Still recovering from being awash in that sea of red-white-and-blue flags at the London
Olympic Games (US of A, Britain, and, to their eternal shame, Australia and New
Zealand) a battered old Imperial arrived at my doorstep.
Yes, it was the same old story: it had been put away in a shed
many years ago, after long and loyal service to its owner, and had been very seriously
neglected during all that time. Sadly, it showed all the signs of that neglect.
Of course, for me, Imperial = Richard Amery. So, with Richard in
mind, I took the old Imperial apart, cleaned it up, repainted it red, white and blue, and put it
back together as the “Amery typewriter” – all the while working on the FuNkOMaTiC.
And this morning, when a consoling email arrived from Richard,
along with other kind, uplifting comments, from Mark Petersen, Bill MacLane, Michael
Höhne and Ted Munk, I decided to show my handiwork and post on the “Amery”.
I am hoping to receive a visit from Richard and Terry Cooksley
soon and not just to collect the “Amery”. I am keen for them to come down to
Canberra from Sydney and arrive in a little white van, not to take me away in a
straitjacket, but the load it up typewriters to take home and list on eBay.
One of the many things which have occupied most of my time in
the past three weeks has been moving typewriters out of storage and bringing
them over to my home.
With redundancy from work looming, I will no longer be in a position
to afford $380 a month to store typewriters elsewhere and will need to have
them all in the house.
A week or two earlier, I had moved more than 200 typewriters
from upstairs to downstairs. See.
Comments on this post ranged from "Christmas" to "orgy" to "typewriter porn"! Yes, Blossom Inch, your dream shall come true and you will own a glass-keytopped typewriter from this collection. And, yes, Jasper, it is a warning to a young collector such as yourself. And yes, Ken, there is a "My First Typewriter" in there somewhere. And yes, Florian, please come soon ...
The 200-odd typewriters that were moved downstairs joined there at least another 150-200 typewriters.
Now those 200 plus typewriters have been replaced upstairs by more
than 100 from storage. I am still faced with the problem of where to put the
100 typewriters which are currently on display in the exhibition which ends
three weeks from today. All up, that will mean 550-600 typewriters in the house!
Before Richard and Terry arrive, however, I hope to be able
photograph and post on many of these typewriters which have come over here from
storage.
At least one is already being put to good use. As I write this
further upstairs, I can hear from son Danny, 23, typing merrily on a
Corona, beavering away on his novel.
Ah, the joys of collecting typewriters!
Booking my flight this week... Hope to see you towards the end of the exhibition!
ReplyDeleteLove the colour of the Amery!
Great, Scott! While here, your collection of the Palestinian banking Erika will aid my storage problems by lowering the number of typewriters to 599! Looking forward to seeing you in Canberra.
ReplyDeleteAnd.... Nice call on the 'Red' colour for an ALP man!
ReplyDeleteThat is quite a lot of typers for one household! How big of a display do you currently have in your house? Good luck moving all of them over...sounds like so many trips back and forth.
ReplyDeleteSuch a nice photo of Danny.
ReplyDeleteI'm very impressed with the Amery. That PLUS the FuNkOmAtIc, and all your work with the exhibit and moving the machines -- you have been busy.
I had to move 100 typewriters into storage this summer, and then move them back (my office was being renovated). Tedious, tiring work that makes you doubt yourself for collecting these things. But it was also an opportunity to remember a lot of favorites that I hadn't looked at for a while -- and in the end my love of the hobby was undiminished.
Not only do you have tons and tons of typewriters but it looks like a lot of them are ones I want, very good collection. Make sure all the ones you get rid of go to good homes!
ReplyDeleteGee, had I had the correct numbers for the lottery I would have a plane already under contract.
ReplyDeleteYou have such a great collection Robert I'd hate to see you need to give any of it up.
I know what space constraints can be. I commented on mine to a fellow collector from whom I purchased some supplies and he suggested I do as he did; hang some on the walls. (wife did not like that idea in the least)
Oh, I almost forgot...That Avery is one beautiful typewriter.
These are great photos of a colorful collection - like Easter eggs, but heavier!
ReplyDeleteFunny coincidence: I found the twin to that electric Corona today in the exact same paint scheme. Less than $30 US, found in the wild and with a cursive typeface. We'll see how it types once it is clean and has a new ribbon.
OH. WHOA. I nearly just peed my pants. That is a LOT of typewriters! All the pink ones. I recently purchased a pink Royal Futura, and I'm loving it so much. Haha. One day I hope to have as many typewriters as you.
ReplyDelete