On April 17, 1973, a sixty-five year old accountant named Herbert Lee walked into the Burt Typewriter Company's
store, located in an aging white terra-cotta building on Second Avenue. He looked past rows of typewriters, before picking out a charcoal gray Smith-Corona Classic 10. (According to Jay Respler, of Advanced Business Machines, it was made in 1971. It must have sat on Burt Typewriter's shelves for two years, as it was sold for the price of a brand-new one.)
He paid $123.20 for it, and was given a receipt. He put the receipt inside of the Changeable Type brochure, folding it very neatly. (The receipt was in the Changeable Type brochure when I bought it. It was folded into quarters.)
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| Burt Typewriter Company, 1204 Second Avenue, on May 9, 1960 Image Courtesy of the King County Assessor's Archives, Puget Sound Regional Archives |
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| This advertisement for the Smith-Corona Classic 10 appeared on Page 16 of The Seattle Times, on October 5, 1972. Image courtesy of NewsBank |
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| A photocopy of Herbert Lee's receipt from April 17, 1973 Author's Collection |
Mr. Lee kept the typewriter in excellent condition, even leaving the original styrofoam packing material inside the lid of the case. He kept all of the paperwork that came with the typewriter. Years passed, and he kept the typewriter in very good condition. He most likely had it cleaned and oiled by a typewriter specialist.
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| Herbert G. Lee's 1971 Smith-Corona Classic 10. Author's Collection |
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| Seattle Antiques Market, Circa 2012 |
The typewriter still looks and works like it is brand-new! It prints incredibly well, and works very smoothly. I think that it is my best typewriter ever!