* "Stable" is a more apt description than "solid," which suggests weight. Escort 55 is light and portable but not rattly.
* Alan Seaver's Escort 55 here. Lettera 32 pic also from MLG.
* Artwork is "Spray" by Roy Lichtenstein. Taken at the Chicago Art Institute's Lichtenstein retrospective.
* Typecast via Montgomery Ward Escort 55/Olivetti Lettera 32 (1973).
20 comments:
Very nice looking typewriter. I watched several of these go for more than my budget over the past year.
I understand they are fine typers.
I will admit, that is a darn good looking machine. Usually not a huge fan of rebrands, it seems they loose something.
It looks beautiful!
Aaaah! My eyes!!! XD
This is a very interesting incarnation of a very good typewriter; I really like how it stands out from the crowd. The color scheme screams "1970s!" real loud, and being myself a product of that era, I have to admit that I like it!
And by the looks of the typecast, it works perfectly! Congratulations on your find, Ton! This is indeed a very handsome and unusual machine.
@Bill, I've been watching for a while myself, just got lucky with this one. You know how timing is everything. Yes, it's got to be a decent typer considering that it's a Lettera 32 in disguise!
@Mark, I felt the same way about rebrands until Underwood 450 and now, this.
@Luis, glad you liked it.
@Miguel, I knew that if there's someone who's going to get excited about this, it's a certified Olivetti fan like you. Mil gracias!
That looks Lettera 32. And it looks very nice. Cool machine, especially as the warmth of summer is leaving now, it's nice to have summer still on the desk.
I rather like some rebrandings - the Sears Tower rebrandings of the 1950's are invariably nicer-looking than the original Smith-Coronas, for example. The Olivetti 32 engine has been wrapped in so many different casings that it's inevitable that some of them will be especially attractive.
PS: where'd you get that nice preacher's podium? That must make a fine standing typewriter table (:
I like it! Slick, optimistic, unabashed.
@Florian, my thoughts exactly.
@Ted, you're right about the Tower re-brandings turning out to be attractive upgrades of the Smith-Coronas. The podium's not mine but being an academic, I always have access to podiums. This one can't be used as a stand-up typing table for a couple of reasons: 1) the incline is way too sharp, it's practically a carpal-tunnel inducer, 2) it's currently being used by lecturers and preachers, I just sneaked the typewriter in. Shhh.
@Richard, those three adjectives are spot-on!
That yellow makes me happy. No matter how long a report I had to type, I'd be humming Whistle While You Work from the Disney movie Snow White.
I like it! This is an optimistic machine. While it is hard to get inside the heads of users from a half-century ago, I've never quite understood the sleepy color schemes found on many portable typewriters. Good to know that this is a solid plastic model.
P.S. Your new Lexikon profile image is getting to me. I'm starting to regret not buying that one from ebay a couple weeks back. Who wants to pick up and ship the pick-up only one in SOCAL?
That typer is the color of happy! Very snazzy; I love it!
Dwayne, want to link me? I'm in SoCal;I'd be willing to snag & ship! ^^
Very tropical. I like it! I'd be interested to know how you fix the ringer when you work on it.
What a nice contrast of colors you have been achieving as of late, Ton. That machine is quite a looker! Congrats.
@Dana, so the yellow typer triggered a Disney moment, that's a good sign. ( :
@Dwayne, I agree, it's a bit puzzling why drab ruled back then. Re: Plastic -it's reasonably solid, not in the sense of 'heavy' but 'sturdy,' given that it's really a lightweight, very portable typewriter. Not as solid as Studio 45, which is a bigger machine, but certainly superior to the Remington Ten Forty and those of a similar make. I'm telling you, Lexikon is kickass!
@Ping, I'd associate it more with "mod" than tropical, I just can't see myself wearing a Hawaiian shirt while typing on it. ( : Let's see if I can remedy that bell.
@ARMS, @Ken, indeed, thanks.
I like the rebrands, and always hope for a maker I like, such as Olivetti. The yellow sure is "of the time" isn't it?
Crazy how anything with color makes a thing more attractive and more desirable. EBay is super nuts about t. Like those red Olympia SFs of late.
I don't have any yellow in my collection yet.
I've got burgundy, salmon pink, red, baby blue, gold, Olivetti green, royal blue, two-tone brown/tan, and the rest are grey, black, white or off-white. No yellow. And I actually had orange but thankfully got sniped.
Another awesome addition, Ton!
@Peter, hope you land one. The bright yellow is definitely a 70's mod thing.
@Michael, true, the brighter ones are sellers.
Hi! I was researching my typewriter and ran across this post. I have the exact same thing, case and all. UNfortunately when I got mine(for $4 at a thrift store!) It didn't come with spools, a ribbon, or the screws that hole them on, and being my first typewriter I just got a spool that I thought would work, and to it's credit, it does work, but the ribbon does advance on it's own usually. I am looking into getting a spool from ebay and running a ribbon on it.
IT really is a beautiful typewriter, very vibrant, I love it. Very sturdy. Thanks for the info :)
@Whaley, $4 is a crazy price for an Escort 55, you're so lucky. Glad you got it to work. Cheers.
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