A photographer/collector who likes analog cameras and the images film produces, while also enjoying

A photographer/collector who likes analog cameras and the images film produces, while also enjoying
A photographer/collector who likes analog cameras and the images film produces, while also enjoying the latest digital.

Sunday, September 8, 2013

Currently My Favorite Typewriter: Remington Super-Riter Standard



I have a new favorite typewriter for actual typing.  A Remington Super-Riter Standard, serial #J2832995 that was produced in 1957.  Gray with green keys.  This typewriter is built like a tank and types like a Cadillac.


I took a chance last week and secured an eBay auction for this machine.  This Remington was listed as lightly used, well maintained, and recently serviced.  I was very worried about shipping but this seller followed my suggested packaging instructions to the letter.  Glad he did.  When the UPS package arrived it was so beat up that if the UPS driver had not already been driving away, I would likely not have accepted it in this condition.

I carried the package into my office where I could study it further.  I felt all the way around it and could not feel anything hard against the outer box.  That was a good sign as it indicated there was at least some packing material between the typewriter and the outside.  I took the chance and opened it up. Inside was a second box that was evenly surrounded by about 2 inches of packing peanuts.  Inside this second inter box was additional packing material that prevented this heavy typewriter from moving around.  The typewriter itself had two zip ties holding the platen immobile and the typewriter was fully wrapped in plastic.  I think this was the first time I have ever had someone pack a typewriter exactly the way I asked.

Upon removal the Remington Super-Riter was in perfect condition all around and appeared to have not had much use.  I put a piece of paper in the machine and began typing.  I could immediately tell that this was the smoothest, most crisp manual typewriter I had ever used.
  

I contacted the seller to tell him I had provided positive feedback, and also how much I appreciated his packaging.  His return email stated that the machine had been owned by a doctor who had purchased it new and used it only occasionally in his home office.  The doctor had recently died and the seller had purchased it in an estate auction.

This Remington is very clean and smooth.  Even had a good ribbon with about half the spool left.  I am now looking for a user manual and even a service manual if I can find such an animal.  The standard places do not seem to have manuals for this model.  I assume why I am unable to located manuals is due to my observance that only a minority of typewriter collectors appear to be interested in standard office models.  Maybe that is why I like them so well, because most others seem not to.

More to come………………….

Definitions—
Standard: A full size desktop model of typewriter.


15 comments :

  1. It looks great! I have been using its predecessor, the Remington KMC, and like it a lot.

    Welcome to the typosphere.

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  2. I have a '55 Quiet-Riter and it's a very nice machine to write with. Nice blog you have here, too. Oh, and yep, I too have been using film cameras. I have a small collection of cameras, but have yet to truly master the art of taking decent pics. Dabbled a little in photography in high school, but that was back in the '80s.

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  3. Thanks for the comments. I hope to have more to say in the coming days....

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  4. Bruce I purchase a 1958 Super-Riter on 9/13 because I love the way my 1957 Quiet-Riter Eleven's typing action and feel. It's a wonderful mid-size portable. I do hope it gets here like your machine. I do have the manual for the machine. If you still want a copy let me know.
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/bronxtypewriters/

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  5. Thanks Jose!
    Yes, I would appreciate having a copy of the manual. Mine is a 1958 model also. Very nice typer. I should clean & lube, but it works so great that I have not had the drive to do that yet. One of these days. It does really make a difference when the sender does a good job packaging.
    Is yours the same color???????????

