A Perfect Typewriter? Princess 300 Review - 70 years too late

The Princess 300 typewriter is an incredible piece of engineering with tight tolerances and this is my Writer's Review Check out my socials:   / writersimplements     / writersimplements   Back when I bought this typewriter in 2016, I didn't have a lot of money. I was a newly minted Masters Graduate, 30k NZD in debt and cruising along in a shift work job at TVNZ, writing in my spare time, and still maintaining dreams of making movies. I had my typewriters that I'd use, but then, one day, day-dreaming on ebay, I came across the Princess 300 on an eBay listing, for sale in Germany. The price, was about 100euros, which was just a little less money than I had in my bank. And the shipping... well, the shipping to New Zealand was prohibitively expensive (more than the typewriter). But, I was able to buy it, if I got it shipped to my then-girlfriend's Dad's house in Germany. Then I could afford it, and maybe, all going to plan, I could figure out how to get it from there. I skipped dinner, and paid for it, and got it shipped to his house. This is not sound financial advice. And lo, my ex planned a trip to Germany, and brought it back! Incredible. We quickly found out that ultraportable by 50s standards look a lot different to ultraportable by today's (or 2016's) standards. It took me a long time to get into using it in earnest, but once I did, it felt like a whole new world was opening up. THINGS I LIKE: It as a heavier key-press than Olivettis and other "portable" typewriters I've used. But, once you get used to the weight, its a pretty nimble typewriter, but also incredibly precise. I really like the shape of the font. It looks round and determined and is incredibly easy to read. I can genuinely use it anywhere without feeling like an idiot (like on my lap), but also it's so small, I can take it outside and just use it casually in the sunshine, or go sit in the grass, move to another room, anywhere really. It IS what the ads for the Valentine wanted the valentine to be. I love the way it looks. While not as avant-garde as something like the Valentine, its got a more classic look to it that feels super-premium, and the colour isn't so in your face, but is instead a llittle more coy, but pleasantly so. For fiction, the key selection is super complete, with all the usual punctuations that writers like to use. It encourages flow and freedom of thought without thinking about formatting. I probably should have mentioned that in the video, to be fair. I might post this as a comment! ISSUES I'VE HAD: The colour selector got all out of whack, as I mentioned in the video. It turned out to be a fairly easy fix, and satisfying once it started working. But, if you use just black ribbon, this isn't much of an issue. The typebars/typebasket/keys are incredibly precise. The text types out in a perfectly flat line without any wobble or bounce/variance across a line of text, but I've noticed the typewriter is more susceptible to the gumming effects of dust than other typewriters. Type on a flat hard surface to avoid bounce skips while writing The ribbon moves really fast. I understand there is a tensioner somewhere by the spool, but I haven't had the time to actually fix it yet. The ribbon vibrator doesn't go all the way down all the time. Probably some gunk in there I need to clear out. WHAT IS BEING WRITTEN ON IT? Currently, the Princess 300 typewriter is working as a draft workhorse for my novel Birch. I got through fifteen thousand words on it (before it was the Olivetti Compact 65, before that the Olivetti Personal 55, and before that, the Valentine - my manuscript has been a bit of a social butterfly). Birch is about a listless wanderer who ends up in a Latvian forest and can't leave. Footnotes: Images have been sourced from: KuKA - straight from the source - Keller and Knappich's website has a lot on the history of the company, its simple beginnings and interesting twists and turns throughout the generations typewriterdatabase.com - the eternal blessing for typewriter enthusiasts from all over the world - without this, I would be nowhere. typewriters.ch - for the Princess 300 print ads - I love finding old gems like this, and the people who take the time to source them, scan and upload them, doing fine work,. landtechnik-historisch.de - I browsed this in my research. It's an interesting website that documents the History of Agricultural technology in Germany, a website put together just to maintain some sort of record of the history of industry in Germany, with documents and accounts Organized by Klaus Dreyer, sourcing his material from his Grandfather, Henreich Dreyer. It's got a page about Keller and Knappich and the journey through German industry they took. #princess300 #princess300typewriter #writersimplements #writersreview #retro