A web log, an æthereal scrap-book if you will, with a somewhat vintage flavour. News items, occurrences, experiences, thoughts and opinions related to Victoriana through to Fifties Americana can all be found here.
Time for a round-up of more typewriter-related news from the last coupe of months now, starting with another familiar - but always welcome - story of an "old soul" (this time inhabiting the body of 23-year-old Chicagoan Lucas Dul) who continues to maintain the noble art of typewriter repairing. All the usual traits are here - the then-teenager fascinated by the mechanical writing machine in his local antiques store, the desire to learn its secrets in order to get it working once again and the almost inevitable path it has taken him along in the intervening 9 years to becoming practically a full-time typewriter repair man. It is a path that he is still only just starting out on, but already he clearly has the passion, knowledge and desire that we typosphereans know so well; once again it is wonderful to see from this article how this self-taught typewriter aficionado enjoys his job and truly appreciates the analogue nature of these machines, not to mention the generally old-fashioned world from which they originate. It's a pleasure to read of young Mr Dul's accomplishments, his determination to make a proper - and clearly much-needed - business out of typewriter repairs (and sales) and the rewards he already gained (not least another machine from Tom Hanks' collection!) from his chosen calling.
What Lucas Dul - or indeed any typospherean - would make of this next item I wouldn't hazard to guess but I suppose with the frighteningly fast advancements in artificial intelligence it was only a matter of time before someone came up with the notion of combining this futuristic tech with the simple tactility of the typewriter. So it is that that engineer-designer Arvind Sanjeev has taken an old, battered Brother electric typewriter and, using a Raspberry Pi computer along with other gubbins of which I am ignorant, has hooked it up to an OpenAI GPT-3 chatbot which will read and respond to anything typed on the now charmingly-named "Ghostwriter". This is very much at the forefront of old-meets-new technology and Mr Sanjeev's intentions in creating this remarkable crossbreed are most thought-provoking - questioning, as we all are, AI's place in the world and the impact it has (and will doubtless continue to have) on our lives. To marry it to analogue machinery as a way of making it more familiar, less overwhelming and more of a recognisable tool - especially for users of "old tech", creatives and so forth - is a fascinating take on the of AI and I commend Mr Sanjeev for his visionary thinking in mating these two seemingly quite disparate technologies so seamlessly and successfully. The Ghostwriter definitely makes AI seem less intimidating for me and would certainly find a place amongst my collection!
Finishing off closer to home now - well, the UK at least, although Winchester is my ancestral home (and I may even be related to one of the lecturers featured in this article!) - we find two more like-minded creative writers who are organising what amounts to a type-in at the forthcoming Bournemouth Writing Festival on the 26th-28th April. An AI-linked typewriter would be an interesting addition to their "Stanza Room", I fancy, but regardless the idea sounds a wizard wheeze, with the plan for various typers to be laid out for visitors to write whatever they like from poems to artwork while Dr Rutter and Ms Waite serenade them on their own machines. I am sure it will prove to be a worthwhile addition to the festival and I am only sorry that I will be unable to attend, nor to provide any related paraphernalia that they are understandably requesting. Still I have no doubt that the endeavour will be a success and I will be with them in [typewriting] spirit if nothing else!
There we have it, then - three more stories that prove typewriters are as alive and healthy as they've ever been with the very real expectation that they will continue to have a future in society, from repaired originals [at writing festivals] all the way up to AI-powered hybrids.
The last of my backlog of posts from 2021 features another piece of "obsolete" technology that is anything but, especially in Warwickshire it seems - the humble telegram. And no, I don't mean the instant messaging app (about which I know little other than that it is an instant messaging app). Long one of my favourite forms of archaic communication (as an aficionado of analogue machinery and typewriters especially, how could it not be?) reports of the telegram's demise - to paraphrase Mark Twain - have been grossly exaggerated, as I hope this post will go on to show.
While it is true that here in the U.K. British Telecom ceased offering traditional telegrams in the 1980s, as did Western Union in America, there are still several private companies and individuals in both these countries and dozens of others around the world striving to keep alive the romance and connectedness of a simpler age - albeit mainly now in the role of "greetings telegrams".
Telegrams Online is the oldest of the three such entities known to the author here in the U.K. (not including the chap in this lead article, to whom we shall come later), emerging out of the ashes of British Telecom's operation. Although BT stopped providing standard telegraphy services in the Eighties, it continued to offer "telemessaging" - the ability to dictate a message to an operator over the 'phone, which was then transcribed and sent as a regular telegram - right up until 2003. Only then did BT finally pull the plug, with Telegrams Online manfully (and womanfully) stepping up to fill the void. Their website is delightfully old-school, looking like it hasn't been updated in those twenty years, but still appears fully functional (although I haven't gone through the whole process, so cannot speak authoritatively on that point - nor can I confirm the prices). In any event, I am delighted to see that they still exist and hope that Telegrams Online will continue to provide telegrams to those who require them for the next 20 years and beyond.
Going for almost as long as Telegrams Online, Imperial Telegrams has to my knowledge been in business since at least 2006. Originally running their own website they have more recently moved under the Not On The High Street umbrella but this does not seem to have affected the quality of their offerings, which are very much of the "special occasion" variety and by far the most authentically vintage of those I have encountered. For Imperial Telegrams go to the extra effort of printing the words on to individual strips of paper before sticking them to the telegram, just as would have been the case in its heyday (such as this 1962 message to scientist Francis Crick, above), as well as using genuine pre-decimal stamps on the hand-written envelope! Quite the personalised service and very reasonable for what it is, considering the price of some generic greetings cards these days.
