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1977 Olympia SM9 Serial # 5317123 1977 Olympia SM9 typewriter, Serial # 5317123 Anthony Mindling's 1977 Olympia SM9 typewriter. 2018-05-10 From the Virtual Typewriter Collection of Anthony Mindling: 1977 Olympia SM9 Serial # 5317123 A 1978 pica version of my 1972 elite SM9. Still a fine typer, but there are a couple of changes from the 1972 version. The unnecesary but lovely machined swirl pattern on the paper support is gone. Gone also is the red paint on the casting of the key lever pivot. Unnecessary embellishments but that gave a nice touch, and always gave me a little zing of pleasure and pride in my 1957 high school SM3. Gone, too, is the handy carriage lock lever from the left front of the keyboard, to become an unattractive lever sticking out from under the left end of the carriage.

Yes, still a very fine machine, but are these subtle signs of the beginning of an overall national slide away from pride in quality and integrity towards avarice?

No, of course not, I'm just a cranky old curmudgeon this evening.

1977 Olympia SM9 #5317123

Status: My Collection
Hunter: Anthony Mindling (tmindling)
Created: 08-08-2013 at 03:52PM
Last Edit: 05-10-2018 at 07:45PM

Description Hunter 4 Photos 3 Likes  Find on Ebay #AD  Find on Etsy #AD

Description:

A 1978 pica version of my 1972 elite SM9. Still a fine typer, but there are a couple of changes from the 1972 version. The unnecesary but lovely machined swirl pattern on the paper support is gone. Gone also is the red paint on the casting of the key lever pivot. Unnecessary embellishments but that gave a nice touch, and always gave me a little zing of pleasure and pride in my 1957 high school SM3. Gone, too, is the handy carriage lock lever from the left front of the keyboard, to become an unattractive lever sticking out from under the left end of the carriage.

Yes, still a very fine machine, but are these subtle signs of the beginning of an overall national slide away from pride in quality and integrity towards avarice?

No, of course not, I'm just a cranky old curmudgeon this evening.

Typeface Specimen:

Photos:





Hunter: Anthony Mindling (tmindling)

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Almost at the same instant that the idea occurred to me of how much fun it might be for my children (7) and grandchildren (13) to get letters - real letters in the mail - i went digging through the dusty nether regions of our storage area to pull out my beloved 1957 Olympia SM3 Portable and the old Royal 10 I'd rescued from a neighbor's garbage can in the 1960's. Refurbishing them triggered a typewriter obsession. Don't tell my wife, but i believe there are now about 20 of them.

I love their looks, their intricate and precise mechanisms, and dinking around in the workshop tuning them up and bringing them back to life. i also, unfortunately, love the thrill of the hunt on eBay. But all of them are put to use for correspondence and my new hobby of decorated art letters. And sometimes they even inspire a bit of poetry.


RESEARCH NOTE: When researching the Olympia SM9 on a computer with lots of screen real estate, you may find that launching the Olympia Serial Number page and the Olympia SM9 By Model/Year/Serial page in new browser windows can give you interesting perspectives on changes throughout the model series.

Typewriter Hunter Merch!