Posted 14 years ago
potrero
(156 items)
Saw this typewriter at the Alameda Antiques Fair in CA, liked the looks but don't know anything about it. I am constantly seeing typewriters these days I'm tempted to buy, not sure what that's all about.
This one's very square-ish and the keys have an interesting octagonal shape. What an amazing diversity of designs in these instruments... very Darwinian!
My friend the typewriter expert Richard Polt (http://site.xavier.edu/polt/typewriters/) told me this:
The Smith Premier #10 is the only frontstroke (visible) typewriter with a double keyboard ever made. It's a successor to the very popular line of understroke (blind) Smith Premiers, which also had a double keyboard. By the time the #10 was made, Smith Premier was controlled by Remington, so the same machine sometimes appears with the Remington name. It also usually has round glass keys, as I recall.
This one is in unusually good condition, thanks to the survival of its case. The SP10 is not rare, but often is found in bad shape.