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197X Smith Corona Electra CT Serial # 3LRP268418 197X Smith Corona Electra CT typewriter, Serial # 3LRP268418 Michael Hoehne's 197X Smith Corona Electra CT typewriter. 2017-10-15 From the Virtual Typewriter Collection of Michael Hoehne: 197X Smith Corona Electra CT Serial # 3LRP268418 I expected to hate this plastic-bodied typewriter, but I can’t; it works well and feels solid. It is gone from my collection now.

Like many competitors of this era, it was designed for that abominable dandruff ribbon but unlike most of them, you can’t substitute a black/red ribbon because this correction lever a) doesn’t stay down and b) prevents the carriage from advancing. It works like this: you make a typo, you backspace to it (note that prominent backspace key right next to the correction stuff), you hold down the corr. lever, retype the offending typo, and finally space to where you left off and proceed. It your typo involves more than one character you have to space after each re-type, because the carriage does not advance when in correction mode. I wonder if people liked this system.

There is provision for one changeable type key. I have never seen them offered with a keytop that matches this, so I wonder how they dealt with that.

This is also odd in having the squared typebar clearance hole in the ribbon cover; before this I have only seen that with the Coronamatic ribbon system.

197X Smith Corona Electra CT #3LRP268418

Status: Sightings
Hunter: Michael Hoehne (mhoehne)
Created: 08-03-2014 at 04:37PM
Last Edit: 10-15-2017 at 05:33PM

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Description:

I expected to hate this plastic-bodied typewriter, but I can’t; it works well and feels solid. It is gone from my collection now.

Like many competitors of this era, it was designed for that abominable dandruff ribbon but unlike most of them, you can’t substitute a black/red ribbon because this correction lever a) doesn’t stay down and b) prevents the carriage from advancing. It works like this: you make a typo, you backspace to it (note that prominent backspace key right next to the correction stuff), you hold down the corr. lever, retype the offending typo, and finally space to where you left off and proceed. It your typo involves more than one character you have to space after each re-type, because the carriage does not advance when in correction mode. I wonder if people liked this system.

There is provision for one changeable type key. I have never seen them offered with a keytop that matches this, so I wonder how they dealt with that.

This is also odd in having the squared typebar clearance hole in the ribbon cover; before this I have only seen that with the Coronamatic ribbon system.

Typeface Specimen:

Photos:







The Change-A-Type key is a slightly different design from the more common version but I think they are interchangeable.
The Change-A-Type key is a slightly different design from the more common version but I think they are interchangeable.

The last Smith Corona typewriter case design.
The last Smith Corona typewriter case design.

Hunter: Michael Hoehne (mhoehne)

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While I find all of mankind's inventions interesting, I am most enchanted by the human-scale arts and devices, the ones that can be created (and repaired) in a home workshop or studio; the ones that can be understood by looking at them; the ones that do something useful or stir admiration. Typewriters work for me.


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