Underwood Noiseless 77
S/N: 1513272
Carriage shift
Colour: Black crackelure
Manufactured 1947
This one was £15 from a chap in Harrow an was collected personally by my nephew. Unlike the earlier Remington Noiselsss Portable, this post-WW2 model has plastic key tops instead of glass, and plastic ribbon covers instead of being painted and chromed metal. These are not flat but "pringled" over time. I tried immersion in very hot water to flatten. Result: still pringled - now discoloured also.
Underwood Portable
S/N: 646456
4-bank model
Carriage shift
Colour: Black gloss
Manufactured 1933
I collected this from a fifth floor apartment in south London. The woman who was selling it was moving to Japan for work and was in the middle of laying new bamboo floors so she could rent the place while she was away. She tried to beat the price up when I got there because her mother had bought it for her from an antiques shop. Maybe she paid over the odds. I had to stick to 'the rules' though, and pay what we'd agreed - £25.
Having enquired about the name Bryan S Ryan on the paper table, it seems likely to be a service sticker. Current director, Adrienne Prendergast replies, 'Bryan S Ryan was established in 1948. However, we would have been a major supplier of typewriters and service in those years and it is likely that this is a service sticker that we placed on it.'
Underwood Portable
S/N: 610598
4-bank model
Carriage shift
Colour: Was hand painted babyshit brown. Now it is bare metal!
Manufactured 1932
This looked interesting on ebay! Yucky fnish - a lesson in how not to restore a typewriter - works OK though. It came with a Pitmans Typewriting guide and an original manual for a 3-bank machine from Longs Ltd., 80, Queen Street, London E.C.4.
Underwood Standard Portable Typewriter
S/N: 169094
Early 3-bank model
Carriage shift
Colour: Black gloss
Manufactured 1924
The photographer from High Wycombe agreed to drop this off at my office for the price of postage - about £10. Always best to avoid parcel carriers if possible. He was off to spend the winter at his second home in Viet Nam. Being a 3-bank, the typewriter has two shifts. These were not raising quite right, they were striking the platen about 1mm too low. I couldn't find any adjustment screws - the solution was to stick tiny plastic shims to the two levers underneath.
S/N: 1513272Carriage shift
Colour: Black crackelure
Manufactured 1947
This one was £15 from a chap in Harrow an was collected personally by my nephew. Unlike the earlier Remington Noiselsss Portable, this post-WW2 model has plastic key tops instead of glass, and plastic ribbon covers instead of being painted and chromed metal. These are not flat but "pringled" over time. I tried immersion in very hot water to flatten. Result: still pringled - now discoloured also.
Underwood Portable
S/N: 646456
4-bank model
Carriage shift
Colour: Black gloss
Manufactured 1933
I collected this from a fifth floor apartment in south London. The woman who was selling it was moving to Japan for work and was in the middle of laying new bamboo floors so she could rent the place while she was away. She tried to beat the price up when I got there because her mother had bought it for her from an antiques shop. Maybe she paid over the odds. I had to stick to 'the rules' though, and pay what we'd agreed - £25.
Having enquired about the name Bryan S Ryan on the paper table, it seems likely to be a service sticker. Current director, Adrienne Prendergast replies, 'Bryan S Ryan was established in 1948. However, we would have been a major supplier of typewriters and service in those years and it is likely that this is a service sticker that we placed on it.'
Underwood Portable
S/N: 610598
4-bank model
Carriage shift
Colour: Was hand painted babyshit brown. Now it is bare metal!
Manufactured 1932
This looked interesting on ebay! Yucky fnish - a lesson in how not to restore a typewriter - works OK though. It came with a Pitmans Typewriting guide and an original manual for a 3-bank machine from Longs Ltd., 80, Queen Street, London E.C.4.
Underwood Standard Portable Typewriter
S/N: 169094Early 3-bank model
Carriage shift
Colour: Black gloss
Manufactured 1924
The photographer from High Wycombe agreed to drop this off at my office for the price of postage - about £10. Always best to avoid parcel carriers if possible. He was off to spend the winter at his second home in Viet Nam. Being a 3-bank, the typewriter has two shifts. These were not raising quite right, they were striking the platen about 1mm too low. I couldn't find any adjustment screws - the solution was to stick tiny plastic shims to the two levers underneath.