I stopped by the antique mall on my way home from work today. I ran into Eric, from whom I’ve purchased a few typewriters at great prices. In fact, I bought my favorite machine, an Olympia SG1, from him. It was dirty and missing a tab key, but it’s in tip-top shape now and I acquired the missing part from a friend. Now, low and behold, he had another SG1. The cover is missing and it is pretty filthy, but I can salvage it. Hopefully my friend will come through again. I bought it for $20 and the mechanics are sluggish but fine.
He also had two Smith Coronas: a Skyriter and a Silent. Both have some cosmetic issues. I wanted the Skyriter right away. I need some smaller machines. It looks like it has a Polish keyboard. Picked it up for $35.
The Silent is an odd duck. It has two colors. Did it come that way or had another user/collector created a Frankenstein? I was not interested in the machine, but I dropped it. No one would have known, but fair is fair and Eric has done right by me. I took it at a loss for $40. Perhaps I can use it in a classroom.
To my mind, the SG1 is the real score. I did not want such a glorious machine tossed into the garbage just because it’s missing its hood.
The Untimely Typewriter:Daily Writings Against the Tides of Distraction 
Good save, I agree that an SG1 should not be tossed away for cosmetic reasons. I even think it looks better without the hood!
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It does look cool. I might be able to get the hood and, once cleaned up, find it a good owner. I feel a bit guilty having two of them (and space is limited).
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I have 4 SG1’s. One of them was going to be left at the estate in Jacksonville because the person who was buying most of the machines didn’t want it. I decided that it needed a new home. It is now one of my favorites after cleaning it up. Nice elite typeface. The other 3 have pica, double gothic, and manuscript typefaces.
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Fantastic selection of typefaces. I have two SG1s, one for the home office and one for school. Same typeface, but they get a lot of grading done.
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the SCM looks like a repaint. certainly not factory. (:
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That makes sense. The label was covered on the back. Not a bad color, but this Silent has seen better days.
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