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1934 Bar-Let 1 Serial # 16129 1934 Bar-Let 1 typewriter, Serial # 16129 Nick Winter's 1934 Bar-Let 1 typewriter. 2020-01-19 From the Virtual Typewriter Collection of Nick Winter: 1934 Bar-Let 1 Serial # 16129 I love this ridiculous little typewriter very much and have wanted one for quite some time; it is the size, colour and shape of a toy but it's clearly designed to mean business. I probably paid too much for it, but hey - an occasional splurge on a really fun piece isn't out of order!

This one came with the manual, key and original cleaning brush with embossed brand name. In my experience those brushes are often getting on and all the bristles are decayed, but this one is still beautifully soft and usable.

Ignoring the huge alignment problem, the mechanism is like nothing I've ever seen - there is no belt or string between motor and carriage, the connection is direct. The entire carriage hinges up so you can see the whole system clearly. This system makes the typing feel quite... firm. The downstroke is very short and the typebars hit the paper with a really loud 'clack'.

Can anyone tell me what the 'n sign in the closeup of the key in the second picture means? I have no idea and would love to be enlightened.

Update: the 'n key is apparently a South African thing; I was browsing a South African classifieds site and most of the machines had that symbol. I contacted the lovely seller and she confirmed that this typewriter did indeed come over with a shipload of her late father's things from South Africa. She had no clue what the key meant, though!

Sold May 2019.

1934 Bar-Let 1 #16129

Status: Sightings
Hunter: Nick Winter (winter)
Created: 10-05-2015 at 08:00AM
Last Edit: 01-19-2020 at 03:44PM


Description:

I love this ridiculous little typewriter very much and have wanted one for quite some time; it is the size, colour and shape of a toy but it's clearly designed to mean business. I probably paid too much for it, but hey - an occasional splurge on a really fun piece isn't out of order!

This one came with the manual, key and original cleaning brush with embossed brand name. In my experience those brushes are often getting on and all the bristles are decayed, but this one is still beautifully soft and usable.

Ignoring the huge alignment problem, the mechanism is like nothing I've ever seen - there is no belt or string between motor and carriage, the connection is direct. The entire carriage hinges up so you can see the whole system clearly. This system makes the typing feel quite... firm. The downstroke is very short and the typebars hit the paper with a really loud 'clack'.

Can anyone tell me what the 'n sign in the closeup of the key in the second picture means? I have no idea and would love to be enlightened.

Update: the 'n key is apparently a South African thing; I was browsing a South African classifieds site and most of the machines had that symbol. I contacted the lovely seller and she confirmed that this typewriter did indeed come over with a shipload of her late father's things from South Africa. She had no clue what the key meant, though!

Sold May 2019.

Typeface Specimen:

Photos:






Hunter: Nick Winter (winter)

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Status: Typewriter Hunter
Points: 817

Uni student located in Sydney, AUS. The amount of storage I have is a constant problem as I try to keep feeding my addiction...



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