 years of history on its... carriage knobs (no shoulders, you know). And yep, what they say is true: these machines are absolutely incredible. Somehow it comes from the realm of the dead and it works remarkably well. And not only that, because it´s greatly pleasant to use. It´s a surprisingly easy and responsive typewriter, and at the end of each line it greets you with the best sounding bell ever. Easily one of my favourites!

1909 Fox 23 #33683

Status: My Collection
Hunter: Javier Vazquez del Olmo (Javi)
Created: 02-12-2016 at 01:42PM
Last Edit: 08-23-2016 at 04:45PM

Description Hunter 16 Photos 1 Like  Find on Ebay #AD  Find on Etsy #AD

Description:

The big one! This typewriter is absolutely incredible!

I´ve read a lot of great things about the Fox typewriters, and I was eager to get one and see if it passed a fact check.

Thing is it still hasn´t passed it, but soon it will. Here you can see the original condition I received it in. Dirty, broken drawband, semi-frozen carriage and maybe worst of all, the "5" key doesn´t work. The key lever and the typebar are detached, and this machine is way more complex than later typewriters which only needed a piece of thick steel wire to replace the link. This looks like another technical nightmare: LC Smith Super Speed 11.

I will have it repaired as soon as possible, because I want it fully operational and I don´t know if I´m able to do it on my own.

But in the meantime I´m enjoying having a Fox at home. They´re pretty uncommon in Spain, and it´s a fascinating invention. Things inside it are made to last, and somehow it´s so different. I mean, it´s like someone said "Hey, I´m gonna make the best typewriter in the world, and I´m going to do it from scratch!"

---UPDATE---

Serial number added after finally managing to convince the carriage to move.

--- YET ANOTHER UPDATE ---

Finally! It´s alive! Pascual and Alberto have done it again, and now in a record time. They´ve left all the battle scars untouched, but nothing can beat a fully functional machine with 106 years of history on its... carriage knobs (no shoulders, you know). And yep, what they say is true: these machines are absolutely incredible. Somehow it comes from the realm of the dead and it works remarkably well. And not only that, because it´s greatly pleasant to use. It´s a surprisingly easy and responsive typewriter, and at the end of each line it greets you with the best sounding bell ever. Easily one of my favourites!

Typeface Specimen:

Photos:


Before restoration: Fortunately, not much rust here
Before restoration: Fortunately, not much rust here

Before restoration: Some rust, but the big trouble was inside.
Before restoration: Some rust, but the big trouble was inside.

Before restoration: Fortunately, the rust did not go deep into the machine.
Before restoration: Fortunately, the rust did not go deep into the machine.

Before restoration: This speaks for itself. Welcome to the Realm of the Encrusted Typebars!
Before restoration: This speaks for itself. Welcome to the Realm of the Encrusted Typebars!



After restoration. A look inside the Fox. Not shiny, but clean and ready to go.
After restoration. A look inside the Fox. Not shiny, but clean and ready to go.








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Hunter: Javier Vazquez del Olmo (Javi)

Javier Vazquez del Olmo's Typewriter Galleries [ My Collection ] [ My Sightings ]

Status: Typewriter Hunter
Points: 6476

The first typewriter I saw was my grandpa´s Olivetti Linea 98 at the office. It was just a curio for me. Then I was given a Nakajima, which I didn´t use and my grandfather took it from me because it was easier to handle than the bulky Linea 98. Now I own that typewriter, and I started a little collection in Valladolid, Spain. The Nakajima, which is "my" typewriter only returned home in 2017, almost 20 years later, when he wanted a better typewriter.

A collection that started small grew into something bigger, a nuisace for my family and a great source of satisfaction for me.


RESEARCH NOTE: When researching the Fox 23 on a computer with lots of screen real estate, you may find that launching the Fox Serial Number page and the Fox 23 By Model/Year/Serial page in new browser windows can give you interesting perspectives on changes throughout the model series.

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