Now have 2 IBM electric typewriters, sort of

[TelePlay]

Had an IBM Model 12 electric typewriter sitting around for years, not used in over 30 years. Made in the late 60s, I think.

Driving back from a store tonight, spotted an IBM Selectric II sitting on a chair on the curb and is now in my basement (the typewriter, not the chair).

The Selectric was a $3,000 machine in 1977. Can't find an original price on the Model 12, probably $500-$600.

Current working Model 12 typewriters are going for about $120 including shipping (they weigh close to 50 pounds). Current working Selectric II typewriters are in the $900-1,000 range.

Both power up and "work" but both have issues, sluggish mostly.

Not having seen either of these for close to 50 years, I am amazed at the engineering that went into both of these. Very complex mechanical engineering.

Any advice on the best way to clean and properly oil them? Or links to such help videos?

Or put them back out on the curb . . .

(Images are from eBay: my Model 12 is tan and the Selectic II is blue.)

[FABphones]

Nice find. Good that someone thought to offer it free rather than immediately throw it into a skip.

Typewriters used to come with a small pouch containing cleaning brushes and a small cloth for the keys. I would start off finding a suitable small brush (a toothbrush would work for some of the parts) and remove all of the surface grime (need to be careful debris does not fall into the machine).
Compressed air is also useful for removing debris from harder to reach areas.

Link for a Selectric II manual:
https://site.xavier.edu/polt/typewriters/IBMSelectricII.pdf

If your machine is sluggish (binding) this clip may help:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VhYwnuZsV-c

There is a lot of reading in this manual. Aimed at the repair engineer.
IBM Manual of Engineering (to assist customer engineers in the servicing of IBM electric typewriters):
http://bitsavers.trailing-edge.com/pdf/ibm/typewriter/25-8194-0_01-10_Typewriter_CE_May44.pdf

Let us know how you get on.

[RDPipes]

Nice find sir! I use to have a real minty Royal manual typewriter from the 40's with carrying case
but, got stupid one day and sold it off. Now I wish I had it back. Hope your able to clean'em both up
and get'em working properly without much stress.

[TelePlay]

Took the Selectric II to a local business machine repair shop (they still exist) and for a mere $120 they cleaned it and freed up frozen parts.

Purchase price was $0 (curbside pickup) so I'm only in it for the restoration.

Works like new after sitting unused for at least 30 years and carbon and correction ribbons are readily available.

I'll keep this one, nice to be able to change fonts as needed, and ignore the complex earlier boat anchor Model 12.

Now all I need is a 12" oval pedestal mirror to place it next to the machine to complete my connection to the parallel universe.

[TelePlay]

Some interesting facts I stumbled upon.

Royal began making their Quiet De Luxe portable typewriter in about 1939 with the design on the left which has a touch control slide lever in the middle above the keys and it had round glass keys.

In the middle of 1948 they changed to the design on the right which eliminated the touch control slide lever (still there but under the cover) and switched to flat sided glass keys. This new design was created by Henry Dreyfuss and mostly stayed that way through 1959 when production ended. The flat sided glass keys were replaced by flat sided plastic keys about 1950.

Dreyfuss seems to have been quite the popular product designer back then.

Hundreds of thousands were sold over 20 years. They cost about $130 in the 40s.

It was the typewriter of choice for Ernest Hemingway and an interesting anecdote is that of Ian Fleming, after finishing the first draft of Casino Royale, ordering a gold plated Quiet De Luxe in 1952 which sold at auction in 1995 for $90,000.

[paul-f]

Thanks for posting the history.

It brought back memories of typing my high school papers on the Quiet De Luxe my mother used while studying journalism in the early 1940s.

[FABphones]

Attached, the same gold plated model as owned by Ian Fleming.
Rumour has it that Ian Flemings gold typewriter was purchased at auction by Pierce Brosnan.

More reading here:
https://www.jamesbondlifestyle.com/news/wanted-ian-flemings-golden-typewriter

[TelePlay]

Thanks for that.

Seems Royal made more than one gold plated Quiet De Luxe over the years after thr Fleming machine and all of those have had the original owners name engraved on a gold plate replacing the "Quiet De Luxe" plate above the platen.

The only pictures I've seen of the Fleming typewriter do not have the engraved name.

This is "the" typewriter, followed by a nice picture of one belonging to someone else and the last picture a nice composed stylistic "publicity" image showing what Fleming's desk could have looked like.

