A Return to Love.

The Smith Corona Silent that started it all.

The old vintage typewriter that started it all. A Smith Corona Silent, 4s.

Here she is in her native environment, back when I lived in a Cabin in the redwoods.

It’s literally resting on a redwood stump.

When you see people recommending typewriters, or even selecting them for their personal use, remember this: preferences are merely familiarities at their best, heresay at their worst. (Someone said X or H).

I mean, of course we’ll tend to start with recommendations of others. But even their recommendations are somewhat arbitrary. Here’s why…

We want to harness that initial thrill of when we tried something for the first time, or avoid a painful experience from the past.

Someone’s grandfather or father used a certain model, and the thrill of seeing it brings up a host of emotions.

For instance, I prefer a Smith Corona typewriter, and I prefer a smaller 12 character per inch typeface. I prefer a portable.

Why? Because I like the feel of them, and the look of the typeface, and portables can be moved around easily (I was a wanderer back then, and when I lived on sailboat, a huge Underwood Number 5 would have never fit). A Selectric might have tipped the boat. ;)

Why these preferences? Because my first machine was a Smith Corona Silent with a 12 character per inch typeface.

Back then, I didn't know anything about typefaces, and I didn't know anything about brands.

And still, that machine, the Smith Corona in that series, is still my favorite. Even after I've tried most of the 'best' machines in the world.

I took long detours on an SM9, a Groma Kolibri, a Lettera 32. (All great machines, by the way, just none inspired me so much as that first machine).

Another aspect is that I've used that machine for countless hours. No other machine has touched it in terms of time spent getting familiar. That probably has something to do with it.

There's a 'loose' feeling in a Smith Corona. The keys move laterally fairly. The adjustments are fairly simple, if almost 'primitive'. For instance, they involve some bending of metal (whereas many brands simply have 50 screw type adjustments). For that reason, though, less seems to go wrong with them.

Some people (people that began their journey on something like a German Olympia) can't stand the loose feeling. I, on the other hand, am a little squeezed by the 'tight' feeling of the machines that are engineered differently.

I 'like' (again, arbitrary) that Smith Corona is an American icon, finding its place in many classic cultural references.

I like that TS Eliot used a 4s while he was writing The Waste Land.

Do you see the bottom of the case on the bottom of the machine? Earlier cases were designed to work like this, though most of us prefer to remove them from the case.

"Well I pawned my Smith Corona, and I went to meet my man. He hangs out down on El Dorado Street, by the Pioneer Chicken stand.' Warren Zevon, Carmelita.

Also, I like Warren Zevon (Link the fictional Hank Moody, who for some unknown reason used an IBM Selectric, though the character was loosely based on Bukowski).

(We service and Sell Selectrics I-III though I’m still working on the listing).

I've used a Selectric as well. They're the height of efficiency. Still, too efficient? Too industrial? Something missing for me. Though again, if that’s your bag, grab it and run.

STILL, for getting into flow with the muse, I still prefer a Smith Corona 4S.

Sure, I like a Silent Super, which came upon the scenes in the 50's. They are a little more modern, different aesthetic. Perhaps more comfortable key tops, better case. (I like them in blue). Still, I prefer the older metal-lined ‘glass-style’ keys.

But still, something about that magical first machine still draws me like a moth to the proverbial flame.

So, my advice is this:

Start using whatever machine you have until you find a way to love it and coax it into creating your best work.

And of course, if you don't have a machine, get one that has the features you need, yes, but by relying mostly on instinct.

Then, everything will fall into place.

Remember, writers of old got a machine, and they wrote their masterpiece with it. JK Rowling said 'I had an old typewriter and a big idea', (number of writers from history who have controversial ideas: 100%). So, she had a machine and she started using it, and a wizard was soon born.

If you want to take the road I took, this is the machine I started with. (use ‘cartsaver’ for a ‘lil deal). Actually, it was also by 'accident', because I also purchased 2 Royals that didn't work at all. And an Underwood that didn't work. (Not that those are less reliable machines, it's just the way the die were cast when I got there).

You'll bond with a machine. It can become a transcendental sort of union, and magic can be born.

Write on, my friend.

Steven Budden Jr.

Classic Typewriter Co. - Vintage Typewriters for Writers and Dreamers