Purchased from from Jan M. Macho in Pasadena, CA. This was the personal typewriter of his father John J. Macho, Sr., an émigré from Czechoslovakia who was in regional sales for Paillard in America and sold millions of Hermes typewriters. 

Jan Macho, Sr.’s grandson Chris eulogized his grandfather on Instagram:

>This is a Hermes 3000. My grandfather, Jan Macho, "Deda" to me, made a living and a small fortune as an exec at Hermes Typewriter Co., and he sold a million of these. I admit, I don't think of him as often as I should, and it takes hints like these in the wild to remind me of him. Fuck me, he was just so legendarily amazing, kind, generous, and plain THE SHIT in how he carried himself (and now I'm tearing up as I write this). I mentioned him and the Hermes thing to the people at this place here and they gave me a beer. So here he is, still hooking me up from the other side. Love you, miss you Deda.

Generally his typewriter is in solid condition aside from some cosmetic issues in the rear body plastic possibly due to heat exposure. It’ll need a full C/O/A and some new rubber, but will be resurrected to be a spectacular little portable typewriter for a few more generations.

I was so enamored of the provenance of the typewriter that I  barely managed to get through a preliminary check of the functionality before buying. I completely didn’t even notice the Epoca typeface until I got it home. Somehow I’ve always been the bridesmaid when it comes to Hermes machines, but it seems I’ve jumped right over the bride title straight to princess.

Resources

• Hermes 3000 manual via Richard Polt.  
• Hermes typefaces from the 1964 NOMDA Blue Book via Ted Munk
• The Hermes 3000 and Media 3 Typewriter Repair Bible

Found at The Predecessors while typewriter hunting in Anacortes, WA. It was paired with another similar green Olympia SM3, but I immediately picked this one up because of its beautiful and uncommon typeface. There appear to be only four other samples of the typewriter database.

From a scene set in London, 1968.

You just picked up a dusty, but somewhat functional Olympia SM3 and you know that you need to replace the rubber body bushings to prevent your carriage from hitting the body panels and scratching the paint job. The problem is that you’ve got a lovely new-to-you typewriter in front of you, and you don’t have the patience to not type on it until you’ve done this easy repair. 

I’ve never seen it mentioned anywhere, but I’ve got a quick, temporary solution that’ll get you typing in just a few minutes. (Incidentally squished, old rubber bushings is the number one issue with vintage Olympia SM3s, and if you’ve not come across it, I’ve written out the details for a permanent repair/replacement solution.)

One can remove the two front smashed bushings near the space bar on either side and pair/stack them up with the two smashed bushings in the rear. It may take a bit of removing some of the “proud” protrusions to smooth the bushing pairings, but it’ll work. In my case, I used an X-acto knife (though a pair of scissors might also suffice) to slim down portions of the bushings that were sticking out. This also helped to keep the bushing combination from being too tall and not allowing me to get the shoulder bolt back into the machine. 

The one issue you may encounter with this solution is potentially while typing with the shift lock engaged. This is because the front bushings help provide the proper clearance for the space bar while the shift lock is enabled. Typically one doesn’t type in all caps, so you might not notice this subtle issue at all.

Another possible solution depending on your particular machine is to swap the front bushings with the back ones as the rear ones typically carry more weight and are more squished than those in the front. Your mileage may vary based on your particular machine.

If nothing else, hopefully either the swap or the stack hack will help get you typing right away while you wait to pick up some replacement bushings from the local hardware store.

Good luck and happy typing.

An interesting short journal article on the historical use and acceptance of typewriters by libraries in the 20th century:

• Freeman, Michael Stuart. 1991. “Pen, Ink, Keys, and Cards: Some Reflections on Library Technology.” College and Research Libraries 52(4): 328–35. https://hdl.handle.net/2142/41489.

For those interested in analog working methods in comparison to artificial intelligence, the movie Desk Set (1957) mentioned in the article still has some interesting things to say about humanity and how we think.

His manual "new page method" is almost as quick as some people can hit the return key!

On October 22, 1923, Albert Tangora set the 60-minute typing speed world record at 147 words per minute (WPM). After a rest period, he typed 159 words in a one-minute "sprint". The typewriter he used was a QWERTY keyboard Underwood Standard. Although it was eventually beaten by an electric model in 1941, Tangora continues to hold the record on a manual typewriter.

>Little known fact:
Typewriter manufacturers didn't put an explicit exclamation key on their machines because they felt that anything worth of the expression ought to be truly created de novo and hand crafted.
Thus you're required to put the extra emphasis by typing out your period followed by the backspace and then an apostrophe!
Of course if you take the widdershins philosophy, for added emphasis you can first type out the apostrophe followed by the backspace and finally the period. This method provides a little bit more finality and emphasis for when you really mean it!!!

Yesterday at the QWERTY Typewriter Festival in Carson, CA, Bryan Mahoney of The Typin’ Pint released Issue 01 of his new zine Clack! 

I’ve just finished reading it this morning (from cover to cover, though I admit I haven’t finished the crossword yet) and it is truly fantastic! There’s so much to love inside its pages. My favorite parts were the poem (who doesn’t love a good clown story?!), numbers 9 and 11 of Tom Hanks’ “Eleven Reasons to Use a Typewriter” and  Sarah Everett‘s essay about Barbie typewriters which has the cleverest of titles.  

