Behold! The Remington Envoy that I picked up at the estate
sale this Friday.
 |
| Which begs the question...an Envoy to whom? |
Maestro Polt tells us that the Envoy is little more than a
beefed-up Remette, putting it squarely in the "budget model" range.
But! Seeing as how I have been more of a "build your own computer out of
spit and baling twine" guy as opposed to an "able to afford the
latest i-device" guy I figure that had I been around in the early 40's—and
not being shot at by fascists—this may well have been the model I'd have owned.
 |
| Plastic-tastic. |
The keys seen here are budget-standard plastic (or is it Bakelite?
I'm not sure what the difference is), and although I cannot for the life of me remember
where I heard it, were available in straight black and with silver-painted
rims. Either the paint has worn off entirely, or the long-ago purchaser decided
to shave a few bucks off the purchase price.
Ah, the "Remington smile" (which is—please
note—entirely unrelated to the "Glasgow smile" or the "Chelsea
grin." Brrr.), which I referenced in my short story, "To Kill a
Comedian." Oh, have I not mentioned Pen and Platen in the last ten minutes? Well, if you haven't purchased a copy
yet, follow the link on the right to get your copy. It like $0.99 dude. You spend more than that on coffee.
Hem. Back to the machine.
 |
| Pictured: something simple I only figured out through dumb luck. |
The Envoy is the first machine I've seen in the wild that is
permanently affixed to its case. It took me a moment to realize that instead of
removing the machine from the lid, one simply removes the lid from the case!
Fascinating concept, that. And yes, it's a bit dusty still.
 |
| Eraser crumbs: everywhere they are. |
Also new to me are the curiously small ribbon spools, which
happen to be conveniently labeled "RIGHT TOP" and "LEFT
TOP." At least they left nothing to chance.
 |
| It's a mystery LED. |
Finally, we see the carriage return lever and the magnifying
glass/flash light of one Mr. Speegle the Younger. His insistence that clues
were to be found on the machine as to various mysteries of the universe brooked
no dissent.
And there you have it! Not bad for $15, and a happy foray
into older-model Remingtons for Yours Truly.
6 comments:
So many similarities with the 5, I'd say your search is over. Nice decals too.
Handsome machine, it's got character (and the mystery LED light has nothing to do with it). I agree with Rob, search over.
Flip the reels over and they read the opposite. A clever way of showing ribbon feed direction. Very nice find!
That's cute. The smile is nice, a Chesire typewriter!
Very nice typewriter.
I forget the exact difference of Bakelite / plastic other than Bakelite was used extensively through about the 1980s in electric products and it tended to be brittle. Plastic did and does not normally tend to be brittle.
The reels look like the size on the Smith-Corona Skyriter.
Those reel sizes are the same ones I have to use. I was fortunate to still find that I had a metal spool when I got my Skyriter. I must say, specifically looking for a 1.5 diameter spool(s) of ribbon is an adventure in itself.
Nice machine. The first thing I said to my husband was, "Look for estate sales," when I heard.
Post a Comment