I’ve been typing quite a lot on this ’61 Smith Corona Electric today, it’s quite fun to play with. Although I speculate below on all the parts I want to strip off of it, chances are I’ll keep it intact as long as it amuses me. Like the Dread Pirate Roberts says: “Good night, Westley. Good work. Sleep well. I’ll most likely kill you in the morning.”
I do like the type face, and it is hard to tear a functional machine apart regardless of how funky it might be. I think I know the smell you speak of – something between ozone and toxic chemicals being released from heated lubricants and insulation.
Poor Westley. Hopefully, the end will be quick and painless.
Nooooo… keep it as it is! Even if you have little use for it, do you have any idea what this would fetch on eBay. A LOT. Besides, that script font is gorgeous – and I don’t recall you having any other script machines. And this is a historically important electric – being the first one and all that. Dreamy! Keep, keep, keep.
Well, first *portable* electric, anyway (:
I have to say it’s growing on me, and I don’t have any other script machines now after giving away my Selectric and the Brother AX. Assuming that the linespace issues don’t get really annoying, I may keep it in the corral at least until something really expensive breaks – whereupon the parts value would become more important than its typing value.
It is rather dreamy to type on… :D
I tried to tell him I could sell this for a boatload on ebay or etsy and he didn’t believe me! He also said we couldn’t sell it without fixing it – not so. I have no qualms about selling machines with issues as long as I disclose the issues upfront and let people choose whether or not they still want it. If he slaughters this machine for parts instead of letting me sell it I will cry.
It saddens me so, to think that you would tear apart a perfectly nice machine just because it’s the world’s first electric portable. I really can’t stand the snobbish attitude I see on so many of these blogs that not-too-subtly states that electric machines either have no ‘personality’ or no ‘soul’. That’s BS in its stinkiest form. Do we somehow look at our fellow beings differently if they need a pacemaker to live? For that matter, what about those of us who have transplants? Nonsense. And please, let’s not use the flimsy excuse about wasting electricity. We, every one of us, wastes far more energy in other pursuits.
This machine has been a faithful servant its whole life. Apparently its reward for that service is to have its skin flayed off or its guts ripped out. How can we condemn keychoppers on the one hand, and do this with the other? There-I’ve said it. Should I be a lawyer? I do sleep fairly often in Holiday Inn Expresses- RichardK/Texas
Manual carriage shift on that? I have one nearly identical, just green, and it’s the same year and has an electrified segment shift.
Good movie there.