1954 Oliver Courier #540826
Status: My Collection
Hunter: Mark Rosenzweig (MarkR)
Created: 11-30-2016 at 06:52PM
Last Edit: 12-17-2016 at 10:00AM
Description:
English version of Swiss "Patria" family of similar-design machines. Plate riveted on back says
"Manufactured by Oliver Typewriter Manufacturing Co., Ltd., 80, Gloucester Road, Croydon." Machine has quite a few fractions as well as dollar and pound sterling symbols. Sold by dealer in Vancouver, Canada.
I also have a Florida, a Spanish-made variant, and an AMC, a rebranded Japy, a French-made variant. (Voss in Germany also made a variant. and another British maker, Byron, imported a Japy rebranded under its name.)
The machine was missing its "B" key top. I was able to fashion a reasonable-looking replacement by attaching a white-on-black P-touch label — cut into a circle using a large leather punch — on top of a black rubber plumbing washer and filling in the middle of the washer with "Bondic."
I've now upgraded that key top by using a black concave button from a doorbell that's about the right size and putting a white-on-black P-touch label on it.
Typeface Specimen:
Photos:
Hunter: Mark Rosenzweig (MarkR)
Mark Rosenzweig's Typewriter Galleries [ My Collection ] [ My Sightings ]
Status: Typewriter Hunter
Points: 316
I have collected typewriters since the early 1970s. My first collectible machine was a Mignon, but I also had everyday typers then, first a Voss ST-24 and an Olivetti Praxis 48, and then a Hermes 3000 and a Hermes 10. Over the last decade or so, I've turned my focus from early machines (Lambert, Blickensderfer, Hammond, Smith-Premier, etc.) to portables.
Besides typewriters, I also am avid about Studebakers, and have had a 1964 Studebaker GT Hawk since 1979.
RESEARCH NOTE: When researching the Oliver Courier on a computer with lots of screen real estate, you may find that launching the Oliver Serial Number page and the Oliver Courier By Model/Year/Serial page in new browser windows can give you interesting perspectives on changes throughout the model series.