Wednesday, February 28, 2018

Be the Machine

You'll enjoy the two blog posts I am referencing:
Joe Van Cleave's "Word Whittling" (Sorry for the misspelling of your name in my typecast!)
Richard Polt's "These Machines Saved Me"

5 comments:

  1. I agree, using a typewriter for a time until it is known. Each machine has its own characteristics. My biggest challenge is generally unknown to me keyboards like the Italian one on my Lettera 22 and the Swiss one on my Ambassador. My usual go-to typewriter(s) would be my old Underwood office machines. Then I got the Ambassador which I have been using for the past month to learn to type with a QWERTZ keyboard. The Lettera 22? Well, that will remain a two finger hunt and peck typewriter.

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    1. I have not yet challenged myself with alternatives to the QWERTY keyboard. I have an Olympia Elite that is hopefully being repaired with a QWERTZ German keyboard but I cannot type on this beauty right now. Kudos to you for letting your fingers and brain be flexible!

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  2. I guess most of us will have a tendency to have a go-to favorite, for me it's my Smith Corona flat-top which is my prize machine in all respects. Now my Olympia Traveler de Luxe on the other hand was what I considered unappealing at the time of purchase from a thrift store for $15 but OH it is so practical and durable as it resides in my day job office and is used regularly for notations on office paperwork and sticky notes.

    It really is a rewarding interest and I suppose as we continue to add to our collections unfortunately some of the machines eventually become dust collectors of our own. I think perhaps that the utopian status of the typewriter would eventually be one in everyone's home used on a regular basis and necessitate putting them back in production; Ok maybe not production as mass consumerism tends to water down the value of them - I think Richard Polt would put it better than I however.

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    1. I remember some Tom Hanks interview where he laments seeing the typewriters he has given friends sitting in an honored place on a high shelf. "Bring that bad boy down here so you can use it" was Hanks' comment. There is wisdom in that comment. I have a SG1 left out next to the desk in my office. I turn to it for some free writing at the end of the day. And, while routine paperwork is a drag, I get excited when I have a form that I can type out. I also have a Olympia SF and I do say it is a splendid (pun intended) machine to bring around with me!

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  3. I missed this post earlier. Your advice is good, I think, although I have a habit of switching every couple of weeks to a different primary typewriter.

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