FeedCity: Chris Aldrich

Chris Aldrich
05 Jun 01:15 • Chris Aldrich

Typed index card in the carriage of a red 1964 Smith-Corona typewriter that reads: ""Let me buy you a present. You bought me one---a typewriter ribbon, and it brought me luck. "---Paul Varjak portrayed by George Peppard in Breakfast at Tiffany's (Paramount, 1961)"

Chris Aldrich
28 May 01:48 • Chris Aldrich

A pen-sized typewriter segment pick with a curved-shaped tip at the end of a thin metal shaft. It sits on top of a typewritten index card that reads: Last week I ordered a recreation of the Ames Supply Co. segment pick from Paul at Bremerton Typewriter Co. It arrived in the mail today and I'm excited to add it to my typewriter tool collection. Even better, I've recently gotten two new typewriters that will need full clean, oil, and adjusts. I can't wait to put it to good use.

Chris Aldrich
28 May 01:48 • Chris Aldrich

An orange covered 14th edition of The Chicago Manual of Style sits on a table in front of an Olympia SG1 typewriter with an oak card index filing cabinet beside it.

In a pre-web analog world, this is what a CMS really was. (Hint: there’s actually two in this photo.)

Chris Aldrich
26 May 08:48 • Chris Aldrich

The Royal KMG Standard Typewriters of It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World

Tracy pointing across the room in the foreground as his secretary types on a standard Royal KMG.

The Stanley Kramer comedy classic film It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (United Artists, 1963) has a handful of Royal KMG typewriters featured in the office settings at police stations throughout the film. The KMG was Royal’s top-of-the-line office standard machine and was manufactured from 1949 to 1952 before being replaced by the Royal … Continue reading The Royal KMG Standard Typewriters of It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World

Chris Aldrich
20 May 00:03 • Chris Aldrich

The Lindy Effect and Typewriters

A typed index card in the platen of a typewriter which reads: "The Lindy Effect | The phenomenon by which the future life expectancy of a non-perishable thing is proportional to its current age. | Thus the longer a period something has survived to exist or be used in the present, the ;onger its remaining life expectancy. | This bodes incredibly well for the life of my typewriter."

Chris Aldrich
12 May 00:00 • Chris Aldrich

Along with Ron Rosenbaum, Steven Levy, Patricia Highsmith, and the fictional Frank Navasky of You’ve Got Mail fame, I have joined the Quiet Cult of the Olympia Report de Luxe Electric Typewriter. I acquired this at thrift for $21.95 on 2026-10-10 for Mother’s Day in immaculate condition! It’s as if someone used it to type … Continue reading

Chris Aldrich
11 May 01:00 • Chris Aldrich

A black enamel standard typewriter with a silver Woodstock across the paper table sits on a black wooden bar next to an old fashioned glass and the several bottles of liquor.

My first ever Woodstock. Acquired via thrift for $50 on 2026-05-08. Possibly a bit more expensive than it might have otherwise been, but the key rings are in stunning shape, and the work to polish them is easily worth several hundred in labor! The decals are also in exceptional condition. Aside from some cosmetic damage … Continue reading

Chris Aldrich
09 May 01:36 • Chris Aldrich

FAQ: How do you use your typewriters?

A Fred Macey Company 20-drawer card index filing cabinet with the drawers and hardware removed. In their place we see four typewriters peeking out from each of four shelves inside and an additional typewriter on top. Next to the filing cabinet is a Gaylord library card catalog with a black typewriter on top along with some additional decorations.

The question “How do you use your typewriter(s)?” pops up for me fairly frequently. Often it’s collectors who love the machines and only think of using them for writing the “Great American Novel”. However there are a variety of tasks one could use them for besides conversation pieces or functional art in the home. Below … Continue reading FAQ: How do you use your typewriters?

Chris Aldrich
07 May 19:16 • Chris Aldrich

1947 Underwood SS "Rhythm Touch" standard typewriter in black crinkle paint with black keys sits on an oak library card catalog next to a rack of other typewriters

Acquired at Goodwill Southern California for $20.28 including tax on 2026-05-06. Needs a full clean, oil, and adjust, but not in generally bad shape. Two or three mechanical issues to sort out, but it’s got some new ink and a quick wipe down/dusting has helped immensely. I’m in love with the Art Deco chrome styling. … Continue reading

Chris Aldrich
06 May 00:48 • Chris Aldrich

Had some Cuzcatlan brand Cola Champagne (aka kola shanpan) at a Salvadoran restaurant the other day. Is it me, or is this the same formulation as Scottish Irn-Bru?

