1949 Empire Aristocrat #J78818
Status: My Collection
Hunter: Eugene Scie (eugenescie)
Created: 04-07-2026 at 05:47PM
Last Edit: 04-08-2026 at 04:58AM
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Description:
Not working, very rusty, possibly lost cause (expensive paperweight?). Drawband loose. Some signs point to a broken mainspring?
The service sticker on the front indicates that it was serviced at some point long ago by Joseph Vaver's company Vavers Typewriters in New Zealand, the company responsible for importing some unusual European models into Australia and New Zealand, making them weirdly plentiful in this part of the world (e.g. Maritsa, Consul). See link below to Robert Messenger's blog post about this.
Bought on an impulse in New Zealand when I went to pick up a cheap Brother typewriter from a friendly octogenarian gentleman in the process of downsizing. After I paid for the Brother, he mentioned that he had another ancient machine that he hadn't listed for sale. When he pulled out this rusty Empire Aristocrat, a minty-green haze swam in front of my eyes when I remembered that the Empire Aristocrat is the British lovechild of the Swiss Hermes Baby. The wallet magically opened again. You live and learn.
Typeface Specimen:
Links:
- Robert Messenger, "Vaver's and Pacific Typewriter Companies", oztypewriter
- Georg Sommeregger, "Empire Portable Typewriters"
Photos:
Hunter: Eugene Scie (eugenescie)
Eugene Scie's Typewriter Galleries [ My Collection ] [ My Sightings ]
Status: Typewriter Hunter
Points: 17
On a shoestring budget in a typewriter desert. I'm a writer and I swear that I really do need these tools of the trade, all seven of them and counting...
RESEARCH NOTE: When researching the Empire Aristocrat on a computer with lots of screen real estate, you may find that launching the Empire Serial Number page and the Empire Aristocrat By Model/Year/Serial page in new browser windows can give you interesting perspectives on changes throughout the model series.
