197X Mercedes (Antares) Portable #M-181842-070

Status: My Collection
Hunter: Javier Vazquez del Olmo (Javi)
Created: 03-06-2015 at 05:06AM
Last Edit: 03-06-2015 at 05:08AM

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Description:

I´ve definitely reached an all-time low with this typewriter. You know what they say about rock bottom, that you´ll know when you reach it, well then I hope this is rock bottom because if something goes below it then it´ll appear at the other side of reality and it´d be right at the top. Remember how I complained about the Mexican Olivetti Lettera 15? This is worse.

The best part of this typewriter is the design. The plastic body is quite original, but it stops there. Antares machinery is nothing to write home about, and in this case I´d swear it´s worse. Antares typewriters tend to be quite lightweight and somewhat flimsy, but this one is definitely too weak. The spacebar feels absolutely horrible, and the return spring of the "S" typebar is broken and I should replace it.

The date is a guess. The serial number is nowhere near what we can find here at the database, and it looks 70´s or 80´s, I´m not sure. Anyway, here´s a piece of advice: avoid this thing like plague.

Typeface Specimen:

Photos:

Hunter: Javier Vazquez del Olmo (Javi)

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Status: Typewriter Hunter
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The first typewriter I saw was my grandpa´s Olivetti Linea 98 at the office. It was just a curio for me. Then I was given a Nakajima, which I didn´t use and my grandfather took it from me because it was easier to handle than the bulky Linea 98. Now I own that typewriter, and I started a little collection in Valladolid, Spain. The Nakajima, which is "my" typewriter only returned home in 2017, almost 20 years later, when he wanted a better typewriter.

A collection that started small grew into something bigger, a nuisace for my family and a great source of satisfaction for me.