Trust Your Typewriter Senses!

 

Type-In at Rabble Rouser this Sunday!

Road Trip Post for Joe Van Cleave's Writing Assignment

Oh my goodness!  I see that I have not posted to this blog since December!  Well, I'm back with a post about a long ago road trip for Joe Van Cleave's writing assignment. Searching the house for an elite typeface, I found my daughter's Smith-Corona Sterling. Such a fine typer.  Yes, I know searching through the many typewriters in my house for an elite is a problem only an avid collector would have ;-)

Patiently Waiting for an Electric Typewriter

Type-In at the Maglianero Cafe

I am pleased to announce my annual fall Type-In to be held at the lovely Maglianero Cafe on Maple Street in Burlington, Vermont. I will be bringing about ten machines and hope any typewriter fans can bring one of their own to share. A great time will be had by all!

Leave Us Alone

I'm not really sure how many of Joe Van Cleave's "Typing Assignments" I have missed but I am glad to submit this piece for the Sci-Fi assignment.  This is a synopsis of a piece that I began writing with a SM3 with a techno font.  I've titled it "Leave Us Alone."

Fixing Dad's Typewriter...or...who broke this machine?

Who bent these linkages?

My father takes his typewriter off to college in 1956

Meditations of My Typewriter Heart

Sent from my 1940's Smith-Corona "Silent" Speedliner

All for My Model 1

I have an update since I wrote this piece a few days ago.  I've been ignoring my sad Smith-Corona and focusing on my Remington Model 1, Noisey Noiseless.  Encouraged by the tips I learned from Nelson and Clifford I gave the carriage release spring another try. Both Nelson and I had taken disassembly a bit too far and removed the metal covers on the left end of the carriage only to have the carriage release lever fall out and a spring leap from the typewriter.  I didn't know how to reinstall the spring and neither did Nelson.  In fact, I had taken this machine to Tom Furrier at Cambridge Typewriter to pick his brain and he admitted it could be done but that it took him a while to figure it out as well.  Spurred on by my success with the platen, I gave that spring and cover another shot and....it worked!  I have learned a lot from this beautiful Model 1. Previous to my trials and tribulations with the platen and springs, I made my own replacement feed rollers by rounding out the flat sides of the existing rollers and applying rubber strips.  Not pretty and not really efficient, but they will stay that way for now.  My 1935 Model 1 was ready for a test run.  It has come a long way from the day I found it in a local antique shop and struck a bargain for $45 because the platen wouldn't turn.

So that's where the spring goes!

Art Deco Madness!

Worth it for the ribbon covers alone!

It's Not My Fault

BTW - This Machine is NOT for Sale :-)

What's in a machine?

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"

Typewriters & Notebooks in Middle School

The librarian at the middle school next to me asked if her students could use my typewriters for their NaNoWriMo project this year.  I said yes in a heartbeat and learned so much about the tools students pick for their writing.

Is a Typewriter the Best Tool?

Going my way?

3rd Annual Fall Type-In with the Burlington Book Festival

I am holding a Type-In with the Burlington Book Festival on September 17th from noon until 3PM at the Maglianero Cafe in Burlington, Vermont.  Come and explore typewriters and the written word.  I will have part of my collection at the cafe and I encourage typewriter fans to bring their own machines out to share.  There will be a typing contest and games for all ages.

This is the third year that I am partnering with the Burlington Book Festival who is also bringing the Boston Typewriter Orchestra on Saturday, September 16th at 7PM (Tickets Required).  Burlington is a beautiful city by the lake and is a fantastic place to visit on the cusp of fall.  Bring your typewriter and make a trip of it!

A Mountain of Dishes?

Take a Course and GET a typewriter

I love typewriters and I love teaching writing.  A big part of my collection lives in my office at school and I have long noticed how children are drawn to this writing tool.  

This revelation has inspired me to develop a graduate course for teachers that focuses on the best strategies for teaching young writers and includes a typewriter in the cost of tuition.  That's right, includes a typewriter.  While I am offering this course in a blended format in Vermont with one day in person and the balance of the course in an online format, I can offer a totally online version to anyone in the United States.  I will find a way to ship you a typewriter if you cannot find your own.  

This course will be a blast and I hope you can join me.

FOLLOW THIS LINK FOR REGISTRATION INFORMATION

The Man of the Kingdom

My sixth installment for Joe Van Cleave's typewritten story project.

WWII Corona

Yesterday I posted about what looked like an ordinary Smith-Corona Speedline from the late 30's to early 40's.  I already own a Silent and a Sterling from this era so I was not too excited about this Corona Standard until I took a close look at its keyboard.

If you look at the number zero on this keyboard you can see that it has a diagonal slash through it.  I looked at the type slugs and my hunch was correct, this machine was manufactured for the military during WWII.  

This kind of typewriter is known as a mill.  Each of its keys types only in capital letters so as to be easy to read.  The number zero has a slash through it so it would not be confused with the letter "O."

Looking up its serial number in the Typewriter Database, I believe this Corona was made in 1943, a time when typewriters were only available to the military.  Civilian production had stopped and would not pick up until after the war.

Believe it or not, I passed on this beauty.  I already have a mill from 1942 which was made for the US Navy.  So, there it sits at Sweeten Creek Antiques in Asheville, NC for anyone who wants to make the trip and pay just $75.