1963 Tops S-3 #0 35349
Status: My Collection
Hunter: Janez KeZmah (Janez)
Created: 11-06-2026 at 08:48AM
Last Edit: 11-06-2026 at 08:53AM
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Description:
TOPS S3, vintage 1963.
Cleaned, repaired, serviced, and back in working order just like it used to be. A beautiful retro piece, smooth to write with, featuring an interesting and rare "techno cubic" typeface. With the original cover. Easy to service and built to last with a robust, sturdy construction.
Slovenian product. History... TOPS, "Tovarna Pisalnih Strojev" or the Typewriter Factory , Ljubljana. From the initial idea in 1946, to its inclusion in the first five-year plan alongside the ROG factory in 1947, to the production of the first prototype in 1949. This was followed by independence from the ROG bicycle factory in 1951, and in 1953 the factory produced the first batch of EMONA typewriters. In 1969, the TOPS factory went bankrupt. As far as I know, typewriters continued to be manufactured at the ROG factory later on.
TOPS typewriters were:
Emona 1953
Sava 1953
M1
S3 1962
M2 1963
along with a few calculating and duplicating machines produced in between.
Emona and S3 were office typewriters, while the rest were portable.
Typeface Specimen:
Photos:
Hunter: Janez KeZmah (Janez)
Janez KeZmah's Typewriter Galleries [ My Collection ] [ My Sightings ]
Status: Typewriter Hunter
Points: 37
My name is Janez and I am from Slovenia. When I finished primary school and went to a vocational secondary school, my mother bought me my very first typewriter: a UNIS, model TBM deLuxe t, which I still have today. My mother worked in administration at a local factory, and when she retired in 1990, she was given the typewriter she had typed on for 12 years at work—an Olympia SG with a long carriage. I still keep this one as well, as a keepsake.
A short while ago, I cleaned and repaired both typewriters, bringing them back into working order. By profession, I am a toolmaker, which is very close to precision mechanics, so working with machinery comes naturally to me. That is why I decided to start restoring old typewriters.
I now have eight of them in my collection: UNIS, Continental Standard, Continental 340, Olivetti, Tops, Olympia SM, and SG. I am constantly learning and hope to find and save even more old typewriters.
Best regards from Slovenia, Janez
RESEARCH NOTE: When researching the Tops S-3 on a computer with lots of screen real estate, you may find that launching the Tops Serial Number page and the Tops S-3 By Model/Year/Serial page in new browser windows can give you interesting perspectives on changes throughout the model series.
