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Home » IBM » Model A Executive » 1949 #91 - 14 - 0177
1949 IBM Model A Executive Serial # 91 - 14 - 0177 1949 IBM Model A Executive typewriter, Serial # 91 - 14 - 0177 William Saxbe's 1949 IBM Model A Executive typewriter. 2023-10-15 From the Virtual Typewriter Collection of William Saxbe: 1949 IBM Model A Executive Serial # 91 - 14 - 0177 Edit October 12, 2023: It's alive!

Took several parts machines to resurrect this wacky machine. The final Frankenstein has bits from a '49 and a '50 Model A, as well as some electrical pieces from a Model B too. I more or less chose the best pieces from each and put them together, like Voltron. Grafted parts include the power supply, solenoid, internal wiring, motor, power roller and clutch assembly, the left side ribbon spool uptake assembly, body panels, and all rubber rollers and the platen. For simplicities sake I'm not going to update the serial and date of the original posting, but the majority of the mechanical assembly is now from the '50 model A. The proportional typeface is still IBM's 'Modern' script. Next steps include some extended use (there's still a few typebars that are slow/weak) as it seems to work better the longer it's used and warmed up, and installing some nano LED red lights to really work the Cylon Raider angle.

Pretty neat machine. Glitzy. Several clues indicate it may have been one of the very first Executives off the line at IBM's plant in Toronto Canada, or possibly made to display a milestone at the factory.

Serial is 91- (the factory code for Canada) 14-0177. The 'for-sale' production serials in Canada supposedly began at 001-0097 so this is pretty early in the production run. The whole thing is coated in that extra thick 1950's high-quality chromium. Keys and knobs are a lovely deep dark blue, except for the two spacebars which are brown.

One fun thing you can do with old carbon ribbon machines is some sneaky detective work. The tail end of an old ribbon was still in the take up spool. Most of it was type testing and even an address for a hairstylist, but there were several mentions of the Toronto office and IBM. Reading the tape backwards up to the light makes you feel like a spy. It's got the classy Executive only proportional 'Modern' font.

1949 IBM Model A Executive #91 - 14 - 0177

Status: My Collection
Hunter: William Saxbe (wsaxbe)
Created: 06-09-2021 at 10:36PM
Last Edit: 10-15-2023 at 05:46PM


Description:

Edit October 12, 2023: It's alive!

Took several parts machines to resurrect this wacky machine. The final Frankenstein has bits from a '49 and a '50 Model A, as well as some electrical pieces from a Model B too. I more or less chose the best pieces from each and put them together, like Voltron. Grafted parts include the power supply, solenoid, internal wiring, motor, power roller and clutch assembly, the left side ribbon spool uptake assembly, body panels, and all rubber rollers and the platen. For simplicities sake I'm not going to update the serial and date of the original posting, but the majority of the mechanical assembly is now from the '50 model A. The proportional typeface is still IBM's 'Modern' script. Next steps include some extended use (there's still a few typebars that are slow/weak) as it seems to work better the longer it's used and warmed up, and installing some nano LED red lights to really work the Cylon Raider angle.

Pretty neat machine. Glitzy. Several clues indicate it may have been one of the very first Executives off the line at IBM's plant in Toronto Canada, or possibly made to display a milestone at the factory.

Serial is 91- (the factory code for Canada) 14-0177. The 'for-sale' production serials in Canada supposedly began at 001-0097 so this is pretty early in the production run. The whole thing is coated in that extra thick 1950's high-quality chromium. Keys and knobs are a lovely deep dark blue, except for the two spacebars which are brown.

One fun thing you can do with old carbon ribbon machines is some sneaky detective work. The tail end of an old ribbon was still in the take up spool. Most of it was type testing and even an address for a hairstylist, but there were several mentions of the Toronto office and IBM. Reading the tape backwards up to the light makes you feel like a spy. It's got the classy Executive only proportional 'Modern' font.

Typeface Specimen:

Photos:










Hunter: William Saxbe (wsaxbe)

William Saxbe's Typewriter Galleries [ My Collection ] [ My Sightings ]

Status: Typewriter Hunter
Points: 287

Old typewriter hound in Seattle Washington



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