1948 Remington Deluxe Model 5 #BT 1644938
Status: My Collection
Hunter: Paul Seitz (pstype)
Created: 01-27-2021 at 03:28PM
Last Edit: 02-07-2024 at 09:11PM
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Description:
I had been watching an online charity auction where a sad, filthy, beat up, example of this model had remained at the minimum bid up to the final day of the auction. Suddenly, even that poor thing shot up in the closing hours, above what I could afford. And I wondered if I'd live long enough to ever see another. I turned to Facebook Marketplace for solace and was astonished to see an ad for a well preserved, apparently clean and working machine that had been posted 18 hours earlier and had already been drastically reduced in price. And it was only about a half hour drive away. Dumb luck still exists and my purchase of this machine is proof.
I love the post WWII optimism embodied in the bigger, heavier, flashier two-tone art deco design of this machine - quite uncharacteristic of the normally "function first" Remington portable line over the years. It was manufactured quite briefly - only for about a year. This one was made on July 1, 1948. There was a minor issue with a stray wire that interfered with smooth carriage travel, but that was easily fixed. I love the wear patterns on the much used keys that, at least for me - a musician used to thinking through my finger tips - offer a rich tactile typing experience. And it is fast and very solid, especially considering the many miles it has on it, as you can see in the typing sample (using a cheap calculator ribbon rolled onto the original spools).
I like to think of this typewriter as a "Two-tone Deluxe Portable" rather than any of the variants (Deluxe, De Luxe, De luxe 5, etc.) because that is what Remington calls it on the cover of their "Operating Instructions" (shown below). I had provided that "Two-tone" description when I wrote this post but the TWDB changed it to "Deluxe Model 5." I'm completely ok with that, but I confess I really don't understand what distinguishes a "Deluxe" from a "De Luxe" (the name actually printed on the front of this machine) or how calling this one "Deluxe Model 5" differentiates this model from all the non two-tone Model 5's. But this is my earliest machine and only Remington (I'm very fond of Olympias, Hermes and Adlers), so maybe all this will all become clear eventually; I'm ready to learn.
Typeface Specimen:
Photos:
Hunter: Paul Seitz (pstype)
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Status: Typewriter Hunter
Points: 234
After too many rapid cross country moves, I realized suddenly that my c. 1964 Hermes 3000 was missing - lost or stolen at some point in a move. I'd bought that machine new from a shop as I entered high school, did all my homework on it, typed all my college research papers and my Master's thesis on it, but gradually used it less and less over the years. Still, the sudden realization that it was gone felt like a really significant loss, which puzzled me. Wondering why I was so moved by the loss of something I hadn't actually used in years, I began to get more and more interested in typewriters and the many layers of stories each seems to accumulate. I started to learn a little - just enough to have a chance to find some good machines that I can afford, as I gradually try to understand the (apparently, important) place of the typewriter in my soul.
RESEARCH NOTE: When researching the Remington Deluxe Model 5 on a computer with lots of screen real estate, you may find that launching the Remington Serial Number page and the Remington Deluxe Model 5 By Model/Year/Serial page in new browser windows can give you interesting perspectives on changes throughout the model series.