The last of the UK-based "online" telegram providers that I am aware of is The Telegram Office, a relative new-comer to the scene having only been established in 2015. Operating in a similar vein to Imperial Telegrams, The Telegram Office provides a selection of different templates for one to personalise albeit not to the same extent. Nevertheless the effect is still a realistic one and the price is even more affordable although perhaps reflective of the more limited options available.
Official telegram services still exist in North America, I understand, provided by the company which took over from Western Union following its bankruptcy in 1991 - iTelegram. Trading also as Telegrams Canada it offers a similar facility in that country and, indeed, to over 180 other countries around the world. Very much the more traditional, basic telegram, it is still heartening to see that such an old-fashioned means of communication continues to have an important place in the world.
There is, of course, one other way you can send telegrams for a fraction of the cost of the aforementioned options - you can create one yourself! It is far easier and less onerous than you might imagine, ironically thanks in part to its modern usurper - the Internet. This admittedly wonderful invention has allowed like-minded individuals to upload various templates of different telegram designs that can be printed and in some cases edited on one's computer.
Chief among these, perhaps somewhat surprisingly, are fans of American science fiction writer H. P. Lovecraft. In particular it seems they enjoy role-playing and table-top games around the subject of his Cthulhu mythos; because of the period in which the stories were written/set, telegrams play an important part - hence why the H. P. Lovecraft Historical Society and the Mount Cthulhu gaming site provide excellent examples of telegram papers from both sides of the Atlantic. Fully downloadable and in some cases editable they provide the perfect starting point for the creation of your own telegrams! If Lovecraft is a bit too esoteric for your tastes, templates can also be found throughout t'web on various creative commons sites like Wikimedia and Open Clipart. To add the finishing touch websites like 1001 Free Fonts offer a smorgasbord of suitable fonts in their Typewriter and Retro sections, in addition to those on the Lovecraft sites.
You need not bother with the latter however if, like me, you own one (or more!) actual working typewriters - in which case what's stopping you from just printing off a template and tapping out a message in the approved manner?! This is clearly what occurred to Russell Peake of Warwickshire in the height of lockdown when, inspired by original telegrams kept by his own family and with everyone needing just that little extra bit of personal contact, he acquired a typewriter and a bicycle to start Spa Telegram. As the newspaper reports of the time explain, the venture was set up partly to provide a still-important social interaction for the people of Warwick and Leamington Spa but also to raise money for Guide Dogs for the Blind. Both laudable aims for which I congratulate Mr Peake and am very happy to see are continuing nearly three years later - for Spa Telegrams is still going strong. By the look of things typewritten and hand-delivered telegrams are even now flying around the Warwickshire area (and on request by post further afield) - a testament to the enduring appeal of this personal, unpretentious form of communication in an otherwise digital world.
***Have you sent or received a telegram recently? Do you know of any other providers that I have missed? Let me know in the comments!***
I wrote the above typecast back at the beginning of April, which shows just how much life intervened that I am only just now able to get round to posting it here! Those 78s will have to wait for another day, I think, as instead I intend to focus on the aforementioned Empire Aristocrat - as well as a couple of more recent arrivals. Sprinkled around them will also be some more typewriter-related news stories that I hope will be of interest.
Let's have a closer look at this first little typer that I bagged at the beginning of the year from a local garden/ antiques centre. I clocked it almost as soon as we went in (my typer-sense is now well-honed enough to spot even the smallest of machines sitting among the usual vintage/ antique fare!) even though its case was in place and therefore the machine itself not visible. It may have been the £20 price tag that piqued my interest further and on removing the lid I felt it more than justified the sum. A quick Google seemed to confirm it so after a brief test (as always seems to be the case in these instances) I passed over the lolly and returned home a happy chap. As mentioned I've found it a lovely little thing, with just one or two little foibles since discovered (such as a slightly recalcitrant spacebar) that I hope to iron out with practice over the coming year.
To show how behind I am with the posting of interesting articles, this one has been sitting in my drafts since February 2021 (and that's not even the oldest one - there are some going back to 2020 that I need to get round to posting!). Still, the subject suits this post and I am sure the young fellow mentioned in it is still repairing typewriters in the Tamarac, FL area and continuing to plough his own furrow as an "old soul at heart". Here we see again a phrase I'm sure we're all more than familiar with and which no doubt has been directed at ourselves more than once, along with the feeling (whether through our own emotions and actions or ascribed to us by others) of somehow being a reincarnation or just "born in the wrong time". In any event, this has led to (the by now) 20-year-old Patton Horton already being a de facto professional typewriter repairman judging by this news item. To take on a 100-year-old Oliver 9 as one of your first jobs shows a great deal of promise and kudos must also go to the Our Backyard Museum (which looks well worth a visit!) for having the faith and open-mindedness to let the plucky lad take on the challenge of fixing it. I hope he makes a success of what is obviously a passionate hobby for him and that he continues to find pleasure and enlightenment in the vintage lifestyle that he has chosen to pursue.
