1939 Remington 17 Deluxe #J102658
Status: My Collection
Hunter: James Grooms (jgrooms)
Created: 06-04-2025 at 01:31PM
Last Edit: 06-09-2025 at 05:48AM
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Description:
There were two models of the 17 (Seventeen) for part of the first year. The Standard had metal ringed keys with plastic tops. The Deluxe had these composite plastic keys. At SN J132051 the metal ringed keys are dropped. However, there a few very late examples with metal ringed keys. As of 6/5/25 this is the earliest 17 gallery example. What else might have been different between the two? There is not much to go on picture wise and I don't have one. This has a two right side margin set that I don't see on Standards. I don't get what this was supposed to accomplish. If you margin release past the second one you can't get back. It has no ramp for the margin stop tower to pass over.
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This machine is dirty and the paper table is bent. The drawband holder was twisted up and prevented carriage movement to the left and the table stopped it from going all the way to the right. Now that these are out of the way, a promising start.
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Turned out nice with only one issue, the 4 slug is low. It is odd, as it is not loose nor does it appear to have been worked on. I swapped in some nice feet and fair paper bail rollers from the parts department. The paper table came out pretty good, but because I am looking for it, it has a few waves in it. There were no ribbon spool cover/winders on this. Some black ones from the part department are a smaller diameter and work. The silver ones that are larger one rub the cover.
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The 17/KMC was a huge leap for Remington. The Model 16 was a continually updated 10. An antiquated carriage shifter. They started with a clean slate. It is an interesting contrast between how Underwood stuck with the old design. Did it work out? Here are the standard units sold from 1938 to 1950.
Royal 2,564,999
Underwood 1,838,000
Remington 1,547,299
Smith Corona 960,761
Was an Underwood No 6, S, SS, RT a superior typewriter to this? Not even close. A case of having name recognition and a huge dealer network with the large firms locked into your product. It worked, until it didn't. Supposedly these Remingtons were sold in large numbers to the government. This doesn't hold true to the units moved, nor is there any period documentation to back that up. I'll chalk it up to anecdotal.
Typeface Specimen:
Links:
Photos:
Hunter: James Grooms (jgrooms)
James Grooms's Typewriter Galleries [ My Collection ] [ My Sightings ]
Status: Typewriter Hunter
Points: 13651
As with many, the bug is back there somewhere due to an Underwood No. 5. My grandparents had a No 5. My parents had a yellow Royal Safari that I used to index card everything, including a beer can collection. Collection syndrome clue! A casual interest in typewriters started with a garage sale 3 bank simply because it said Underwood on it. Typewriters were found here and there , but I wasn't actively looking for them. The long dormant collecting tic was activated when my neighbors left a Remington Quiet Riter on the curb when they moved.
Typewriters are the perfect blend of using one's technical skills, history and functional purpose. My goal is type tested machines. My interests are not isolated to anyone area. For example, I am a big fan of Smith Corona electrics, mid century electrics and all things Royal.
RESEARCH NOTE: When researching the Remington 17 Deluxe on a computer with lots of screen real estate, you may find that launching the Remington Serial Number page and the Remington 17 Deluxe By Model/Year/Serial page in new browser windows can give you interesting perspectives on changes throughout the model series.
