Typewriters

Shangas · Jul 16, 2013

You mean this?

...or this?

I think they both look damn cool. Although I would prefer the first version, if I had to choose only one.

If I could, I'd love to buy a Remington 5 streamline:

To me, that model SCREAMS the 1930s.

Asienizen · Jul 18, 2013

I like the second one, I nearly bought one on the Bay once.

p51 · Jul 31, 2013

I had a few of my typewriters in my War Correspondent display at the Military Vehicle Preservation Association annual convention in Portland, last week.
People marvelled at me actually typing on my Underwood Champion and were blown away when I told them why keyboards still have 'shift' and 'tab' buttons!

Shangas · Aug 1, 2013

Cute typewriter!

I did a similar thing at last year's Melbourne Pen Show...

Not as good as yours, obviously. I had to work with what I had. The theme was the 1920s and 30s.

People young and old were all pretty amazed/impressed.

1. That I managed to pull it off.
2. That I knew what I was on about.
3. Like you, quite a few people were pretty surprised about the origins of "SHIFT", "TAB", "BACKSPACE" and "C.C.".

Some items there (telephone, camera, magazines etc) were donated by friends and club-members. Everything else, I brought from home.

p51 · Aug 1, 2013

Shangas said:
Not as good as yours, obviously. I had to work with what I had. The theme was the 1920s and 30s.

I disagree, you did a great job!

Shangas · Aug 1, 2013

Thank you. It means a lot. I put a considerable amount of thought and effort into it. We even have the same brand of machine - Underwood!

Matt Crunk · Aug 1, 2013

A vintage typewriter is a must-have for putting together my Golden-Era style home office. I must start looking for one soon. Since it won't actually be used it doesn't need to be in absolute working order.

Hemingway Jones · Sep 18, 2013

My new Royal typewriter, well, new to me. I love this machine. I'm having a lot of fun with it.

David Conwill · Sep 18, 2013

That is a beautiful red hue. Or at least a beautiful photograph.

1930artdeco · Sep 18, 2013

So what is the origin of 'shift' and 'tab' other than to change the keys so that a different character can be used?

tonyb · Sep 18, 2013

David Conwill said:
That is a beautiful red hue. Or at least a beautiful photograph.

Indeed. Real purty.

LizzieMaine · Sep 18, 2013

1930artdeco said:
So what is the origin of 'shift' and 'tab' other than to change the keys so that a different character can be used?

The "Tab" key is short for "Tabulator" -- it was originally used for typing out balance sheets and other material arranged in columns that would be "tabulated."

The "Shift" key is essential because too many writers are unable to shift for themselves.

Shangas · Sep 18, 2013

The original 'shift' keys shifted the carriage up and down, to adjust for capital letters and secondary characters. That's why it's called a shift-key. In later typewriters, they introduced the Basket Shift, that dropped the basket instead of raising the carriage.

And I love the Royal with Royal Red on the previous page. Very cute!

Does it type like it looks?

Hemingway Jones · Sep 19, 2013

tonyb said:
Indeed. Real purty.

Thank you, Gentlemen! It's the original color. It's quite striking in person. It's bring blood red with dark edges and a bit brighter in the middle.
Still learning to type on it!

Shangas · Sep 19, 2013

Once you get used to the mechanism and the weight, you'll type just as fast on that as you do on your computer keyboard.

McPeppers · Sep 19, 2013

Aww, yall are making me mist up. I used to have a typewriter that was unrecoverable after Hurricane Katrina.

Remington No 2 portable from germany. mint with plates. Probably was used for government work.

i miss it terribly

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk - now Free

Shangas · Sep 22, 2013

Currently trying to work my restorative magic on this battered old Underwood which I bought at the flea-market:

I've cleaned out the majority of the gunk. I've glued and braced the spacebar. I've oiled all the stops and most of the moving parts.

I'm currently trying to replace the rubber on the paper-bales and the feed-rollers.

I'm not sure if I can get rubber tubing that will cover the platen. Maybe I can find heat-shrink tubing that will fit, but I'm not sure.

Patent-dates on the back:

The Reno Kid · Dec 1, 2013

I had to share this. Our next-door neighbors are a very sweet German couple that we have really grown to like and they joined us for Thanksgiving dinner last Thursday. Our German is worse than their English but we manage. It was a lot of fun and we introduced them to a number of things they had never tried before--yams, green bean casserole, pumpkin pie, stuffing, etc. (Pies of any sort are rare here in Germany). Anyway, as we were sipping eggnog and waiting for dinner to settle to make room for the pie, we were talking about some of the old stuff scattered around our house. We have several old (1930s) radios, telephones, cameras (1890s-1910s), and assorted other items. They hadn't seen my 1926 Royal No. 10, so I brought it out and they loved it.

Skip ahead to this morning (Sunday). Mrs. Reno Kid and I were lazing around in PJs and robes when we heard a knock. I answered it and there was Klaus, holding this:

1926 Regina VII

Apparently it's been gathering dust in the attic for ages and they don't want it, so they gave it to me. Wow! Mechanically and cosmetically, it's almost perfect. It just needs a little oil on the carriage and a new ribbon. The wooden cover will need a new bail for the handle and it has a bit of veneer separation. That's it.

Since I was posting here anyway, here's my Royal:

1926 Royal No. 10

blakegriplingph · Dec 2, 2013

Has anyone tried out installing a USB conversion kit on a typewriter? I know it's more or less like utter blasphemy to do that, but the idea of interfacing a typewriter to a PC seems funny.

Hemingway Jones · Dec 6, 2013

Picked up a new friend!
This is a Royal KHM. It types like a dream.
It only needed a new ribbon and some car wax to bring back the shine! Seriously, turtle wax worked wonders!

Typewriters

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One Too Many

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One Too Many

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One Too Many

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Call Me a Cab

Practically Family

I'll Lock Up

I'll Lock Up

I'll Lock Up

One of the Regulars

I'll Lock Up

A-List Customer

New in Town

I'll Lock Up

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