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  6. Bruce, I picked up one of these yesterday for $15, as a Christmas present for my 14 year old daughter. Believe it or not, some teenagers are actually planning on using these machines. I ran across your blog while looking to identify the model year. It is exactly like yours, although not in near the pristine condition. Thanks for sharing on this blog.
    Greg

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  7. I have a 1950 Super Riter that was left in a house I moved into - filthy, greasy, dirty - I was going to get rid of it, but it just sat around. Luckily I started collecting, and fell in love with typewriters again. I cleaned it up and started to realize how great it is! As an early one, it has the KMC automatic margin setting which was removed from later Super Riters, as Royal sued Remington for patent infringement, and won. Mine also only types upper case letters, in lower case mode, and in upper case mode it only types + plus signs and some punctuation marks. I believe it was for teletype, of telegraph offices to use. Great blog, and I to still use film camera's!! Don L

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  8. Just came home with my second Standard Super Riter - worse than my first one - totally encased in grease, and cigarette smoke. This is the first typewriter that I've had to clean the dirt off the paint with steel wool, as no cleaner would cut it! It worked though, OOO steel wool took the grime off and left the crackle finish a bit smoother, but clean.
    This one is from 1955, and looks just like yours - They are great machines!!

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  9. Did you ever find a manual for this machine?
    We just found our first typewriter at a garage sale, and I think it is this model. It has already earned its $5.00 price tag. My kids are inspired to write!

    I have ordered a new ribbon and some lubricating oil. The machine looks clean, and works well, except for a few minor issues.

    • 7 key sticks
    • space bar sometimes makes up to 3 spaces with a single stroke
    • typing too hard will also insert spaces in words

    Any advice? Will the oil fix these problems?

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    Replies
    1. Hi Val,
      Glad to see others “save” typewriters. No, I do not have a manual for this specific Remington Super Writer Standard typewriter. There are several other Remington models that are similar enough so that instructions for them should provide enough info to understand this model. Can find by Googling ‘typewriter manual’ or asking around on the below mentioned groups. Is your new typewriter a Super Riter?

      I believe I would do some cleaning before lubrication. The reason the typewriter sticks is likely being dirty. Putting oil on a dirty typewriter may solve the problem in the short term, but it will likely gum up again in short order. As I have stated in previous posts, I use “Gun Scrubber” a chemical spray cleaner (You must then lubricate all spots where this cleaner touches). There are many other types of cleaners used. Google ‘How to clean a typewriter’ and you get many results. Most of the other methods are more gentle and take less of a chance of marring the typewriter. So whatever you use, test it first on a small out of the way spot……..

      A think I would clean first and then determine if any of your problems remain. If there are still other issues after cleaning I would go to a couple of groups and get there input for solutions. Many people out there with much more experience then I.

      https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/TYPEWRITERS/info
      http://typewriter.boardhost.com/

      Hope all goes well. Post the machine and images for all to see.
      Bruce

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  10. Dear Bruce,
    Thanks for the nice blog with good quality images and some useful typewriter links - especially the Youtube archive of the 1978 lectures all in one playlist.
    I have just repaired an IBM Selectric III which was hardly used. I lazily just posted some web pages and movies on my own server here. The movies show solvent pressure washing at my garage mechanics shop and some observations on stuck keys (movies are m4v but I will post some other formats soon). Also, I replaced all that decomposing rubber in various ways.
    Barry Marshall. Perth. Australia.

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  11. just found an old super riter. it's sturdy and it looks fabulous. it's not in excellent condition and the ribbon has mould on it. I'm looking for a manual to give it an overall cleaning and also I can't seem to find blue/red ribbons but just black.

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  12. just found an old super riter. it's sturdy and it looks fabulous. it's not in excellent condition and the ribbon has mould on it. I'm looking for a manual to give it an overall cleaning and also I can't seem to find blue/red ribbons but just black.

    ReplyDelete
  13. just found an old super riter. it's sturdy and it looks fabulous. it's not in excellent condition and the ribbon has mould on it. I'm looking for a manual to give it an overall cleaning and also I can't seem to find blue/red ribbons but just black.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Hi spaitz,
    I don’t believe I ever found a manual for this typewriter either. Luckily mine was in excellent shape when I obtained it and I did not look any further. You might try the Yahoo “Typewriter” group. Their location is: https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/TYPEWRITERS/info

    Even if you cannot locate a specific manual, at least there you can find information on general typewriter cleaning. Thanks!

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