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1973 Brother Echelon 89 Serial # F3968135 1973 Brother Echelon 89 typewriter, Serial # F3968135 Steven Blake's 1973 Brother Echelon 89 typewriter. 2023-09-07 From the Virtual Typewriter Collection of Steven Blake: 1973 Brother Echelon 89 Serial # F3968135 Brother International Corporation and sold its first portable typewriter in the US back in 1961. Cheaper labor and streamlined manufacturing processes gave Nagoya, Japan-based Brother a serious pricing edge over its American and European competitors. Thus began a fierce, decades-long battle for market share between the major international typewriter manufacturers that didn’t really end until inexpensive PCs all but eliminated the typewriter from schools, homes, and businesses by 1990. For a complete (and fascinating) look at the history of Brother, check out the link below from Robert Messenger at OZ Typewriter.

This Brother Echelon 89 was manufactured in 1973 and is an adequate if not exceptional typer. It does sound a bit “tinny” under normal use, but it is compact and lightweight, which makes it relatively easy to port around. Brother also included the most desirable features typists would likely have demanded back in the day, including a tabulator, clear plastic see-thru card guide, pop-up paper support, and a bright red “Repeat Spacer” key (a feature invented by Brother!). The keys themselves are blocky but well-spaced and pressure adjustable for touch typing. One negative for some: the Echelon is carriage-shift, though it shifts with the relative ease of a basket-shift machine.

The typestyle – Brother’s Pica No. 3 – is to my eye a slightly more modern take on the traditional serif Pica typeface commonly used by Smith-Corona and others. The case too is nicely styled, both inside and out, with soft, molded rubber bumpers at each of the four corners to firmly hold the typewriter in place. And while not as sturdy as those offered by some other brands (see, for example SCM), this case performed as well as could be expected since the Echelon bares nary a scratch after almost 50 years of service.

1973 Brother Echelon 89 #F3968135

Status: Sightings
Hunter: Steven Blake (FloydGondolli)
Created: 03-04-2022 at 06:07PM
Last Edit: 09-07-2023 at 12:24PM

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Description:

Brother International Corporation and sold its first portable typewriter in the US back in 1961. Cheaper labor and streamlined manufacturing processes gave Nagoya, Japan-based Brother a serious pricing edge over its American and European competitors. Thus began a fierce, decades-long battle for market share between the major international typewriter manufacturers that didn’t really end until inexpensive PCs all but eliminated the typewriter from schools, homes, and businesses by 1990. For a complete (and fascinating) look at the history of Brother, check out the link below from Robert Messenger at OZ Typewriter.

This Brother Echelon 89 was manufactured in 1973 and is an adequate if not exceptional typer. It does sound a bit “tinny” under normal use, but it is compact and lightweight, which makes it relatively easy to port around. Brother also included the most desirable features typists would likely have demanded back in the day, including a tabulator, clear plastic see-thru card guide, pop-up paper support, and a bright red “Repeat Spacer” key (a feature invented by Brother!). The keys themselves are blocky but well-spaced and pressure adjustable for touch typing. One negative for some: the Echelon is carriage-shift, though it shifts with the relative ease of a basket-shift machine.

The typestyle – Brother’s Pica No. 3 – is to my eye a slightly more modern take on the traditional serif Pica typeface commonly used by Smith-Corona and others. The case too is nicely styled, both inside and out, with soft, molded rubber bumpers at each of the four corners to firmly hold the typewriter in place. And while not as sturdy as those offered by some other brands (see, for example SCM), this case performed as well as could be expected since the Echelon bares nary a scratch after almost 50 years of service.

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Hunter: Steven Blake (FloydGondolli)

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Lawyer and recently acknowledged typewriter addict. It all started with an IBM Personal Typewriter, followed by a Smith-Corona Galaxie Deluxe, an Adler Universal 20, and then, well, you know the rest.


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