The future maintenance of typewriters (plus early PCs and laptops) in Lansdale, Pennsylvania seems assured if this next article is anything to go by, featuring another teenager who has been bitten by the typewriter bug and looks to have the skills necessary to ensure their survival. It is splendid to read of Max Wein's enthusiasm for his hobby - which I am sure, as he says, will become a lifetime's interest - his appreciation of its tangible link to times past and how he manages to successfully integrate it into his schooling. Stories like this continue to show that typewriters, not to mention early computers, still have a purpose and can be used as they were intended. I salute young Mr Wein and wish him well as he starts his journey into the world of typewriters and related "obsolete" technology.
Type-ins are still going strong across the Pond - or at least in Albuquerque, NM, where the brilliantly-named ABQwerty Type Writer Society holds regular events at a local library according to this article. One of the founder members, Joe Van Cleave (a well-known name in the typosphere, I believe), is the main subject of the piece and once again it is clear that we are dealing with a true typewriter enthusiast. A splendid collection of typers adorns Mr Van Cleave's home and judging from things he has been a driving force behind the local type-ins and the resurgence of typewriters and typecasting on the Internet in general. Long may he continue to be so and I look forward to hearing more of his influence, both in New Mexico and further afield, as we are sure to do.
We're I ever to attend a type-in in the UK (and believe me, if I knew of any within striking distance I would be off like a shot) I would now be somewhat spoilt for choice of which machine(s) to take along, as my collection of portable typewriters has doubled in this year alone thanks not only to the Aristocrat but also two more that both came into my possession within days of each other. That they are both the same model would, I fear, be something only really understood by true collectors(!), although the lay-person should notice some differences as well.
To start at the beginning I have always been what I call an "Imperial Man", inasmuch as I tend to focus my attention (so far!) on typewriters manufactured by Imperial Typewriters Ltd. of Leicester. I suppose this is because the first typer I encountered was the 1956 Model 66 that Dad brought home from work one day when the company was going to throw it out as being "beyond economical repair". It has always been a part of my life and started me on the road to being... well, I suppose a collector(!), so Imperials have always been my first passion. That they are sturdy, well-made British machines (even the portables!) that epitomise the style and mechanical design of their 1930s heyday merely adds to their appeal for me. Thus is my affection for British-made Imperials of the 1930s-50s. However, with space even in a 3-bedroom house at a premium and my strength not up to hefting weighty desktop models about, my focus recently switched to the portables and in particular the "Good Companion" models of the '30s & '40s. Having done some research I established that, over the years from its introduction in 1932 to its final iteration in 1957, the original Model No. 1 went through several changes during its lifetime. Clearly one could go overboard collecting versions from every single year and easily fill one's home with Good Companions and nothing else, so I decided early on to keep it simple and get an early model with white keys and a later one with black keys. I bided my time and kept my eyes peeled at local vintage fairs and on eBay. On the latter I missed out on several examples (as one does) but my hopes remained buoyant and one day two weeks ago my perseverance paid off and a deal was struck on eBay for a black-keyed No. 1 in good condition, complete with some original accessories including cleaning brush, oil can, cleaning fluid bottle (empty), ribbon tin (with a "dead" ribbon!) and leather carry pouch (so dry and cracked I feared for it, however liberal applications of lanolin and leather restoring cream have managed to bring some life back to it). The machine itself seems to be in working order but in need of a good clean and what service my little knowledge can provide. New ribbons have also been procured and await fitting.
You'll notice I put "ribbons". Well not two days after I had sealed the deal for the first one (and before it had even arrived), the very second one I was after crossed my path in one of those serendipitous events that sometimes makes you wonder about a Higher Power. On a fleeting weekend outing to Rochester, Mrs P-P and I were returning to the car when we passed a charity shop that we had clocked at the beginning of our visit. A lovely, typical old chazza that is now sadly becoming all too rare (an Aladdin's Cave-cum-Tardis of items - that now tend to be the preserve of specific vintage emporia - slung all over the place) its siren call made us want to stop in even though our parking ticket was on the point of expiration. And there, just inside the door and partly hidden behind some wooden packing cases and a fencing mask (so as to discourage [little ]people from playing with it, so the lady behind the till informed me (and a not unreasonable idea as I'm sure many collectors will know), was an early-model No. 1 with white keys!). Following a quick request to test it out (and the removal of the aforementioned impediments) and an equally quick zoom around the rest of the shop to check it out and have a think, the decision was made, money changed hands, the wife ran off to get the car and my quest was complete. Two 1930s Imperial Good Companion No. 1s - one with black keys and one with white - were mine!
If anything the second one - a 1933 example according to its serial number - is in even better condition than the first (undated as no serial no. is visible - a common occurrence on some later examples I understand - but I would guess at late '30s, maybe 1939-ish). It could still use a freshen-up and definitely a new ribbon but, regardless of their conditions, the fact that I can now tick off this particular typewriting wish (and perhaps shift my focus to other portables!) makes me a very happy chappie and I am very much looking forward to putting them to use. Watch this space! (Although I won't be using them on my lap any time soon, I can promise you that - they still weigh a flippin' ton!)
