chrisaldrich
chrisaldrich
Acquisition: 1949 Smith-Corona Clipper Portable Typewriter Angle down on the front of a brown Smith-Corona Clipper typewriter with green keys and a brown spacebar sitting on a wooden table.3x5 inch index card with a type sample that reads: 
1949 Serial number: 5C-102313 Smith-Corona Clipper 
Elite typeface, 12 CPI, portable, bichrome, Dutch keyboard 234567890/ qwertyuiop- asdfghjklå, zxcvbnme. boffosocko.com
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bradenslen
bradenslen

@chrisaldrich Nice purchase and thank you for the very extensive write up.

I've always really liked the look of those green keys and somehow the double shot letters on (in?) them look a bit richer than if they were just printed on.

The late '40's to 1950's design just seems more pleasing than the 1960's and later machines. It has that, made to last forever look.

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chrisaldrich
chrisaldrich

@bradenslen Thanks. I feel like I'm getting reasonably good at fixing most of the common issues with minimally invasive techniques. I'm almost tempted to take over that repair shop in Boston, but it's a painful commute from Los Angeles...

How's your collection coming? Have you slowed down? Are you using them regularly?

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bradenslen
bradenslen

@chrisaldrich I admire your fix-it and restoration talents and your ability to write about it so clearly.

I've had to put collecting on hold, as I ran out of room.

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chrisaldrich
chrisaldrich

@bradenslen I fee your pain with respect to having room. I have discovered that there's just enough room under the wooden stand on my library card catalog to 'hide' four portables in cases.

My bigger 'room' issue is that I want to write late at night when everyone else is sleeping; I've been admonished against the noise. I need to convert some space into a padded soundproof room. If I do, it's going to include a wall of shelving to store my roost of typewriters.

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JohnBrady
JohnBrady

@chrisaldrich I once worked in an "open office" where the sound of several Selectrics was almost constant, so I sympathize with your admonishers. Wishing you success with the soundproof room.

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bradenslen
bradenslen

@chrisaldrich Interesting. If you create a typing room, will you move your card catalog there?

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chrisaldrich
chrisaldrich

@bradenslen Probably not. A typing room is a bit pie in the sky at the moment, though there have been discussions about refinishing the garage...

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chrisaldrich@boffosocko.com
chrisaldrich@boffosocko.com

From Theodore Munk’s post 1954 Smith-Corona (SCM) Typewriter Type Styles and Keyboards Catalog in which he reproduces a copy of the 1954 catalog Type Styles and Keyboards for Smith-Corona Office Typewriters (Syracuse, NY: Smith-Corona, Inc.), they were offering a a keyboard Danish No. 1047 which came in either Pica No. 1 or Elite No. 66. (page 72).

My keyboard (1949) differs only slightly in layout from the one pictured there (1954), but the typeface appears to be the same Elite No. 66.

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