It’s so jam-packed with typewriter-y and analog goodness that the editor didn’t have the space to include a table of contents, so for those who need one, I’ve  typewritten one which I’m including a photo of.

The limited zine release has 500 numbered copies. Brian got the first two copies, Tom Hanks snagged numbers 3, 4, and 5. First in line, I managed to get issue number 6. I saw Michael Hanttula swipe number 7, and Lyn, who had just purchased a lovely duo-toned gray Royal Royalite typewriter moments before, got number 8. Which number(s) will you collect?

Because there really ought to be an issue number 2 and 3, I’m already brainstorming things that I might type up for them. And if somehow that doesn’t happen, then they’ll just have to go into my own zine…

If you're looking for something fun to do with your typewriter, making zines about your favorite topics could be both creative and a lot of fun.

TWSBI Eco with Remington Streamliner on a desk, all in "waterfall blue".

The Spring issue of Etcetera: Journal of the Typewriter Collectors' Association arrived in the mail today! Just in time to celebrate National Typewriter Day tomorrow on June 23, 2026. 

I acquired this Woodstock Typewriter crate earlier this month to pair with my 1938 Woodstock No. 5 standard typewriter. 

Usually it’s only portable typewriters that come with cases. But often unseen and unsaved are the “cases” that came with the larger standard typewriters. These are usually unseen because they were heavy wooden crates that standard typewriters were originally shipped in, but which the dealer discarded or recycled once a customer bought their typewriter.

The crate has the company logo and some advertising as well as a typewriter stamped/embossed with ink into the larger front and back sides as well as some unpacking instructions and a handle with care admonishment on the top. The two short sides of the crate have “handles” carved into the wood to make it easier to carry. But “easy” is a tough word to use as unloaded, the crate itself weighs in at 15.9 pounds which is roughly what a portable typewriter might weigh by itself. If you add the 34.2 pounds of my Woodstock No. 5 typewriter to it, you’re looking at an overall weight of just over 50 pounds.

Of interest, the top of the crate indicates that although it should be shipped “This side up”, to remove the typewriter, one should flip the crate over and remove the 12 wood screws holding the bottom of the crate on. This allows access to four cross braces that are locked into the crate by the bottom. The braces have four large screws in them which would have held the typewriter physically bolted into the case upside down. Presumably, one would have removed the typewriter and the cross braces as a unit and then removed the four bolts to allow the typewriter to be either placed onto or bolted into a desk depending on the desk type.

I’m unsure of the age of the crate and don’t have much in terms of provenance. The typewriter pictured on the case seems to be an early version of the Woodstock No. 5 between 1916 and 1931 when the typewriter had openings on the side of the machine. After 1931 these openings were supplied with covers and after 1936 they had removable hoods which covered the typebasket, a feature that isn’t depicted on this crate. (Thoughts on dating this more closely appreciated.)

My 1938 Woodstock only has two bolt holes on the bottom which presumably would have been used to bolt it into a desk (or in shipping). Looking at earlier models of Woodstock machines might help to narrow down the age range of this crate by finding machines which would have used all four bolts/screws in this crate to dovetail with the bottoms of those machines.

Condition

The crate isn’t in bad shape given that it’s likely an antique at this point. There is some obvious wear to the wood as well as patina, but the writing and images are fairly clear. The shipping label on the top is nearly worn off and only partially legible. The edges of some of the wood are worn and the top is missing most of its original nails, but this allows one to easily open up the crate and use a portion of the top as a “lid”. Only four of the original wood screws are present to hold the bottom of the crate on and the cross-braces locked into place.

Display in the collection

I’m not yet sure how I’ll use or display this crate with the rest of my typewriter collection. It has been sitting on the floor next to one of my reading chairs and it’s actually tall enough that it functions pretty well as a side table to hold a book, some notes, and the occasional glass of whisky. Once I’ve blown out the dirt and dust inside it and removed the four inconvenient packing screws, I might use the crate to store some books. It could probably also hold two or three 1970s era portable typewriters in their cases too… 

Do you have any crates in your collection? How do you display them? What alternate use cases do you employ them in?

I'm busy planning the next SoCal Type-In, but until then, I wanted to make sure folks in the Southern California area have heard about the upcoming typewriter event in celebration of National Typewriter Day. I'm not hosting this event, but I know the majority of those who are presenting and participating. I went last year and had a blast, and this year looks like it'll be even bigger. I hope to see everyone at the International Printing Museum.

Bring your friends, bring your family, bring your favorite typewriter.

Details and tickets available at https://www.printmuseum.org/typewriter 

Clicky-clack, we are bringing the typewriters back on Saturday, June 27, from 12 pm to 5 pm, in celebration of National Typewriter Day!

Experience the timeless beauty of typewriters as you test your speed and precision in a typewriter contest, hear from typewriter experts, join in the collaborative process of writing “never-ending tales” on vintage typewriters, look for hidden gems in our scavenger hunt, and much more.

Local vendors and makers are offering typo-o-grams, original poetry, themed merch, retro treasures, hand-crafted greeting cards, and even fully working typewriters for sale. Guests can bring their own typewriter to show, share, use, or get an estimate for repair.

There’s something uniquely inspiring about the sound and feel of these classic machines! Special thanks to Typewriter Connection, our event co-host.

Tickets are $15 for adults, or $12 for students/seniors.

>"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)