My own collection of typers now numbers a total of six - the Imperial 66, the two Good Companions, the Empire Aristocrat, the Litton-Imperial 200n and the Corona Model 3 (not to mention my wife's two desktops - types unknown - that are apparently still somewhere in the loft at my in-laws!) - so I still have some way to go to match Mr Van Cleave. We both have a looooong way to go, though, to catch up with Mr Everett Henderson of Austin, TX, the subject of this next item and who has over 100 machines and counting in his collection. As with Joe Van Cleave and his fellow Albuquerquian collectors so has Mr Henderson helped to set up a series of local type-ins with a like-minded friend under the title of Austin Typewriter, Ink group. That same desire to share the tangible, mechanical experience of using a typewriter is equally as evident in Texas as it is in New Mexico and it pleases me no end to know that there is another enthusiastic restorer and fellow collectors out there connecting with each other, both physically and virtually, to help keep the enjoyment of typewriters alive.
The final typewriter-related news in this now-gargantuan post (and then, you'll be pleased to know, I shall probably disappear again for another couple of months) takes the form of this recent video report from the Irish Times detailing the work of typewriter restorer Leo Molloy. There's really nothing I can add to what he says, so I'll just sign off by leaving the last words - words that we typosphereans know so well - to Mr Molloy.
I'm going to let you in on a little behind-the-scenes secret to the workings of Eclectic Ephemera in this next post. If any of you were ever wondering where I find all these vintage-inspired news items from around the massive network that is the World Wide Web, well, I'll tell you - <whispers> I do make a fair bit of use out of Mr Google's Alert function. In case you don't know what that is, it's a handy little tool that allows you to set up e-mail alerts every time a specified keyword appears in news reports (or other sources of your choice) on any website that shows up through Google. It's jolly clever and I have quite a few on the go to help supplement the more traditional surfing methods that I also employ. Without giving too much more away one of those keywords is "typewriter" and over the last couple of month in particular it has resulted in the motherlode of all related news items. So, rather than publish each article separately - in which case I would still have been posting them well into next year - I thought I would do what I believe in modern blogging parlance is called a "linkdump" and combine them all into one post. ("Oh no, not another massive essay Bruce!" I hear you cry. Well, I'm afraid so. Sorry.)
Stand by then for a selection of typewriter-based reports, featuring various typosphereans from across the North American continent - all of whom still work to repair and restore these wonderful machines so that they can continue to be used and enjoyed by young and old alike.
We begin with this wonderful story from Saskatoon, Western Canada, where local typewriter repairman Tom Cholowski has been busy restoring typewriters and related machinery for both the local and national typer community. Clearly a man after our own hearts - and not just in the matter of typewriters, as his attire and overall demeanour in all of his appearances makes clear! - Mr Cholowski has been fortunate enough to be recognised for his work by one of the most famous proponents of the typewriter - actor and collector Tom Hanks.
Having written to Mr Hanks to express his gratitude in helping to preserve and further the cause of the humble typewriter as a well-known aficionado, Mr Cholowski was surprised and delighted to receive a response from the great man himself thanking him in turn for his work keeping the typewriters of Canada in a functioning state for the people of that country to enjoy. Confirming the widely-held opinion (shared by this blogger, who has featured his typewriter-related deeds on here before) that Tom Hanks is an all-round splendid fellow as well as a fine actor, the charming letter is full of praise as well as the promise of a visit to Mr Cholowski's shop the next time the former is in the neighbourhood.
The story doesn't end there, though, I'm pleased to say, for in addition to his kind words Mr Hanks offered up one of his own typewriters as thanks for Mr Cholowski's work repairing Western Canada's broken typing instruments.
Thus a few weeks after the initial correspondence began, by now one of Canada's most famous typewriter repairmen was thrilled to receive a 1940 Remington Noiseless portable - complete with original manual and typewritten provenance - that was once part of Tom Hanks' collection and which is now safely ensconced in Saskatoon, where it rightly takes pride of place even among the hundreds of other machines that form Mr Cholowski's own collection.
This has been a heart-warming story from start to finish, featuring two topping gents - including one who from all appearances especially embraces the Chap spirit - with a shared interest in keeping the marvellous machines that are typewriters alive and in the public consciousness for years to come. Quite apart from the celebrity factor of Mr Hanks' involvement, Tom Cholowksi simply comes across as a jolly nice gentleman who has been able to turn his hobby into a business to the benefit of his local community as well as typewriter enthusiasts throughout the country and beyond. His attitude is a welcome one in this day and age and his very existence makes the world a better place, not only for typosphereans and Chaps but for everyone. Well done, sir!
We head to Nashville, Tennessee for this next article where once again we find a passionate typewriter repairman intent on rescuing as many machines as he can from his local area and around the country. This is Kirk Jackson, whose ethos is remarkably similar to that of Tom Cholowski's - and, indeed, seems to be a common thread linking many a typewriter enthusiast together. Like so many of us a fan of mechanical items, old-fashioned ephemera and antiquated technology, Mr Jackson was inevitably drawn to the workings of manual typewriters following a chance encounter in 2016 with a 1954 Remington (the model isn't specified) at an antique shop in the nearby city of Goodlettsville. From then on it has clearly been a journey of discovery resulting in a new-found love for these old machines that has led to him becoming Tennessee's premier typewriter repairer with his own shop and Instagram page. Not only is it a gladdening tale, but the appeal of typewriters to Mr Jackson on a personal level is clearly apparent and the way in which he speaks of them, of their tangibility, their clarity of purpose and their ability to provide an intimate connection to the act of writing is a familiar theme that pops up throughout the Typosphere and among collectors the world over. It is as ever good to see another younger person with the skills and the mindset to keep typewriters going, as well as appreciating similar devices from the same eras. I applaud Mr Jackson for being so ardent an advocate for their cause; the city of Nashville - and the wider typewriting world - is fortunate to have him.
