Stan Laurel at his typewriter, where he composed notes to fans. Image via Mike Lynch Cartoons
That is Stan Laurel, half of the comedic team of Laurel and Hardy, famous from the movies of the black & white era, famous from the caricatures in the cartoons our children, perhaps, have seen. The photo is circa 1958.
Oliver Hardy died in 1957 from a series of strokes, and Laurel suffered a stroke himself. He was unable to make movies any more, he said. But he did bother to personally answer all his correspondence from fans. On the typewriter pictured, he typed out short notes in response the fan mail, like this one, from 1958:
Note from comedian Stan Laurel to a fan - via Mike Lynch Cartoons, via Letters of Note
Laurel died in 1965. It’s a bygone era.
No, I haven’t identified the typewriter.
The text of the note can be found at Mike Lynch Cartoons. I gather Lynch got the images from Letters of Note, a blog devoted to written correspondence of some historic value (it’s very interesting).
- Laurel and Hardy in “Nothing But Trouble,” 1944
Even more:
Millard Fillmore's Bathtub 
Hello,
A quick introduction from my end-Iam Chinmaya from Bangalore,India. The reason for my mail is that I understand that the “Sons of the Desert” are having their next convention at Hollywood later this year and would want to know if you are attending it. You may check this for more details- http://www.laurelandhardywood.com/ .
Incase you or anyone whom you know are,please let me know as there are somethings that i want to discuss regarding transport and accommodation.My id is chimayaprakash@gmail.com Else,you may ignore this.
Regards and best wishes,
Chinmaya
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How can one tell the difference between an SM-4 and an SM-3?
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The typewriter looks like an Olympia SM3, ca. 1957 model, which would fit for Stan’s letter dated 1958.
I love old typewriters. What I appreciate the most is the technology. These machines are 50, 60, years old, and if they have been left in the case in Grandma’s attic for 40+ years, they will still work as good as the day they were made… maybe they need a new ribbon and a dusting off, but they still work. Try that with a computer!
Cheers!
DL
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Great catch, Kerry! Thanks.
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According to this, Olympia model SM-4:
http://www.lettersfromstan.com/stan_desk-02.html
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