Very Nearly Perfekt

Sunday I had the opportunity to visit a few antique stores while Toddler Magic Margin was taking a nap. I usually don't find much and what I do find is rather expensive or junky. Such was the case Sunday when I saw the regular assembly of Underwoods, Smith-Coronae, and Royals. Everything was really beat-up and invariable in the $70 price-range. 

This antique store is more of a mall (why they would purposely call an antique store a mall is beyond me) where individuals can rent stalls. Most of what you find in just junk; junk with a patina. In Ohio or Pennsylvaia it would only be worthy of dusty junk shops, but here they are antiques worthy of the Hermitage. 

I was browsing through getting ready to leave when I thought to go into one of these little stalls. There wasn't much, but my eye did catch a little fawn colored typewriter poking out from a shelf. 

It was this Triumph Perfekt 

and it was 

The price was high, but in the years I have been hunting down machines I have yet to see an early 60s Triumph for sale. I consoled myself with the knowledge that shipping plus sale price on Shopgoodwill, eBay, or Etsy would be much more than the asking price of…$58. 

I know, but given that typewriters of this style are as rare in Valley shops as a rainy day in Phoenix, it was prudent to just bite the bullet. 

That bullet nearly prevented me from buying this typewriter all because of a small, non-mechanical, cosmetic blemish. 

No H. I found no trace of it in the case. I also checked inside the typewriter. Nothing. It was nowhere to be seen. I will, however, not be daunted by something so trivial. I went to ACE and bought myself a piece of aluminum sheet and I will attempt to craft my own H. I'll keep you posted on this project. Any comments with ideas on fabrication of the missing 'H' would be very much appreciated. 

Back to the typer. The Perfekt-Norm line was recycled many times into what would become my nemesis; the Adler J5.

My dislike of my J5 is well documented and based solely on a dodgy ribbon advance and auto-reverse mechanism. 

This Perfekt is the exact opposite of my old J5. The all-aluminum body of the Perfekt gives this little machine a very tight feel. When I use it I am reminded of a spring wound very tightly. This manifests itself in some very responsive action. The touch is quick and the key tops are very well balanced. It's fun to type on because of the taught feel. 

The experience of using this typewriter was worth the price and it has shifted my opinion of its progeny.

If you are interested in reading about the Triumph line of typewriters, Robert at ozTypewriter has the best information. Check it out for more.

Next post: I have some interesting facts to share about the CTP and one of our young novelists.