Moving a little further south now to the state of Alabama we're invited to meet William Lee, a typewriter repairman operating out of a little shop in the capital city of Montgomery. Once again his story mirrors in many respects that of Messrs. Cholowski and Jackson, with the same sentiments coming to the fore and a clear love of typewriters and their mechanical nature very much in evidence. Unlike the other chaps mentioned so far, however, Mr Lee's introduction to typewriter repair took place much earlier at a time when they were still a commonplace technology and this - combined with the attraction to and enthusiasm for his work, something which is shared with his fellow repairers - has understandably stood him in good stead over the years. While that work has changed somewhat from when he first started out in 1973 it is nevertheless still pleasing to note the number of younger people coming to him either with typewriters for repair or to buy a restored one from him and even more of a welcome surprise to find that there are businesses in the area still in need of his services. He is certainly providing a valuable resource to the people of the south-eastern United States and I can only hope he is wrong in his lament that he will be the last of his profession. Mr Lee's passion, knowledge and experience is a credit to him and judging from what we've seen so far, I remain positive that with his help the folks of Alabama will continue to have a typewriter repairman handy for some time to come.
Having met Mr Lee of Alabama we head back north of the border to Canada - this time to the south-east and the city of Kitchener, Ontario where we are encouraged again to make the acquaintance of Manfred Aulich, known throughout the region as "The Typewriter Guy".
Here once more we see the same story of a fellow typewriter aficionado who got bitten by the bug as a young boy and in the intervening years has used his skills to provide an increasingly valuable service to typewriter owners across the Canadian south-east. Despite his advancing years I'm pleased to note that Mr Aulich has no intention of stopping any time soon and I only hope that as with the other older repairmen featured in this post he is able to continue for some time to come and maybe even impart some of his knowledge to the younger generation (who again get a positive mention as showing an interest in old typewriters). It's cheering to see in how high esteem Mr Aulich is held not only by the locals but folk as far away as Toronto and Waterloo, so much so that - as the article states - his business is booming. Tom Hanks even gets another mention (the man's fast becoming part of the thread of the typewriter story) with Mr Aulich intending to send him a machine he is currently restoring (the Continental Wanderer 35 pictured in the report). I now have visions of typewriters flying back and forth through the mail to and from Mr Hanks and other collectors around the world! Has a new version of the hobby just been invented - typewriter exchanges, perhaps? Either way, Mr Aulich also gets my approbation for being a further champion of the typewriter in his corner of Canada.
We're over on the west coast of the United States for this next story now and yet another "Typewriter Guy" - enthusiast Simon Kiefer. A slightly different take on the sort of typewriter narratives we have seen so far, but by no means any less commendable, Mr Kiefer's efforts see him lend out restored typers to his local community for use in creative workshops (type-ins, in other words), that I'm happy to note are [currently] sponsored by various local Santa Barbara institutes. Here then is another aspect to typewriter collecting and repairing, similar in experience to that of Kirk Jackson in Nashville - the sharing of this supposedly "outdated" technology with the wider community as a means of reconnecting with the art of writing and of using these delightful machines for the singular purpose for which they were intended. It is a thoroughly laudable enterprise and one that I hope Mr Kiefer can continue to provide especially through these difficult times. Although no mention is made in this particular case of any typewriter repair skills per se, the tale of how Mr Kiefer came to love these old machines (once more very much an echo of Mr Jackson's introduction to the world of typewriters), the fact that he has over 100 in various conditions dotted throughout his home (with people even leaving examples on his doorstep!) and his experience growing up with them gives me to think that he must be adept at repairing them as well. In any event, once more I applaud Mr Kiefer for his work in bringing the joys of typewriters and the typewritten word to the people of California.
Up to the very north-east of the United States and on the border with Canada again for this penultimate article from the town of Winthrop, Maine and the story of the state's only typewriter repairman, Pat Costigan. Like Mr Lee in Alabama Mr Costigan started out servicing typewriters as a young man in the 1970s when the machines were still prevalent and has continued to provide a sterling service to the people of Maine and beyond to this day, having seen the fortunes of the typewriter wax and wane down the years. But as we have seen throughout all these news items (and know well) the fascination with and enduring quality of typewriters is undying and transcends the generations, with Mr Costigan also speaking of younger people showing an interest in these timeless machines and providing him with a welcome and hopefully long-lived fresh clientele. It's nice to read of the interest that exposure to typewriters creates manifesting itself as a desire to study journalism or a similar writing-based vocation, as again we see much made of the intrinsic, hands-on aspect of typewriter use. While he may be styled, like so many of his cohorts, as "the last typewriter repairman...[north of Boston]" the fact that his business is also doing well and with 20% of it accounted for by typewriters means I am sure Mr Costigan will be providing his services to those still reliant on and enjoying the use of typewriters for many years to come. Another hearty "well done!" comes from this side of the Pond.