The Fleming typewriter is the Henry Dreyfus design so probably a early 50's serial number starting with AG-? with "G" for gold and the next number (?) would indicate the year built. All following numbers are the sequential production run number.

Yes, no one knows where the original Ian Fleming gold plated typewriter is today, or has been since purchased in 1995 by an "unknown" buyer.

It's a nice looking machine.

[TelePlay]

My fully functional blue IBM Selectric II.

[Contempra]

I had one 6 years ago but I put it in the garbage because I had no more space while offering it to people for free, no one wanted it, so it went in the garbage unfortunately .  I also had a very old Remington from the 20's about 40 years ago but I sold it shortly after I bought it, it was too heavy. However, I still have my Smith Corona, but it's been asleep for nearly 10 years and needs a new ribbon. For the moment I don't use it. It's not for sale either.

[jsowers]

My fully functional blue IBM Selectric II.

A beautiful typewriter, but it's an IBM Selectric I. The Selectric II is squarer and looks like the red one you posted earlier and there's a Correcting Selectric II, like the one you posted, and one without correction. The Selectric II differs from the Selectric I in that the II has dual pitch (10 and 12) and the I is a fixed pitch model.

Who would've guessed that typewriters would make me de-lurk? I read the forum a lot but rarely want to post.

I used many IBM typewriters when I was with the local school system. I was issued a model 12 when I started in 1985 and typed purchase orders on it. It worked great! We had 5-sheet NCR paper purchase orders and it cut through all five sheets really well.

Later I rescued an IBM Electronic 85 from our auction and it was HUGE and had memory where you could store a page under one key, but no battery backup. More complicated and larger than any other typewriter I've ever seen. Its power supply finally died and it went back to the auction, but boy was that a neat typewriter. I even had a Bold Face element for it, so it looked just like an IBM Executive with a proportional typeface. I had to put it on a pad to cut down the noise it made when typing. When it typed from memory, it was like a machine gun.

I also found many typewriters at thrift stores and yard sales. I have an early IBM Executive, a Correcting Selectric II, a Model 10 and an IBM Wheelwriter II in my collection, but I haven't used any of them in years since I have no place upstairs to put them.

My mom also had a Royal Quiet Deluxe when in college and I literally wore it out using it when in high school. An excellent typewriter.

Thanks for taking me down typewriter memory lane.

[TelePlay]

A beautiful typewriter, but it's an IBM Selectric I. The Selectric II is squarer and looks like the red one you posted earlier and there's a Correcting Selectric II, like the one you posted, and one without correction. The Selectric II differs from the Selectric I in that the II has dual pitch (10 and 12) and the I is a fixed pitch model.

Wow, quite the eye. And, yes, that is not my typewriter, it's a picture I saw on the web of one which color matched mine, and I never thought to look at the model number. Now we have the I above and the II below.

So, this really IS my typewriter, just took a picture of it on my basement table in not the best light. The II uses a 72 character print head, the III has 96 characters and the 96 character head can not be used on a model I or II. What I always liked about the Selectric II (and III for that matter) is how the font is easily changed, both the type style and the pitch, if you have or can find the print head you want.

The guy that cleaned and lubed my typewriter said the Selectric has to be used every day. The more it is used, the better it runs. He said there are clutches in the machine that will tighten up, even freeze up, if not used daily. The motor will also get sluggish from lack of use. Mine sat for probably 30 years before the prior owner decided to put it on the curb.

I've been using it every day and I really like the feel of it. Touch a key and get a very aggressive character printed on the paper. Something about a real typewriter that feels so much better than a computer/printer set up. And they still make the carbon ribbons, and correction tape, for these at a reasonable price.

[TelePlay]

Who knew?

The typewriter was invented in Milwaukee, Wisconsin 150 years ago!

And, National Typewriter Day is today, June 23.

And there is an organization in Milwaukee that has put together 3 day festival they call "QWERTYfest" that takes place at different venues around the city.

My "typewriter" guy told me about it today when I stopped by his shop to drop off another typewriter. He also told me what to look for, valuable stuff.

[TelePlay]

My last post here.

Recently acquired pre-war production pause 1942 Royal Quiet De Luxe manual typewriter with round glass keys and tweed covered wood carrying case.

Professionally cleaned and adjusted. Fully functional.

Total acquisition cost: $259, and worth every penny of it.