197X Hermes Baby #9409254

Status: My Collection
Hunter: Mighty Jabba (MightyJabba)
Created: 05-30-2023 at 02:21PM
Last Edit: 05-30-2023 at 02:24PM

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Description:

I got this Hermes Baby from Yahoo Auctions Japan, since it seemed to be going for less money than similar models were in the US (even after factoring shipping), and because it seemed to be a model that was specific to Japan.

If you look at the number row, you’ll see that it not only has the $ and £ symbols, it also has ¥. I’m assuming that they were catering to a bit of an international audience, since anyone wanting to use a typewriter in Japan at the time would either have had dealings with foreigners or been from somewhere outside Japan. I don’t think I’ve seen this variation here on the Database.

When I got it, it was more yellowed than I had expected, but much of that turned out to be either dirt or nicotine staining rather than actual yellowing of the plastic. Given that it came from Japan in the late 70s or so, I think it’s a good bet that its owner was a smoker. It didn’t smell, thankfully.

I cleaned it up with some alcohol and a magic eraser to try and get the yellowing off, and I think it worked pretty well, although I’m not sure how white it was originally. The lid and bottom of the case are still definitely a cream or off-white color, but the inside is a pretty nice white.

I’ll have to say, this one is pretty comfortable to type on, despite having a plastic shell. The internals are still solid, and in some sense it being made of plastic makes me more likely to want to take it places. It’s not very heavy (relatively speaking) and doesn’t seem as fragile as some of my older ultra-portable machines.

Typeface Specimen:

Photos:

Hunter: Mighty Jabba (MightyJabba)

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Status: Typewriter Hunter
Points: 710

I'm relatively new to typewriter collecting, but am rapidly making up for lost time...