We end this post in New York City with another heartening typewriter-based story with a bit of a difference, in this case highlighting the work of English Literature professor and self-styled "performance artist" Brandon Woolf, who has spent the last few weeks sitting on a street corner in Brooklyn with a chair, a table, a 1940s Remington portable typewriter and reams of paper, envelopes and stamps offering a free letter-writing service for passers-by. This is part of his latest concept art which he calls "post-dramatic theatre" but which again also owes much to type-ins and especially the idea of condolence notes (from which Professor Woolf's performance - The Console - derives its name) and letter-writing in general. All in all it sounds a most intriguing exercise, yet one which again brings the typewriter and its unique abilities into the public consciousness in a direct and engaging way. While the theory may be to tap in (see what I did there?) to the uneasiness and melancholia that seems so much a part of the world at the moment I like to see the personal nature of this performance as providing a much-needed boost to people's interactions especially in this time of Covid - and there is nothing better than a typewriter for that.
Seven uplifting typewriter stories from around America and Canada, then, which prove that there are many out there still devoted to keeping these terrific contraptions going well into the 21st century. My only disappointment is that there is not nearly enough similar coverage of typewriter repairers here in Britain (well-known typospherean Richard Polt's website has a very handy list not only of British-based menders but worldwide ones too, which is a great resource) - perhaps something for this enthusiast to investigate for a future post...! I hope you have enjoyed reading these pieces as much as I have (and of blogging about them) and that - especially for my fellow typosphereans out there - it serves as a reassurance that for every "last repairman" one hears about there is doubtless another out there carrying on what Tom Hanks rightly describes as "God's labour".
The current covid crisis has forced business to adapt in ways I'm sure they could never have imagined, with many novel solutions being employed to ensure their survival and the safety of their customers. Typewriter sales and repair shops are a rara avis in this world at the best of times and - unless you're a typospherean - perhaps not the type of emporia one might first think of as being affected by the pandemic. But affected they certainly are, which is why this brilliant idea from a Philadelphia typewriter repairer is a stroke of genius and has rightly been embraced by interested parties both local and national.
The word "whimsical" might have been made for the concept of a typewriter garden and a delightful set-up it is too; yet the more one thinks of it, the more logical an idea it seems. If one has the space and facilities to display a number of typewriters outside in socially-distanced surroundings, as Ms. Rogow has the good fortune to have, then it makes all kinds of sense. Clearly the people of Mt. Airy - as well as many from further afield - agree and I am immensely pleased to see the W. P. M. Typewriter Shop enjoying such great success off the back of it. Ms. Rogow's customer service and eminently sensible ideas on setting up the garden, the important part typewriters have to play in the creative processes and the detrimental effect of "smart" devices has no doubt gone a long way to making this marvellous brainchild of hers fly as well.
I applaud Ms. Rogow's initiative and wish her continued success with her typewriter garden. It's such a pity that it's 3,500 miles away otherwise I'd be over there like a shot. It strikes me though that this should be inspiration to typosphereans everywhere. Why not a socially-distanced, outdoor type-in? Now that I think of it, type-ins in general seem to have died a death lately, even before Covid-19 came along. Yet many of us have parks on our doorstep and the passion for typewriters certainly hasn't gone away from what I've seen (and indeed Ms. Rogow's experience is proof alone of this), so where are all the al fresco type-ins? There's certainly a lot to type about and in these difficult times there has been much talk of going back to simpler living so the opportunity to immerse oneself in the joys of typewriting and disconnect from the world in a safe environment should surely be grasped with both hands. Even if you haven't got a park nearby but are lucky enough to have your own outdoor space, why not grab your portable, go outside and take advantage of the summer weather (just imagine if covid had struck in the depths of winter!) to tap out a few thoughts in your own typewriter garden.
One imagines that typewriter aficionados like myself were - and probably still are - fans of Lego as well (indeed aren't most of us?), since it no doubt appeals to the mechanically-minded and the imaginative in much the same way as typewriters do. Certainly I remember fondly the massive box of assorted Lego bricks I had growing up, the myriad different designs I built up out of them and especially the Lego Pirates sets that I spent many a happy hour building and playing with. While all of that is now long gone I still find myself marvelling and coveting many of the more mature "Creations" series that Lego occasionally put out between the more traditionally child-friendly sets. Their Sopwith Camel, for instance, now sadly discontinued and very hard to come by (and subsequently very expensive) is one I'd especially like to own!
Now comes the excellent news that one of the forthcoming sets to be produced in the Lego range - having garnered over 10,000 votes in Lego's fan-based Ideas community - is a typewriter and on initial viewing I can safely say that it joins the Camel on my bricklist (see what I did there...?). Certainly its creator Steve Guinness, who I am pleased to see hails from the UK, is to be applauded for building such an accurate-looking machine out of largely standard Lego bricks. Alas he does not mention in the accompanying interview which model of typewriter inspired his design so I will leave it to my fellow typosphereans to hazard a guess! Regardless of what exact model it is meant to represent I have to say it is a splendid facsimile in spite of the limitations imposed and the attention to detail is mightily impressive. One could almost be forgiven for thinking it a working example.
Mr Guinness's wider enthusiasm for his medium is obvious and his desire to use Lego creatively as a means of educating and inspiring youngsters through workshops in association with local schools and museums is entirely laudable. I find myself in complete agreement with him when he speaks of his wonderful set "bringing nostalgia to adult fans[...], and wonder and curiosity to younger fans who might not have ever seen a real typewriter!". He definitely sounds like a kindred spirit judging by that comment and if his Lego typewriter can engender the feelings he describes in the younger generation - particularly to the point of getting them interested in real typers - then so much the better. In the meantime I shall keep a look out for this set in the shops (where hopefully it will not be as wallet-crippling as the Camel) with a view obtaining an example for myself!
