Sunday, February 6, 2011

Three Typewriter Typefaces

At first glance, all of my typewriters look like they have "the same font."  Obviously, this is not really the case!  I don't have what one would call a trained eye, but it's developing.  The best place to start learning is at home, so I've been looking closely at the typefaces on my personal machines.  Now, for the sake of the wide world, here is some information about those faces.

I believe all three are Elite (twelve characters per inch).

Here is a scan of a type sample for comparison:

A miniature specimen from my three manual typewriters.  Click for full size.

There are many obvious (if subtle) differences between the three.  Now I wish I could put names to each of the fonts!

I know that the typeface can be identified by the little emblem in the middle of the type slugs, but what I want to know is what that little thing is called so I can look for a database somewhere.

The type emblem on my Royal FP is a T superimposed over an S, followed by an E.

The type emblem on my Smith-Corona Classic 12 is the number 665 above a very strange character.  It looks like a Cyrillic capital letter D ("Д") back-to-back with (i.e. sharing a stem with) a Latin capital letter R.  I find this bizarre ligature lovely and mysterious.

The type emblem on my Commodore branded Consul 1511 is the number 39 above a circle, with a concentric circle inside it, with what looks like either a letter Z or number 2 inside of that.

I wish I could post pictures of these emblems, but I have nothing like the right kind of equipment to photograph something that tiny!  Maybe I'll get around to drawing facsimiles.  We'll see.

So, I'm just now starting the process of researching this area, and already have a nice list of sources to read when I find the time.  Meanwhile, if anyone has anything to add, I'd love to know about it!

2 comments:

  1. The NOMDA book from 1964 shows Elite No. 66 as a close match for the SCM font - it might have been updated by 1976 to No.665

    The others, I dunno. I have yet to hear of anyone who has any data on the typeslug manufacturers so far as the factory markings and what they mean. It's hard enough to dig up original serial number documentation, and I dunno anyone who's actually looking for data that matches typeslug markings to font styles.

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  2. I'm in the same boat, seeking the same type white whale...however, I came across a SC font-share post by the most righteous reverend Munk which lists "no. 65" as empire with 6 lines per inch...6-65 ...slug 665? Idk, I'm just a rookie grasping for meaning?.. so, now i'm off to unravel the riddle of the hieroglyphic octopus beneath the slug puzzle.
    Clicketty ding shwoosh, to all

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