Chris Aldrich
01 May 00:42 • Chris Aldrich

Typed index card in the carriage of an Olympia SM7 that reads: TYPEWRITER COLLECTOR'S MANTRA | "I needed a backup."—Frank Navasky portrayed by Greg Kinnear in You've Got Mail (Warner Bros., 1998)

Chris Aldrich
28 Apr 22:30 • Chris Aldrich

4 x 6" wooden card index with dovetailed edges sitting on a library card catalog and in front of a Royal KMG typewriter.

Picked up at thrift for $2.39. What can I say? I’m a sucker for card index boxes… I can’t make out the smudged black-stamped bottom of the box to determine the manufacturer who used a sphere and a triangle in their logo.

Chris Aldrich
25 Apr 00:24 • Chris Aldrich

A 1962 Olympia SM7 with a cream colored body with matching keys and moss green highlights sits on a library card catalog next to a pot of lushly arranged pink and peach flowers.

Acquired via thrift on April 10, 2026. It finally fills my itch to have an italic typeface for use in personal correspondence. It’s in spectacular starting condition though a bit gamey, but this should clean up nicely. It immediately needed a bit of forming on the carriage lock and a new ribbon, but it’s generally … Continue reading

Chris Aldrich
22 Apr 01:36 • Chris Aldrich

William F. Buckley in a white shirt with a sweater over it and wearing his signature glasses begins a new line of writing on a Hermes 3000 typewriter

I watched the fascinating documentary Best of Enemies: Buckley vs. Vidal (Magnolia Pictures, 2015) last night. An hour and thirteen into the picture, William F. Buckley Jr., who is known to have used a Royal HH and an Olivetti Lettera 32, can be seen abusing what appears to be a Hermes 3000 portable typewriter.

Chris Aldrich
22 Apr 01:36 • Chris Aldrich

A cleaned up oak modular library card catalog with 30 drawers sits in the sunshine on a driveway with a green lawn and bushes in the background.

I’ve expanded my index card database storage by 30 new drawers of 13 3/4″ of space each. This model appears to be a Gaylord Bros. card index, but is missing explicit badging. It has the appropriate size for the modular Gaylord system and seems to be missing a few pieces including some of the dovetail … Continue reading

Chris Aldrich
18 Apr 00:36 • Chris Aldrich

Typed index card on a dark grey 1952 Royal Quiet De Luxe written in blue ink which reads: My holy grail typewriter is always the next one.

Chris Aldrich
17 Apr 00:33 • Chris Aldrich

An Odell No. 4 index typewriter sitting on an oak library card catalog next to it's wooden box.

I’ve slowed way down on acquisitions in my typewriter collection, but when I saw this magnificent exemplar with Art Nouveau decoration pop up at thrift, I could not resist. For a near complete exemplar, it seemed to be better priced than most of the market that I looked at before purchasing. I suppose that perhaps … Continue reading

Chris Aldrich
16 Apr 01:06 • Chris Aldrich

#TIL Smith-Corona Marchant (aka SCM) not only made typewriters, but they also manufactured index cards! They apparently had an office supplies group in Marion, Indiana. I can’t wait to take some of these for a spin in my Sears Cutlass.

Chris Aldrich
13 Apr 19:54 • Chris Aldrich

Typed index card in a typewriter carriage with a quote typed in italic face that reads: Did you ever consider not marrying girl? Ecoute, mon cherie. In your papa's time, papa kiss mama and they marry. But this is 1886, time of bicycle, the typewriter is arrive. Soon everybody speak over the telephone and people have new idea of value of kiss. What is bad yesterday is a lot of fun today.—Mademoiselle, the French Teacher / Heaven Can Wait (20th Century Fox, 1943)

Chris Aldrich
27 Mar 17:01 • Chris Aldrich

Most Collected Typewriters on the Typewriter Database

Two rows of four typewriters each lined up on opposite sides of a table.

In reflecting on my own typewriter collection, I thought I’d look through it to see how some of the models I gravitate toward compare to those others are collecting. As a potential proxy for this, I took a look at the most popularly collected typewriter models according to the Typewriter Database and compiled a list … Continue reading Most Collected Typewriters on the Typewriter Database

Chris Aldrich
27 Mar 17:01 • Chris Aldrich

From 1957, the year the Dodgers announced their move to Los Angeles, I’ve got my Dodger Blue Royal FPP typewriter ready to go to score the home opener! Blue ink at the ready, I can already hear a military bomber circling my neighborhood on the way to a flyover of the stadium. ⚾🏟️

Chris Aldrich
26 Mar 00:12 • Chris Aldrich

Typewritten baseball scorecard for the Tampa Bay Rays vs. Atlanta Braves from 2026-03-24. It has a minimalist stance for ease of scoring on a typewriter

My typewritten baseball scorecard for Tampa Bay Rays at Atlanta Braves on 2026-03-24. I’m trying to work out the cobwebs of my scoring technique before opening day Thursday. I also filled in a card from my #22 Numbers Game scorebook as well. It’s been ages since I tracked pitches. I’m thinking that this would be … Continue reading

Chris Aldrich
25 Mar 00:57 • Chris Aldrich

Paperback book Index to Murder by Jo Dereske sitting on a library card catalog. The cover of the book features a cat on the second story of a library playing with some index cards with bloody paw prints and knocking them past a railing to the floor below.