Here's another good news story to come out of the current crisis and further proof that actor Tom Hanks is an all-round top chap.
A collector of typewriters since 1979, Mr Hanks and his wife Rita Wilson were among the early high-profile individuals to be affected while travelling in Australia last month. Such is Mr Hanks' passion for typewriters that he took one of his portables with him - a rather aptly-named one as it turned out!
Now that same typewriter is back in Australia after Mr Hanks received a charming letter from an eight-year-old boy whose shared name with the disease du jour was sadly causing him problems at school. What turned into a delightful correspondence ended with Mr Hanks sending the young lad the typewriter in question with the request to learn how to use it "to write [to] me back". I'll wager that's something little Corona never expected!
The incident also serves to highlight the problems that can be encountered by people and organisations whose name falls foul of topical events. "Corona", as Mr Hanks points out, means "crown" (or "wreath") in Latin and until this year was most likely used in reference to the rings of material around the sun which resemble a crown (and indeed its use in "coronavirus" is because under a microscope the Covid-19 virus also has wreath-like projections that give the appearance of a solar corona). Unfortunately it is this latter use that is on everyone's lips at the moment, so for people like Corona DeVries it is understandably causing them some grief. Hopefully this will be only a temporary issue, however, and once this is all over we - and especially young Corona - can reclaim the word and not have it forever tarnished by this ghastly virus.
This is no doubt just as true for the makers of the Corona typewriter, for the company that produced it is still trading as Smith Corona albeit now as a manufacturer of barcode labels. It can trace its origins back to the Smith Premier Typewriting Company, which was established in New York in 1886 by the wonderfully-named brothers Lyman, Wilbert, Monroe and Hurlbut Smith. Over the following 30 years the business went through several iterations as it bought out or merged with other typewriter manufacturers including the Union Typewriter Company and the Rose Typewriter Company (renamed by Smith Bros. as the Standard Typewriter Company). In 1914 the company introduced its first portable Corona model and so successful did it become that Standard was again renamed to the Corona Typewriter Company, focussing solely on portable typewriters while L.C. Smith & Bros. continued to produce office models. Smith-Corona continued to be a major player in the typewriter market - being among the first to introduce electric typewriters in the 1950s - right up until 2005 when it finally gave in to progress and stopped typewriter production.
This has all served to remind me of my most recent typewriter acquisition, which is - you've guessed it - a Corona! I say "recent", it was actually over a year ago in March 2019 when, passing the window of my local charity shop I espied a topping-looking Corona Special portable in pride of place in a display case. The condition was immaculate - clearly it had been professionally restored - but the price was barely a third of what I'd seen lesser examples go for on eBay. It was rightly attracting much comment from other passing shoppers (one of the volunteers later said "I knew it wouldn't hang around for long") but unfortunately I was unable to get at it straight away as work kept coinciding with the shop's opening hours. I was eventually able to duck in early one afternoon and convinced them to hold it for me for a week while I went to get the money and arranged to pick it up on the Saturday. I am therefore now also the proud owner of a 1920s Corona [Special] (I haven't been able to identify the exact year as I can't find the serial number, which has possibly been obliterated by the restoration).
The case has seen better days but no less than one would expect from something nearly
100 years old - in fact to still have the case at all is quite remarkable!
It doesn't look much like a typewriter in the above photos, does it? "How does it work", I hear you ask? Well, take it out of the case...
Still looks a bit odd, doesn't it? Well, see how the carriage is held over the keyboard by the two arms? Lift the carriage up and it pivots over and onto the typebars, whilst the keyboard rises up from underneath. Hey presto!
A very clever piece of machinery and one I am immensely proud to own. Sadly I haven't had a chance to use it in anger yet - life getting in the way as ever, plus it needs a new ribbon and the spools seem unwilling to move even when fully loosened. Hopefully I'll be able to get it up and running soon and then, perhaps, a typecast will be in order!
To return finally to the original article, Robert Messenger over at the oz.Typewriter blog has also covered this story with some splendid pictures of the two Coronas together(!) that I have not seen elsewhere. It is all in all a lovely story that shows those involved in the best light and has (hopefully) created a new typewriter aficionado in Corona DeVries. In any event it will doubtless be something he will remember and treasure for a long time and with luck will help him forget his troubles with small-minded bullies. Once again it is a case of typewriters (with the help of Tom Hanks) to the rescue!
Over the course of the last week various news sources have reported on two films in the early stages of development that I know will be of interest to this blog's readers.
First to be on the receiving end of the Hollywood treatment is a man widely regarded as one of the triumvirate of 1930s pulp fiction characters (and proto-superheroes) along with The Shadow and The Phantom - Clark Savage Jr, otherwise known as Doc Savage. First appearing in pulp magazines from 1933 onwards, Doc Savage was perhaps one of the first typical "human" superheroes having been "trained from birth to the peak of physical ability". Adept at martial arts, knowledgeable about earth sciences and a master of disguise with a strong desire to do good and help others, you can see why this would appeal to one of the major film studios - particularly with superhero movies like The Dark Knight Rises and Man of Steel doing such brisk business at the box office. Why not get in on the action (literally!) with the granddaddy of them all?
