Typewriter Toy Story: ozTypewriter and the Temple of Doom

A bevy of Berwins

I’ve been going through boxes and chests of toy typewriters in the typewriter workshop and trying to work out the easiest way to offload them all. I photographed 37 in the driveway on Tuesday and yesterday peeked inside a large old chest high up on a shelf. Inside were another 20 Simplex and Dial typewriters. I posted images of these hordes on Instagram and almost immediately someone in Singapore (where else? Does anything change?) thought he or she had spotted a Monpti at the back of the pack on the driveway. It was no such thing, of course, but a Sears Adventure, an Olivetti Valentine lookalike. I had another potential buyer making an offer for the same toy today, but I suspect it will soon be on its way to Singapore.

After I posted an image of the non-boxed Simplexes in the chest, a chap I follow on Instagram, Sean of Calgary, Alberta, commented “I always imagined you had a treasure collection reminiscent of the warehouse at the end of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, and this sorta confirms it!” I was tickled pink by that - it brought a smile to my face. Cheers, Sean! Oddly enough I was holding open the heavy lid of the chest with one hand and trying to photograph the contents with the other when the lid slipped and fell on my head, with such a bang it knocked my glasses off. So I guess it was a kind of ‘temple of doom’ situation for me. Well, at least my collection of toy typewriters is doomed, though I'd hardly call my typewriter workshop a temple!

After a visit yesterday from a seller of antique and vintage items, I’m considering offering her everything for one overall price and letting her worry about such things as shipping and dealing with customers, or vice versa. I’ve had quite enough of that sort of stuff for one lifetime, thank you. A man who lacks the patience of Job and cannot lie straight-faced will never have a career in typewriter sales.

There are a few that will be staying in my collection, such as the Bambino, made by Optima and based on the Frolio 5, and the little Kamkap, otherwise known as a Revere and a Byron Junior.

They may sit alongside this chromed Bennett, seen here among the lilies:

And these lovely lady typists: