The Typewriter Database News
20K Galleries This Week? Wed, 27 Mar 2024
It looks like we'll be hitting 20,000 active Typewriter Galleries in the TWDB this week! You guys have collectively created what is almost certainly the *largest* collection of detailed and sorted individual Typewriter reports ever assembled, so give yourselves a hand. What's it good for? Well, besides the Typewriter Porn aspect, these properly filed and sorted reports, now that the number has grown so large, allow us to see in detail what changes occurred at what times for most popular models - information which informs the updates of the main Age Lists for manufacturers and makes them ever more precise and comprehensive. It only gets better, so here's to the next 20,000! :D
Oh, you want to see how that number has grown over the last 11 years since we started collecting galleries? Here's a quick readout:
https://typewriterdatabase.com/gallerycount.php
Contin serial numbers expanded and updated. Wed, 20 Dec 2023
A new French source popped up in Georg Sommeregger's collection which expanded on later Contin production and clarified at least 2 years that previous sources were less clear on. The data also highlighted certain years where production of Contin standards appeared to have stopped entirely, but having this clarified pointed out that these years coincided with Polish production of F.K. and F.K. Mala, so it would make sense that these missing years are accounted for with a production focus on Polish made machines.
Continental and Erika Updated! Fri, 11 Aug 2023
Reviewing Source #25 and updated/expanded the Continental age list with new and better info. The Erika part of the S&N age list also updated and clarified to show proper serial ranges.
Optima Age List Updated Sun, 06 Aug 2023
Typewriter Hunter Otto K. sent me a copy of Source #25 - which was used by Dirk in a lot of pages, including the Optima age list, but not a document I previously had access to. I studied it this weekend, hacking through the bits of German to gain context, and then discovered that Dirk had apparently only read half the article from "Schreibmaschinen Und Bureau-Zeitung"'s 1999 issue. Otto had pointed out that the article had more info, but he didn't let on how much more, for Optima, anyway. I'm still not all the way through it myself, but I've got Optima updated except for the Electronic Wedges. Looks like Dirk had compiled the Robotron part of that source in the Robotron age list, but there's still the Optima part to go. Probably be some changes to Erika soon too.
Rooy updated with new data from Source #24 Thu, 29 Dec 2022
Another case of just nobody having looked at Schramm 1962 in context to a page built from the Source #13 1956 edition. I usually find these discrepancies when someone uploads a machine without a solid date that logically would be covered by existing data, and doing a date check leads to a deeper look at the sources. (:
Smith-Corona, Messa and Siemag updated Thu, 13 Oct 2022
A few new models and expanded ranges for others from Source #30
Sharp Serial Number Page updated! Sun, 14 Aug 2022
..but that's just part of what's coming up. You see, I have this theory...
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New Halda/Facit Age List numbers Sat, 30 Jul 2022
Well, I saw a Facit come in with a serial beyond the ones listed on the Facit age list page, and noted that the source for those numbers was the 1973 OMEF. Then I remembered that I have the 1980 edition, and wondered if that one had any numbers later than 1972, and it DID! :D Anyway, the Halda/Facit Age List has been updated to reflect the new info.
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Photo Re-Ordering now enabled on Typewriter Galleries Thu, 07 Jul 2022
Don't like the way your photos are sorted in your Typewriter Gallery? There's now a tab in the Typewriter Editor that lets you drag & drop the photos in the order you'd like. Now you guys can stop bugging me about whether the photos are sorted newest to oldest or oldest to newest. (:
Created Aztec age list. Sat, 30 Apr 2022
We've got enough Aztec labeled machines in the galleries now to gain a clear picture of the production of the last of the East German typewriters imported into the US as "Aztec" from 1960 through 1965. It's a part of the story of the last of the Gromas, Rheinmetalls and classic post-war Eikas.
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