Vintage findings - keyboards, brochures, typewriters etc

laazeri

22 Jul 2020, 11:32

Hi everyone!

I'm going through a house and I've stumbled on some interesting stuff. Here's a list of the stuff that I've found so far:

IBM Model M x2
BTC-5349
Several dome keyboards
IBM Selectric (there should be another one somewhere)
Brother electric typewriter (no photo yet)
SV-328
SV-728
NMB brochure
Cherry brochures
Micro Switch datasheet (don't really know what to call that pile of paper, see pics)

There's a lot more that I haven't been able to document yet. I'll add more stuff into this thread when I can. I am planning to keep some of the stuff (vintage keycaps are nice) but if you are interested in buying stuff, please do say. Not looking for to get rich with this stuff, just looking for a fair price and a good home, since I don't appreciate vintage stuff like I know some people do. (I also might do something stupid like only take the keycaps, since I will not store everything like the house owner obviously did :oops: )

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funkmon

22 Jul 2020, 12:35

Wow. Those pamphlets are awesome! And so are the keyboards! I'll buy the Models M off you probably, I love those things. But, I suggest keeping them. They really are nice. The one with the oval badge you can use right now with your computer, but the one at the top needs a converter, but it's a first generation, which is pretty good. Excellent history there. The other stuff is ebay fuel IMO.

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Tias

22 Jul 2020, 13:05

Hi, awesome collection of cool stuff that you have :) If you'd be interesting in selling those Cherry brochures I'd happily buy them from you. They contain a lot of interesting information that could be useful for documenting Cherry's history :D

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mcmaxmcmc

22 Jul 2020, 13:06

I would LOVE to get my hands on those manuals!

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subcat

22 Jul 2020, 13:07

if you could post the contents of those cherry catalogues that would be great!

laazeri

22 Jul 2020, 13:25

Thank you all! I really like the brochures too! I was planning to scan all the paper documents before selling them. I don't want them to get lost or destroyed during shipping. If somebody wants to help me put them up on the deskthority wiki after scanning I'd appreciate it!

kshopper2084

22 Jul 2020, 16:49

laazeri wrote:
22 Jul 2020, 13:25
Thank you all! I really like the brochures too! I was planning to scan all the paper documents before selling them. I don't want them to get lost or destroyed during shipping. If somebody wants to help me put them up on the deskthority wiki after scanning I'd appreciate it!
Perfect!

I have to say it... "Who's house are you going through?" :D ..kind of sounds like a robbery. ;)

laazeri

22 Jul 2020, 19:16

kshopper2084 wrote:
22 Jul 2020, 16:49
laazeri wrote:
22 Jul 2020, 13:25
Thank you all! I really like the brochures too! I was planning to scan all the paper documents before selling them. I don't want them to get lost or destroyed during shipping. If somebody wants to help me put them up on the deskthority wiki after scanning I'd appreciate it!
Perfect!

I have to say it... "Who's house are you going through?" :D ..kind of sounds like a robbery. ;)
I must admit, it sounds a bit sketchy :lol: It's my parents' house, so no need to worry! :D

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Invisius

23 Jul 2020, 07:26

laazeri wrote:
22 Jul 2020, 13:25
Thank you all! I really like the brochures too! I was planning to scan all the paper documents before selling them. I don't want them to get lost or destroyed during shipping. If somebody wants to help me put them up on the deskthority wiki after scanning I'd appreciate it!
Wow, great finds on the manuals. I'd be glad to help put them onto the wiki if you can bulk upload the scans, or let me know if you need somewhere to upload them to. Would love to read through the Honeywell one especially.

That black badge Executive Selectric II is a rare one as well.

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wadeak78

23 Jul 2020, 07:38

Beautiful manuals! Especially the Microswitch ones!

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Chyros

23 Jul 2020, 12:11

Wow, that's some seriously awesome stuff =o . The pamphlets are super cool - could you please treat us to a scan of some of them? :D

laazeri

24 Jul 2020, 08:32

Invisius wrote:
23 Jul 2020, 07:26
laazeri wrote:
22 Jul 2020, 13:25
Thank you all! I really like the brochures too! I was planning to scan all the paper documents before selling them. I don't want them to get lost or destroyed during shipping. If somebody wants to help me put them up on the deskthority wiki after scanning I'd appreciate it!
Wow, great finds on the manuals. I'd be glad to help put them onto the wiki if you can bulk upload the scans, or let me know if you need somewhere to upload them to. Would love to read through the Honeywell one especially.

That black badge Executive Selectric II is a rare one as well.
Awesome! I cannot scan the papers right now, but hopefully I have time next week to atleast start the process. I'll upload the scans and share them. I will definitely need some help with the wiki part, since I'm 100% sure I will upload the files in the wrong place initially :lol:

I was trying to dig information about this exact Selectric model, but couldn't find much. Are there any websites, forums, businesses that could help with this (other than this forum of course)? I'll take more pictures of the Selectric when I can.

laazeri

24 Jul 2020, 08:37

For everyone asking if I will share the papers, YES! I will scan all of them and share publicly in the deskthority wiki and possibly on other sites.

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Jesseg

24 Jul 2020, 09:38

laazeri wrote:
24 Jul 2020, 08:37
For everyone asking if I will share the papers, YES! I will scan all of them and share publicly in the deskthority wiki and possibly on other sites.
This would be so amazing, I need manuals for my old Cherry boards!

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TheInverseKey

24 Jul 2020, 20:55

laazeri wrote:
24 Jul 2020, 08:37
For everyone asking if I will share the papers, YES! I will scan all of them and share publicly in the deskthority wiki and possibly on other sites.
Thanks so much the NMB one looks Amazing!

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JP!

24 Jul 2020, 21:14

Whoa. I can't wait to see the Micro Switch stuff :D

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Invisius

25 Jul 2020, 00:22

laazeri wrote:
24 Jul 2020, 08:32
I was trying to dig information about this exact Selectric model, but couldn't find much. Are there any websites, forums, businesses that could help with this (other than this forum of course)? I'll take more pictures of the Selectric when I can.
Unfortunately, knowledge for typewriters is even more scattered and hard to find than keyboards in many cases. This is from years of pouring over manual scans and random websites, while also collecting them over the last 10 years. It's why manual finds like yours are so exciting to me, since for some brands or models- it's the only history we have on record.
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From what I know, these were part of the Model 82 lineup. They were some of the last Selectric IIs, and manufactured mostly from 1979 - 1982, well into Selectric III production. They only came in matte black, brown and beige with a plain black industrial-M style badge, unlike most models which had the words "Selectric II" or "Personal Typewriter".
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The "Executives" were the last of the last and can have very high serial numbers, the highest I've seen for any Selectric II models. You can check yours here against production dates, one of the few useful resources I know of. They appear to be a special edition for Canada, UK and AUS markets. Other than some spacing changes and being fully loaded correcting models, I'm not sure what the actual differences are from the usual 82s.

They can be identified by the black scroll knobs and this badge on the back:
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All in all they are among the nicest, best condition Selectric IIs you'll find- so long as the owner didn't leave it outside in a puddle or to rust away in a shed. Here's mine from late 1982:
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TheInverseKey

01 Dec 2020, 21:51

laazeri wrote:
22 Jul 2020, 13:25
Thank you all! I really like the brochures too! I was planning to scan all the paper documents before selling them. I don't want them to get lost or destroyed during shipping. If somebody wants to help me put them up on the deskthority wiki after scanning I'd appreciate it!
Just wondering if there is any update on this? I will have some extra time to start putting documentation together over the holidays.

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