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Home » Hermes » 3000 » 1964 #3219430
1964 Hermes 3000 Serial # 3219430 1964 Hermes 3000 typewriter, Serial # 3219430 Brad Sarno's 1964 Hermes 3000 typewriter. 2014-02-05 From the Virtual Typewriter Collection of Brad Sarno: 1964 Hermes 3000 Serial # 3219430 This is the famous Hermes 3000. Made in Switzerland. Having finally gotten my hands on one, I’ve really come to learn and understand the hype. There’s nothing like it, truly. The build mentality, the workmanship, the brilliance and cleverness in the design of all its functions, the quality and precision of its workings, the precision with which it types and lays print on the page, the feel on the fingers, all of it… truly an astounding feat of mechanical design and engineering. And the look, it’s just wild and cool looking. I love this thing. This one has a relatively rare Director-Elite typeface which is VERY small - 12.7 characters-per-inch. I love being able to fit that much type on a page. What else can be said that hasn’t been before about this striking example of one of 20th century’s finest machines. The Hermes 3000 is in a class of its own. What also strikes me is how amazingly easy it is to service. The entire carriage mechanism, track, main-spring, and all, comes right off as a single module with the simple turn of two screws. This provides complete access to the inner workings for both repair and cleaning. The escapement is easily accessed with the carriage off, unlike any typewriter I know. A brilliant machine, just brilliant. I like how they lined the body with a lot of thick felt to really dampen the noise. It has such a nice muted, tight, crisp, and arguably musical sound. While there are a lot of these out there to be had, and the prices are often drastically inflated above fair market value, they are indeed a treasure among manual typewriters. The Hermes 3000 may not prove to be everyone’s favorite typer as each individual finds a certain key “feel” that best suits them. But it is surely a machine to be appreciated for it’s truly an astounding marvel of fine 20th century Swiss engineering, design, and build quality.

1964 Hermes 3000 #3219430

Status: My Collection
Hunter: Brad Sarno (bradsarno)
Created: 01-31-2014 at 09:39AM
Last Edit: 02-05-2014 at 11:59AM


Description:

This is the famous Hermes 3000. Made in Switzerland. Having finally gotten my hands on one, I’ve really come to learn and understand the hype. There’s nothing like it, truly. The build mentality, the workmanship, the brilliance and cleverness in the design of all its functions, the quality and precision of its workings, the precision with which it types and lays print on the page, the feel on the fingers, all of it… truly an astounding feat of mechanical design and engineering. And the look, it’s just wild and cool looking. I love this thing. This one has a relatively rare Director-Elite typeface which is VERY small - 12.7 characters-per-inch. I love being able to fit that much type on a page. What else can be said that hasn’t been before about this striking example of one of 20th century’s finest machines. The Hermes 3000 is in a class of its own. What also strikes me is how amazingly easy it is to service. The entire carriage mechanism, track, main-spring, and all, comes right off as a single module with the simple turn of two screws. This provides complete access to the inner workings for both repair and cleaning. The escapement is easily accessed with the carriage off, unlike any typewriter I know. A brilliant machine, just brilliant. I like how they lined the body with a lot of thick felt to really dampen the noise. It has such a nice muted, tight, crisp, and arguably musical sound. While there are a lot of these out there to be had, and the prices are often drastically inflated above fair market value, they are indeed a treasure among manual typewriters. The Hermes 3000 may not prove to be everyone’s favorite typer as each individual finds a certain key “feel” that best suits them. But it is surely a machine to be appreciated for it’s truly an astounding marvel of fine 20th century Swiss engineering, design, and build quality.

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Hunter: Brad Sarno (bradsarno)

Brad Sarno's Typewriter Galleries [ My Collection ] [ My Sightings ]

Status: Typewriter Hunter
Points: 2728

I've spent my life as a mechanical and electronics tinkerer, bikes, cars, lawnmowers, appliances, cameras, audio gear, guitars, amplifiers, and pedal steel guitars. I was trained as a typist for 2 years back in the late 70's on IBM Selectric II's. At home I recall my mother having an Olympia SM3. More recently we got our daughter a typewriter for Christmas, and that somehow sparked my own personal interest in these fine and interesting machines. Now it's a habit that just won't quit. Daily searches on Craigslist, frequent trips to antique stores & malls, garage sales, etc. It's a fun and healthy addiction.



RESEARCH NOTE: When researching the Hermes 3000 on a computer with lots of screen real estate, you may find that launching the Hermes Serial Number page and the Hermes 3000 By Model/Year/Serial page in new browser windows can give you interesting perspectives on changes throughout the model series.