Selectrics by the Truckload!

So a bit ago I got an excited email from ProfessorC, he who is a young Jedi Master of Selectrics, and who has a restoration of a rare and incredibly complex IBM Composer under his belt. He told me of a trove of Selectrics and parts offered to him by a fellow in Arkansas  who was shutting down his shop. Some 100 typewriters in all, plus large cabinets packed with parts and supplies.

Any sane person would look at the prospect of driving 400 miles to pick up a hundred typewriters and easily say “Thanks, but no thanks. I love typewriters but I don’t need to save every single one.”

But the Professor, perhaps he is not so very sane:

truck_1Here you are looking at the boxes and cabinets of parts and the *top layer* of typewriters. You’d need a long stick to be able to shake it at all of them.

truck_2After some unloadin’ got done.  I do not envy him the backache he’s gonna wake up to.

So anyway, if anyone needs Selectric parts, or heck – a whole Selectric, I think I know someone you can talk to… :D

Updated: June 4, 2014 — 4:47 pm

11 Comments

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  1. Wow, that is so…. selectrifying!

  2. Whoa! That is one heavy load!

  3. A grand haul by any name!

  4. Good grief! I can’t imagine moving those around. I’d be tempted to leave the truck in the back yard as storage to avoid it.

  5. Bet it smells good too. We don’t really have have the vocabulary to describe a well matured mechanical typewriter’s full bouquet and I’m sure Selectrics are a whole other nose-full.

    1. I totally agree, Rob. That aura takes decades of careful use and storage to develop. The first sniff as the package containing a new purchase is opened immediately classifies the exceptional from the rest, manual or electric.

  6. I… only can write words that need to be censured. This is… almost creepy actually! A Selectric graveyard of some sort. Wow!

  7. What city are these located in now? I would like possibly get one if they are not too far away.
    Bruce

    1. Yes, mine is pretty much the same question as Bruce’s: of what Arkansas city are we speaking, seeing as I live “between Bass Pro and Branson” in Missouri…

      Not sure I need a Selectric — and owning one involves adding “golf ball” collector to one’s eccentricities, as well — but it’s hard to pass up a good deal.

      1. I’m the escapee from the insane asylum and I live in Eureka Springs, Arkansas. You are welcome to visit and see them in person. I do have machines that are already refurbished with a warranty if you are interested. The manual machines I would like to sell as-is, because I really want to concentrate on the Selectrics. I intend to rebuild as many of these as I can as time permits (I still have a few years until retirement, I hope.)

        You can email me at professorc30 (at) yahoo (dot) com if you are interested.

        Clark

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