WillsCollection

No collection of portable typewriters is complete without an example of an Alpina machine. This design is perhaps the most heavily overbuilt ever marketed, but at the same time is a work of engineering finesse and excellence. It is one thing to have a machine that is simple, but all of whose constituent parts are heavy and will tolerate much use before working out of alignment. It is quite another to have every single issue of a machine addressed in the way this was done with the Alpina. For example, the type bars are completely indestructible -- not because they are overly heavy, but because they are manufactured from fine grade spring steel which cannot be bent permanently in normal use. They bend, but spring right back. All of the other features of the machine are addressed from the standpoint of permanence; there was no such thing as planned obsolescence here. This top-end machine is an absolute must for collectors that wish to have the full range of machines available.

Here is a machine that couldn't be more directly opposed to the one we just saw. The Antares design, developed in Italy in the early 1950's, is really the first that incorporated all of the elements you'll find in machines that survived until the end. In fact, if you really wanted to run the whole gambit from ultimate in manufacturing cost to least, then you could just find an Alpina and an Antares. The comparisons are endless.

The Antares was the first to use a dowel-plate mounted key lever mechanism in modern times, with modern cost-reduction methods. It was the first to actually use the body shell as an integral part of the machine; some of the mechanisms are mounted to the shell, and not to solid frame members. The Antares was not the first small, flat travelling machine, but it took a leap in front from a manufacturing standpoint.

Every collection of portables should have, for reference, a Brother machine of relatively early vintage, as seen here actually represented by a Western Auto Wizard Truetype.

Why? Well, we already know that Brother really did invade and to large extent take over markets worldwide, and this is the design that did it. It makes a great comparison with all other machines above and below it in price in terms of not only feel, and features, but of mechanical design. It is not so lightly built that it feels inexpensive, but not overbuilt for the work at hand. "Right on the money" is how they used to say it, and everyone should have one of these to find out what that really was in the 1960's.

I've already said plenty about the Cole-Steel, which can also be found in Europe under its original brand of ABC, on my other sites. It must be pointed out here again, though, because no other machine is as perfectly styled visually, from all angles, as is the early (original) line of these machines. Those made in Portugal don't count, as they did not use the same body at all. If you want to see form and function in perfect harmony, then one of these should be on your "A list."

Everyone should have one of the variants of the early Hermes Baby. You could conceivably acquire one of the British-made or Italian-made subcontracted or licensed machines too, but make sure they're early. This design is that which really opened up a separate market for flat, small typewriters as its own distinct and separate venture. Prior to this, some machines were indeed smaller and flatter, such as the Remingtons, but Hermes not only developed this design with new engineering but promoted it with separate advertising. We know the result -- a splintering of the market for portables, into size groups which remained until the end. It's well worthwhile to examine the design and function of this machine, and if you follow this list of "desirable machines" only, it also makes a great comparison with the much later Antares.

The machine you see here is a Japy, but this entry really relates to a wider variety of machines known as the Euro-Portable family. This exact same mechanical design was freely licensed for building all over Europe following the Second World War, and was produced variously in Switzerland, France, Spain, England and Germany under a variety of brand names. The point is that the design was good enough that it could be built that many places over the years; it was not by any means an excellent typewriter, but rather a decent machine for general work. The idea seems to have been to hold off invasion of Europe by foreign-built machines, and everyone should have at least one example from this large family to allow examination of the design that tried to do this.

We are all aware of Olivetti's eventual dominance in the field of manual portables, and two machines are absolute must have examples. The Lettera 22 and Lettera 32 are the machines that really took over, but it should be noted that the 22 was totally redesigned to become the 32. There is not a large amount of parts interchangeability between the two, and you could spend hours comparing all the mechanical changes made. A microcosmic example of the industry changes from the 50's to the 60's.

Most people have already caught on to this fact, but some haven't. Everyone should have at least one Olympia portable. It really does not make too much difference whether it is an earlier carriage-shifted machine such as seen here, or a later basket-shifted machine. As long as the machine was made in Germany (in other words, not one of the later outsourced machines) you will get a chance to see fine engineering and manufacturing, but done in a way that did not make the machine either too expensive to compete, or too expensive to build properly and sell with a profit. These make great comparisons with mainstream machines from Royal, Remington and Smith-Corona.

The last machine for our list is the Tippa. You can find these variously in different bodies, but the Adler and Triumph variant seen here, from the 1960's, is the best. This design won awards, and sold in great numbers not only in Europe but worldwide. Yes, it's true that others outsold it, but this is an example of a fine merger of technical requirement and manufacturing expediency. The plastic parts do not in any way detract from this machine; it's just old enough that plastic parts were made in a tough, rugged manner and did not yet have a cheap, brittle quality. If you don't believe this is possible, then get one of these and compare it with many later machines.

Now, remember that this list also assumes that collectors will already be picking up many various Remington, Royal, Underwood and Smith-Corona portables from all time periods, in all styles and ranges. This is perfectly normal -- this is the "main base" of any collection of portables. Comparison just among those takes years to fully grasp. But, time and again, we find that some other machines are plentiful enough that they can be acquired, and SHOULD be, but are passed by. If you are a beginning collector, or else an experienced one which doesn't have the machines on this list, then find them. You will be very glad that you did, and will have a collection more complete and of more real use as a research tool than you did before. All of these can be found; you might have to look a bit harder for a couple, but you will find one of each in time.

PORTABLE TYPEWRITER COLLECTING 201

Portables that every collection should have.

What does it take to have a "complete" collection of portables? Everyone has at least one Underwood, Remington, Smith-Corona and Royal. In fact, everyone probably has multiples of each, made over many years. These are extremely plentiful and easy to find. What about that next little step that's required to have a truly complete collection of worldwide scope? Let's examine that "next step."

301