Monday 30 December 2013

My newest find (As of date shown)

This is a quick spoiler for a find that I did. These two machines were located with about 15 other typewriters and cashregisters and way more stuff in a barn. I got these two machines for $95 TOGETHER as a barn find. And boy, were they.
A 1897 Remington 8 (of which I have the feeling is quite rare unlike the 6 and 7) and a Empire from 1892. Two brilliant looking machines. The Empire has experienced life, has some scratches and definitely more rust then the Remington, but was salvageable. Somebody scratched the top somewhat, after they slipped with a screwdriver, after taking the ribbon reverse system off. Slightly unfortunate but if you ask me, just as old as the dust you see in the picture. And actually, it makes it look robust. It shows that It has gone through life and came out with just some bruises and scratches.

I bought the Empire for $40 and the Remington for $55. The Empire works, the Remington works but the carriage is loose. It is missing a wheel. It was advertised with a removable carriage though.
The decals are in GREAT shape in both cases. Everything in that barn was in GREAT shape decal wise.

They are currently 150 KM away, so a full article will be written later.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
***UPDATE (December 31st 2013 11:04 PM)***

The Remington 8 is very difficult to actually date. The information of production of this particular model is very scarce including the machine itself apparently, as Martin Howard and Jett Morton will confirm. Most information indicates that the machine was made some time between 1897-1899, therefor, I'll put it down as 1897, as the model was introduced that year, and we'll probably never know for sure anymore. It is a 25000 S#. Some people confirm that it was made in the actual 1897 year, and others tell different. From the information that I could find, the machine was indeed made in 1897, maybe '98.

5 comments:

  1. Congratulations! An exciting find.

    According to Remington records, 41287 model 8's were made (1902-1914). That compares to 181069 model 6's (1894-1914) and 248355 model 7's (1896-1914).

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mmmmm interesting. I looked up the typewriter database and it confirms that it was made in 1897. I contacted the person and he said that he got the information also from the Remington Records.

      It's a mystery!!!

      Delete
    2. Oh, and by the way...my Remington has a 35000 serial number, so before the 41287 Remington 8.
      So that is the correct info, in both cases.

      Delete
    3. The information about the Remington no. 8 on The Typewriter Database comes from Ernst Martin. My information comes from a copy of the original serial number records maintained by the Remington company. Those are not necessarily accurate, but probably more correct than Martin.

      Delete
    4. Thank you Richard. Most of the sources, including yours, indicate that the machine was made sometime in 1897-98, as I've checked (what is left of) the Remington Records.
      Because it is so old, the records are barely accurate anymore.

      Delete