About this blog

This blog is about the daily activities in a busy typewriter shop. I want to share with you the many interesting people who come in here, the beautiful machines I get and most of all the great typewriter stories that people share with me!

Thursday, November 4, 2010

Welcome to my new blog

My home away from home
     Thanks for checking out my very first posting. I hope all you typewriter enthusiasts out there will check this out from time to time. I will try to post new reports each week about what's going on in the shop. I will share interesting stories from customers, feature classic and cool machines that pass through the store. Down the road I would like to feature a column on maybe typewriter repair tips or a machine of the month thing. I would really, really like your comments about what you would like to see in this column. This blog will be a work in progress for a while.
     These past few weeks I've been really building up my stock of vintage manual typewriters. I sell lots of old machines between Thanksgiving and Christmas, so I like to have a large and varied collection for people to choose from. My friend John from Cambridge has been instrumental in picking up really mint condition stuff. I mean the machines that people start to drool over when I open the case. My friend Abraham has also been extremely helpful and supportive. So much so that I recently appointed him the Typewriter Ambassador of New England.
This Goverment issue WWI  LC Smith just sold
     I'm getting lots of Olympia SM3,4,7 & 9's in different colors and typefaces, including script. Also bunches of 1930's Royal portables and  Model 10's, Olivetti L-22 & 32's, pre-WWII Corona flattops , and curved fronts and many other odd machines that I'll post pictures of after they have been reconditioned.
     A couple of weeks ago I made a new friend, Matt from New Jersey. He found my web site a few months ago and starting calling me to talk about typewriters. Eventually he said his sixteenth birthday was coming up and he was going to tell his mother that all he wants is to go to Boston so he could check out my shop. Well , a few weeks later he calls up all excited and says I'm coming to Boston. Matt and his mom drove up 5 hours and showed up at 10:30 Friday morning. They stayed all day Friday and a few more hours on Saturday. Matt brought up three of his favorite machines for me to repair which I did in time for his trip home. I think he typed on every machine in the shop and clearly was having the greatest time. I am extremely impressed with Matts passion for typewriters and his extensive knowledge. He researches everything thoughly. Matt is also a typecaster and has his own blog called Adventures in Typewriterdom. He's well worth checking out. Its great to young people so passionate about typewriters and picking up the torch from us older folks.
    

     On Labor Day, Boston's local NPR station aired a story on my shop. If you listen to it you'll hear few good typewriter stories.

     Thanks again for checking out my first blog. Please comment and make suggestions. I really want to know what you would like to see on here.

12 comments:

  1. Great going, Tom!
    This is going to be a lot of fun for you, for your friends present and future!

    I definitely need to come down and make you some photo-illustrations of the machines you describe in your blog entries. Folks need to know what the machines look like, and the typestyles as well. But we'll get there, right?

    First-time visitors might like a little self-introduction, d'ya think?

    Way to go, man! See you next week!

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  2. How exciting! Looking forward to reading this blog regularly.

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  3. Thanks for the very kind review Tom! This blog is definitely going to be something great! Oh, and I noticed that little Olivetti Valentine! Is that yours, or is it just a repair job? Funny, we were just talking about them the other day! By the way, I might have a taker for that Carmen-Ghia Smith-Corona! He just wants something to type on.And, eight followers on the first day of launch! Wow! So, about that Hermes... Haha!

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  4. Thanks for starting the blog. Your photos are enticing! I'm going to be in Boston between Xmas and New Year's and will be sure to stop by if you're planning to be open.

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  5. Tom, you definitely will get a lot of followers. You are constantly being recommended to me by fellow typecasters.

    I too, look forward to reading your blog regularly.

    Great machines you have there and great work!

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  6. Tom,

    I had you service my two Royals (KMH and Deluxe Portable) not too long ago. Glad to see you have an Internet presence beyond the CTW business page now.

    I have a Royal QDL for you to re-platen. Also, I'm still looking for a decent Lettera 32...

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  7. I can't believe I hadn't found you yet. It took my following Strikethru and that recommendation on your blog to do so.

    I will definitely be up to visit some saturday soon. I have a lot of repairs/cleanings that I have been meaning to learn to do myself, and well, I haven't gotten there yet.

    See you soon.

    great looking site and blog.

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  8. Tom--

    Keep up the good work.

    Meantime, I have obtained for you an Olympia SM3 of a type that I have never seen before. Body is two tone: green with gray top cover. Type is "technical" elite--a small italic sans serif. This is a mid century modern version of script. Case is the classic Eames style gray enamel paint over molded plywood. An elegant machine.

    Onward,
    Levine

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  9. Hi Tom,
    I just discovered your blog and am extremely excited about it. I live in Portland, OR but may have to make the trip out to see you next time I'm on the East coast. As a collector and a great lover of writing machines my biggest fear is that all the wonderful and talented typewriter repairmen (and women, although I haven't met any yet. They must be out there) will disappear. Thanks for carrying on the tradition and for writing about it.
    Best of luck to you.

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  11. This is so fun! I was thinking of how it might be like to work in a typewriter shop and lo! I find your blog. Your work seems so interesting, really.

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