Sunday, January 10, 2010

Smith Corona Galaxie Typewriter Mystery Solved

A Christmas typewriter brought a mystery.  What is this key?  I've never seen anything like it before.  And when you press it, nothing seems to happen.



Moments later:  "#@%&!"

Has this ever happened to you?



Now, one could just reach forward and push those keys back, straining the shoulder and risking ink-stained fingers.

Or one could follow a hunch (or read the manual) and try that key once we're deep in the well-charted territory of a key-jam.

Aha!  Problem solved!



It works!

6 comments:

  1. I used to have a cool vintage typewriter when I was younger, and always wondered what that key was for. Thanks for clearing that up!

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  2. I just pulled one exactly like that out of the trash a few months ago! I am very happy to come across one them!

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  3. Super-smart! My vintage typewriter is too old to have such a key then, so I'll dirty my fingers. I love the black'n'red tape! Are you able to buy new of these in the US, mine are pretty dried.

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  4. Hi, may I ask if you own the 'jammed typewriter' image? And if so may I have permission to use it in a blog post? I am looking for just such an image - if you do not own it could you direct me to the source?

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  5. Hi Alex -

    Yep, I took the picture, and you're welcome to it. Glad to be of service; just let me know where it ends up!

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  6. sanne- if you are still looking for a replacement tape (available in black, black/white, or black/red for this particular typewriter, check out www.typewritersupply.com/smith_corona_ribbons.htm

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