1974 Adler Contessa de luxe #5396614
Status: My Collection
Hunter: Dan Johnson (rdj)
Created: 05-21-2014 at 01:04PM
Last Edit: 01-21-2018 at 02:56PM
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Description:
Didn't Nick B. call this color "radioactive orange"? That seems about right! What a little, lightweight beauty this one is. The bottom of the typewriter, though not shown in the photos, is also the bottom of the (cheap plastic) case, but this serves to keep the weight down and the convenience up.
We seem to have run off the end of the known universe insofar as dating these by their serial numbers is concerned. This one might as well be brand new. You can barely tell it had been used before now for anything other than gazing at its beauty.
It's a surprisingly good typer, too, despite its suit of plastic and the tendency for the spacebar to bounce around like a kid on a sugar high whenever any of its other keys are struck. As you can see, the typeface is clean and crisp, though the uppercase shift needs a bit of tweaking.
Unlike Nick B's, this one also has a QWERTY keyboard.
Typeface Specimen:
Links:
Photos:
Hunter: Dan Johnson (rdj)
Dan Johnson's Typewriter Galleries [ My Collection ] [ My Sightings ]
Status: Typewriter Hunter
Points: 948
I have always loved typewriters along with other kinds of well-engineered tools and devices such as slide rules, calculators (particular HP), radios, cameras (particularly Nikons), and microscopes. In addition to appreciating their intrinsic beauty and utility, they represent "things that need to be figured out to be understood". That's how I first learned about computers and programming in the 1970s, by figuring things out for myself. It's activity in which I never seem to tire of engaging.
Although communities have arisen around other collection interests, typewriters have the advantage that those who use them also typically enjoy communicating through words, whether those words are about the machines themselves or their lives, hopes, dreams, or expressions of beauty. There's much to be appreciated here.
RESEARCH NOTE: When researching the Adler Contessa de luxe on a computer with lots of screen real estate, you may find that launching the Adler Serial Number page and the Adler Contessa de luxe By Model/Year/Serial page in new browser windows can give you interesting perspectives on changes throughout the model series.
