Bremerton Typewriter Company

Mr. Montgomery – Seattle Theatre Lore

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Mr. Montgomery turned 95 last month; he is healthy and still the jokester. Don and I took him out to lunch then back to the shop so friends could share some cake and good memories. Occasionally, I publish some of Mr. Montgomery's musings edited only for grammatical errors. I really appreciate all that Mr. Montgomery has done for the local theatrical community, so this is an article on his impressions of the Seattle Theatre scene for your … [Read more...]

Oliver 9 – Big Green!

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I'm a beekeeper. Last summer I got a call about a Honey bee swarm in a raspberry patch located in Poulsbo, near where I live. It was a fun swarm to hive, then I learned the son next door was thinking of selling some vintage typewriters! Funny how things happen. I tuned up the old Royal and asked if I could buy this Oliver 9. I get folk's Oliver typewriters in the shop often and wanted an Oliver of my own for visitors to … [Read more...]

Royal Quiet DeLuxe 1956 – Spanish Keyboard

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I found this gray Royal Quiet DeLuxe built in 1956 at a Goodwill store. I saw the typewriter had a Spanish Keyboard complete with the requisite dead keys for accents. A pleasant surprise when I got it back to the shop; it is also double gothic typeface! While the typeface is small, about 3/32 inch tall, it is actually spaced at 12 CPI. Who ever owned the machine was a heavy smoker. The paint and all the parts were brown. When I started … [Read more...]

Pretty in Pink; Lettera 22 from the Mid 1950’s

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I see many blue and a few green Olivetti Lettera 22 typewriters. This is the first pink version of a Lettera I've had in the shop and it is in near perfect condition considering its age. When this customer brought it to the shop it had a bit of rust on the tab bar and some sticking keys. After a good cleaning, new rubber grommets, new type bar rest pad, removal of the rust plus some oil in the right places it works just fine. … [Read more...]

Edison Home Phonograph

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I help any customer who has a machine that may not be a typewriter, yet falls into that category of "who fixes these any more?". In this case, along with an Underwood number 3 typewriter needing some love, they brought this fantastic Edison Home Phonograph in for service. This phonograph uses plastic cylinders instead of record albums we are used to using today. You could also buy wax cylinders to record! You hand crank this baby, then let … [Read more...]

Underwood 3 Wide Carriage from 1926

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This Underwood wide carriage number 3 came to the shop along with an Edison Home Phonograph (more on that later). This machine was the typical dust bunny covered in years of dirt, shellacked oil and "deferred" maintenance. It was so sluggish I even had to remove the type bars and segment cleaning them in my new handy ultrasonic cleaner. It saves the customer the time charged for manually cleaning decades of gunk off small parts. One … [Read more...]

Singer 20 Sewing Machine, sooo cute!

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I couldn't pass up this little Singer sewing machine model 20 at the local Goodwill. It was a bit rusty. With the usual attention I give to my typewriters in short order it looks great and works. I'm not sure why I also love sewing machines. Well actually I do know; I consider them to be works of industrial art just like my typewriters. … [Read more...]

Remington Standard 11 Typewriter from the year 1920

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I like the older Remington side spool machines as they are over engineered wonders. Don't loose those ribbon spools unless you enjoy spending your hard won dollars; they are hard to find. This beast needed a heavy cleaning that included removing shellack from most of the surfaces. While popular to brighten fading paint; this time it was all over mechanical surfaces and it took WAY too much alcohol to dissolve that gunk from the carriage, … [Read more...]

Two Olympia SM3 Portable Typewriters

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These two green Olympia SM 3 typewriters came to me within days of each other. Both needed frame spacers to correct carriage interference and general cleaning, oiling and adjustment. The older Olympia from 1955 had been stored in a moist environment and had corrosion through out the metal components. It had affected the ribbon feed (those delicate springs and stuff) so I had to free those up. Also the tab function in lower case was not … [Read more...]

Remington Electric 25

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Wow! You do not see the competitor to the IBM Executive very often. This Remington 25 electric typewriter is a real treat as it is not only a family heirloom, it has a nice italic typeface! … [Read more...]