I’m really hoping this book Index to Murder is a gift of thoughtfulness and not some perverse, veiled threat.

Chris Aldrich
22 Mar 00:09 • Chris Aldrich

Typewriter Plates for Collectors?

Rear of a green crinkle painted Olympia SG1. The bottom of the machine has a panel with a metal Olympia manufacturer's plate showing the company name, place of manufacture, and location of the dealer ship in New York. On either side is a wide rectangle where other identifiers could be similarly placed.

Lately I’ve been talking to a few people about book plates for book collectors who occasionally loan out their books. After the owner has died, these also become a part of the material culture and are used as provenance for future book collectors, librarians, and researchers. These discussions have overlapped in some recent typosphere events … Continue reading Typewriter Plates for Collectors?

Chris Aldrich
17 Mar 00:24 • Chris Aldrich

Interesting to see u/joe_skidiachi_irl‘s experiments in baseball score cards with typewriters show up on Joe Van Cleave’s YouTube Channel. Links to past experiments that appear in the video: https://www.reddit.com/r/BaseballScorecards/comments/1l9alpy/experiment_with_typewriter_scorecards_also_rays_1/ https://www.reddit.com/r/BaseballScorecards/comments/1lflsw8/end_of_tickertape_typewriter_scorecard_experiment/ https://www.reddit.com/r/BaseballScorecards/comments/1lp0m9y/typewriter_experiment_2_also_cin_6_bos_13_6302025/ https://www.reddit.com/r/BaseballScorecards/comments/1m4p6ih/typewriter_experiment_3_the_codex_also_bos_1_chc/ https://www.reddit.com/r/BaseballScorecards/comments/1mt1cuz/typewriter_experiment_4_the_index_card_multiple/ cc: u/lou_sprito, u/Informal-Writer-1140, u/oogieball

Chris Aldrich
17 Mar 00:24 • Chris Aldrich

Light blue paneled Royal FP typewriter with it's hood off for restoration. We can see blue and green bichrome ribbon in the background.

Opening day of baseball is coming. ⚾ I’m finishing the adjustments and final coats of polish to my 1957 Royal FP standard typewriter in Dodger Blue. It was manufactured the same year that the Brooklyn Dodgers announced their move to Los Angeles, so it will be a fantastic machine to score the 68th Los Angeles … Continue reading

Chris Aldrich
08 Mar 18:25 • Chris Aldrich

Book Club: Yuval Noah Harari’s Nexus: A Brief History of Information Networks from the Stone Age to AI

A copy of Harari's book Nexus standing next to a sandstone yellow Royal FP typewriter with index cards sitting in front of it with several pencils and a pen. They all sit on top of an oak library card catalog.

Coming up for the next few weeks, the Dan Allosso Book Club will focus on Harari, Yuval Noah. Nexus: A Brief History of Information Networks from the Stone Age to AI. New York: Random House, 2024. The first session will be on Saturday, March 14, 2026, and will recur weekly from 8:00 AM – 10:00 Pacific. … Continue reading Book Club: Yuval Noah Harari’s Nexus: A Brief History of Information Networks from the Stone Age to AI

Chris Aldrich
06 Mar 00:44 • Chris Aldrich

Replaced the old, crushed rubber body panel grommets on my 1956 Remington Standard typewriter with new ones.

Chris Aldrich
05 Mar 00:23 • Chris Aldrich

This is coming out next week on the 11th, and totally unrelated: my birthday is coming up… h/t to Joe Crawwford (#)

Chris Aldrich
03 Mar 10:40 • Chris Aldrich

Olympia SG1 Standard Typewriter Clean, Oil, and Adjust

A green crinkle painted 1956 Olympia SG1 standard typewriter sits at an angle on top of an oak library card catalog filing cabinet

Over the weekend I stripped down my 1956 Olympia SG1 and cleaned all the body panels thoroughly. I had taken out all the old foam, but I also removed the remaining loosened felt pieces. I flushed the internals out with lacquer thinner and blew everything out with the air compressor the following day. I replaced … Continue reading Olympia SG1 Standard Typewriter Clean, Oil, and Adjust