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Home » Eaton's (Smith-Corona) » Viking Custom » 196X #5C-497101
196X Eaton's (Smith-Corona) Viking Custom Serial # 5C-497101 196X Eaton's (Smith-Corona) Viking Custom typewriter, Serial # 5C-497101 James Gifford's 196X Eaton's (Smith-Corona) Viking Custom typewriter. 2016-09-03 From the Virtual Typewriter Collection of James Gifford: 196X Eaton's (Smith-Corona) Viking Custom Serial # 5C-497101 I picked up this little beauty for CAN$20 at a local market, mainly because of the Eaton's brand name. For the non-Canadians, Eaton's at one time was the top department and catalogue store in Canada, and the Eatons themselves were Canadian royalty. Once an iconic brand here for more than a century, Eaton's died an ignominious death in the late 1990s and had been swallowed up entirely by Sears by 2002. When I was a kid, going to Eaton's at Christmas to look at their display windows and toy section was the highlight of the year, and I used to circle the toys I wanted at Christmas in the catalogue. I like to think I would have circled the entry for this wee machine. If I read the database correctly, this typewriter is essentially a rebranded Smith-Corona Clipper, though I could be entirely wrong about that. It types well enough, though the keys on this one need a good cleaning, and it types loud and snappy. But I'm happy enough that it survived a half-century and now lives in my office in essentially the same condition as when it was first sold. And top marks for the bold Made in Canada stamp across the back.

196X Eaton's (Smith-Corona) Viking Custom #5C-497101

Status: My Collection
Hunter: James Gifford (giffer)
Created: 09-03-2016 at 12:07PM
Last Edit: 09-03-2016 at 12:10PM

Description Hunter 2 Photos 0 Likes  Find on Ebay #AD  Find on Etsy #AD

Description:

I picked up this little beauty for CAN$20 at a local market, mainly because of the Eaton's brand name. For the non-Canadians, Eaton's at one time was the top department and catalogue store in Canada, and the Eatons themselves were Canadian royalty. Once an iconic brand here for more than a century, Eaton's died an ignominious death in the late 1990s and had been swallowed up entirely by Sears by 2002. When I was a kid, going to Eaton's at Christmas to look at their display windows and toy section was the highlight of the year, and I used to circle the toys I wanted at Christmas in the catalogue. I like to think I would have circled the entry for this wee machine. If I read the database correctly, this typewriter is essentially a rebranded Smith-Corona Clipper, though I could be entirely wrong about that. It types well enough, though the keys on this one need a good cleaning, and it types loud and snappy. But I'm happy enough that it survived a half-century and now lives in my office in essentially the same condition as when it was first sold. And top marks for the bold Made in Canada stamp across the back.

Typeface Specimen:

Photos:

A little hard to read, but it says Eaton's Viking Custom, with of course a Viking ship breaking the waves.
A little hard to read, but it says Eaton's Viking Custom, with of course a Viking ship breaking the waves.


Hunter: James Gifford (giffer)

James Gifford's Typewriter Galleries [ My Collection ] [ My Sightings ]

Status: Typewriter Hunter
Points: 2325

I am a writer and book editor as well as a collector of typewriters. It started with an Hermes 3000 desktop, which I stupidly sold last year, but now another sits on my desk for typing envelopes with a beautiful sans serif typeface. I type every day on different machines in my collection, which stands at about 60 at the moment. Favourites include my two 3000s, a 1930s Smith-Corona Silent, the Olivetti Studio 44 (red case), and a crinkle, chrome-encircled Royal Quiet Deluxe. I have also been finding very inexpensive Royal 10s of late; I currently own three, two from the 1910s and the other a later model, and another (1931) I sold to a friend at cost for his son, who appreciates vintage things. I am always on the lookout for new and interesting machines and often trade or sell to try new models. Living and working in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.


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