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Friday, 20 June 2014

Writers and their Typewriters - How Many Unidentified Models Can You Pick?

Desperately trying to find out what model portable typewriter Ken Kesey wrote One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest on (he later used an IBM Selectric). In the meantime, here are some other writers and their typewriters (for good measure, there are a couple of philosophers in here, too). Some of the models are fairly obvious, others not so much.
Alberto Bevilacqua 1972, Olivetti Studio 44
Alberto Moravia 1950, Remington
Alberto Savinio 1940, Remington 1
Aldous Huxley 1946, Royal?
Alistair MacLean 1960, Remington
Antonio Amurri 1975. Olympia SF
Arthur Miller 1955, Royal
 Arthur Schlesinger Jr 1950, Remington?
 Beryl Cooke 1956, Oliver?
 Betsy Beaton 1948
Betty Smith 1944, Royal
 Blaise Cendrars 1948, Remington 2
 Brendan Gill 1970, Olivetti
Brooks Atkinson 1947 Moscow, Royal
 Damon Runyon 1944, Royal
 Drew Pearson 1949, Corona 3?
E. R. Braithwaite 1960, Olivetti (Lettera 22?)
Elio Vittorini 1955, Olivetti (Studio 42?)
Elliot Paul 1944, Remington 2
Emlyn Williams 1966, Corfu, Olivetti Lettera 22
 Eric Hobsbawm 1976, Olivetti Studio 45
 Franco Fortini 1975, Olivetti Praxis 48
 Françoise Sagan 1957, Hermes Baby
Friederike Mayröcker 1969, Hermes Baby?
 Gay Talese 1989
 Georges Simenon 1945, Royal
 Giorgio Bassani 1970, Olivetti Studio 44
 Giovanni Artieri 1955, Olivetti
 Giuseppe Pontiggia 1978, Olympia SM9
 Harry Hopkins 1955. What is that machine?
 Herbert Marcuse 1968, Siemag?
 Ian McEwan 1979, Olivetti Lettera 32
 Italo Fasan 1950, Olivetti Lettera 22
 John Robb 1955
 Joseph Alsop 1968, Underwood
 Kurt Vonnegut 1969. What is this machine?
 Leon Trotsky 1938
 Lesley Osmond 1940, Underwood?
  Llewellyn White 1950, Royal
 Lloyd Douglas 1947, Remington
 Marguerite Duras 1955, Olivetti ICO MP1
 Marie Winstedt 1974, Smith-Corona?
 Mary Astor 1960
Merton Hodge 1934, Underwood Noiseless?
 Paul Brodeur 1989, Olympia SM9
 Paul Krassner 1968, IBM?
Paolo Limiti 1968, Remington Monarch?
 Paolo Limiti, Olivetti
 Pierre Schoendoerffer 1965, Olivetti
 René Girard 1979, Olivetti DL 
 Robert Kee 1951, Remington 2
 Robert Sabatier 1987, Hermes 3000
  Ruby Ayres 1951, L.C.Smith
 Salman Rushdie 1981, Corona electric?
 Susan Sontag 1972
 Taylor Caldwell 1948, Royal
 Tennessee Williams 1955, Olivetti Studio 44
 Togo 1937
  Valérie Schlumberger 1980, Corona electric
 Jean Bruller 1972, Olympia SM9
 Vintilă Horia 1960, Olivetti Studio 42
William Shirer 1944, Royal?
at

11 comments:

  1. Duffy Moon21 June 2014 at 01:27

    I'm certainly one of the least qualified to guess on these, but:
    Vonnegut's looks like some type of Olivetti to me.
    As does Rushdie's. His looks (to my old eyes) like an Underwood-Olivetti, poorly treated.

    But regardless - thanks for all the pics! Love it!

    ReplyDelete
  2. shordzi21 June 2014 at 02:48

    This post never seemed to end - massive! Mayröcker: yes, Hermes Baby.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Richard P21 June 2014 at 06:29

    My God, what a crop of fantastic photos! I enjoyed them all, even though I don't know who the writers are in some cases.

    Taylor Caldwell is working on a Remington - you can tell by the downturned carriage return lever.

    That's a Hermes 9 that Marcuse is typing on.

    Amazing that Barthelme (with a wonderful ironic smile) is using such an old typewriter, with return lever on the right (LC Smith?).

    The margin stop on Schlesinger's machine looks like a Smith-Corona product to me.

    Huxley's typewriter is a Remington - you can tell from the folding tip of the return lever. My guess is a Streamliner.

    Good stuff for my "Writers and their Typewriters" page!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Unknown21 June 2014 at 06:30

    Taylor Caldwell's typewriter is not a 1948 Royal. The machine is a Remington Rand 17 or KMC because the handle on the return lever is downward. All Royal Standard machines the handle is facing upward.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Richard P21 June 2014 at 06:32

    Frederick Manfred has a Remington KMC or 17.

    Harry Hopkins is working on a prewar Olympia.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Anonymous21 June 2014 at 07:23

    Very cool! Some of them look like they were taken by surprise.

    Here's my list of guesses:

    -Aldous Huxley-Remington Streamline series
    -Beryl Cooke-Underwood Universal
    -Donald Barthelme-Remington Standard 7?
    -E.R. Brathwaite-Lettera 32?
    -Frederick Manfred-Remington Super Riter?
    -Georges Simenon-Royal KMM
    -Lowell Sherman-Underwood Standard
    -Marie Windstedt-Smith Corona Sterling/Super/Silent
    -Togo-Royal No. 10

    ReplyDelete
  7. Bill M21 June 2014 at 09:31

    Those are some great photos! I do not know enough to guess at the ones you do not know.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Unknown7 July 2014 at 00:27

    I would guess that Marie Winstedt is using a Remington Quiet-Riter. The nameplate appears to have some sort of relief and it is centred, unlike Smith Coronas.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Filkambel20 January 2020 at 15:02

    Marcuse is typing in a Hermes 9... I've got one, oddly enough.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Chris Osmond2 April 2024 at 10:00

    Hello sir,
    It has been almost ten years since this post, and so I assume you have since found the answer to the question that kicked it off. Richard Polt features a photo of a very young Ken Kesey with a Royal KMM on his Writers and their Typewriters page, and he looks a lot like the guy in the Merry Pranksters documentary, and those machines never ever die, so I think it is a fair bet this is the one. https://site.xavier.edu/polt/typewriters/keseykmm.jpg

    ReplyDelete
  11. James S7 August 2024 at 16:57

    A wonderful collection of pictures, many thanks.

    I think E. R. Braithwaite is with a Studio 44, the platen is a larger diameter than on the Lettera 32 and a sliding chrome paper guide can be seen to the far left (looking from the front) of the paper plate, which the 32 didn't have.

    ReplyDelete

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