1960 Tower Tabulator #5 CT442111T
Status: My Collection
Hunter: Greg Mattesen (CoronaKid)
Created: 02-03-2025 at 03:06PM
Last Edit: 02-03-2025 at 03:42PM
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Description:
I love seeing rebranded versions of the Smith-Corona 5-series portable. I wanted a 1960 Tower Tabulator for a long time since it was made for Sears by Smith-Corona, and it featured two thick chrome emblems on the ribbon cover: one for the name brand "Tower" and one featuring the abbreviation "SR", short for Sears Roebuck. I finally found this one on eBay in May 2024. It features an elite typeface. The Tabulator is a weird hybrid between a Smith-Corona Clipper and Sterling. It has the return lever and lack of paper support like a Clipper, but it has a full-width paper bail and tabs that can be set manually inside the rear of the carriage. It types great, just like nearly every 5-series I've come across.
Typeface Specimen:
Photos:
Hunter: Greg Mattesen (CoronaKid)
Greg Mattesen's Typewriter Galleries [ My Collection ] [ My Sightings ]
Status: Typewriter Hunter
Points: 594
I "accidentally" started collecting typwriters in the fall of 2020. After my daughter got one cheap at a junk shop, and hearing that she intended to use it to write some old fashioned snail-mail letters to friends, I decided to get "a" typewriter myself to do the same. The first one was a real lucky break: a pristine 1950 Smith-Corona Sterling in perfect condition. From there I got interested in other brands and in refurbishing dirty and forgotten machines. I've had 65+ typewriters at this point, passing many along to excited new owners to keep my collection hovering around 20 machines.
RESEARCH NOTE: When researching the Tower Tabulator on a computer with lots of screen real estate, you may find that launching the Tower Serial Number page and the Tower Tabulator By Model/Year/Serial page in new browser windows can give you interesting perspectives on changes throughout the model series.