Attached to the project as director is Shane Black, who has recently had incredible success with Iron Man 3 (which I have to sadly admit I've yet to see) and whose screenwriting credits include Lethal Weapon, Predator and The Long Kiss Goodnight. He certainly sounds like the kind of chap who could take Doc Savage places!
This won't be the first time Doc Savage has made it to the big screen, however. Those of you with long (and some might say masochistic!) memories may recall the 1975 film Doc Savage: Man of Bronze, starring Ron Ely in the title role. Foreshadowing somewhat the similar reception of pulp hero films The Shadow and The Phantom twenty years later, Doc Savage: Man of Bronze is generally regarded as excruciatingly awful. I won't even bother to dignify it with a link - I'll leave it to you to decide if you want to find out about/be reminded of it (although here's a picture)! However with Mr Black at the helm I feel sure the new Doc Savage film will be a far, far better affair. Already I'm liking the sound of the 1930s period setting and the "Frank Capra/Jimmy Stewart action hero" slant.
Although rumours of this new film have been circulating since 2010 it is only recently that Shane Black has begun talking about it to the entertainment press, so I would not expect to see it in cinemas until well into 2014 at the earliest. Still, something to look forward to! Who do we think should take the role (I've already seen Daniel Craig's name mentioned)?
The other film to look forward to is an adaptation of a recently-written novel entitled The Other Typist, the debut book of author Suzanne Rindell. The story is set in 1920s New York, with two contrasting young women on a police precinct's typing pool befriending each other and by the sound of things getting up to all sorts of mischief in the Prohibition-era Big Apple.
Confirmed to play one of the two lead roles is Keira Knightley, but no other cast or crew details have been confirmed at this time so once again we're probably looking at a 2014 release date. I get the impression that Miss Knightley has a polarising effect on people (particularly women - "flat/square/horse face" and "too thin" being among the comments I have heard some ladies mutter!) but I've always found her to be a decent enough actress. I'll be interested to see who will be joining her on this project.
Quite apart from the fashion aspect of the film, for me and my fellow Typosphereans it will hopefully be an excellent chance to sate our passion for vintage typewriters with several 1920s types surely to be in evidence! What do we think, chaps & ladies - Remingtons, Underwoods, Royals? What would the NYPD be using in the Twenties?
The book on which this film will be based was published in Britain last month and should be, as the saying goes, available in all good bookshops. Reviews have been positive, so we can only hope that the film will achieve as much. Furthermore, for those of you living in the British Isles B.B.C. Radio 4 Extra has just this week started broadcastingThe Other Typistas an audiobook and the first part can be heard here. Hopefully it will give us a small idea of what to expect from the film.
What films are you looking forward to in the next 12 months - anything else interesting I've missed?
We (that is, the family) had a Brother electric typewriter back in the early 1990s, prior to the advent of affordable personal computers. 'Fraid I can't remember the model though (could have been an early Wrexham CM1000, in fact - they all look alike to me! Not as huge a fan of electric types as I am of the good old manual typewriter.). Still ours was used fairly frequently, mainly by mother for work but also by me for schoolwork (always enjoyed the auto-correct function, I must admit!) and to give the old Imperial a bit of a rest now and then!
The demise of British typewriter production does have a personal aspect then, as it also seems to in a wider sense for a great many Britishers who remember using [manual] typewriters and the U.K.'s manufacturing heyday. From my point of view (and, I suspect, a number of my readers') it has the added layer of interest tinged with sadness as the sphere of the typewriter grows slightly smaller still. As such it may not be the kind of jolly story this blog values and is known for, but it is a little bit of noteworthy technological history in the making and deserves to be documented here.
The typewriter will no doubt continue for many more years to come both in its existing modern form and in its previous incarnations thanks to the concerted efforts of the Typosphere. From now on, though, only the latter will exist in Britain.
Depending on how you look at it, there's an inherent risk/benefit to the likes of me (and you) in having a friend who works in a charity shop. You visit them at work and end up coming out with armfuls of books, knick-knacks and goodness knows what else, when you just went in to say "hello". Oh, the temptation! Invariably they also call you up to say that "something you'll like" has come in.
Something like... this:
I seem to be naturally progressing into an Imperial man. This is now my second Imperial typewriter along with my 1956 Model 66 and my first portable for many years. The font may be a bit smaller and a tad more higgedly-piggedly but the family relationship is there to see - at least, I think I can see it. You may notice that this is actually a Litton Imperial 200. Litton Industries was an American conglomerate founded in 1953 as an electronics company and by the time it taken over by Northrop Grumman(!) in 2001 it had diversified enormously into - to name but a few - shipyards, office furniture, oilfields and, yes, you've guessed it, typewriters. In 1964 Litton Industries bought the Royal Typewriter Company in America. Buoyed by this, two years later in 1966 it bought out British manufacturer Imperial (then three years after that it took over the German firm Adler). Robert Messenger of the Australian Typewriter Museum explains in great detail the machinations of Litton's Royal-Imperial-Adler '60s takeovers in his blog here.
The upshot of this all is that my Imperial 200 is identical to some Royal and Adler models, was likely made in Japan (where Litton shifted all production) and was probably one of the last typewriters to feature the Imperial name (the company became defunct in 1974).
None of which bothers me at all, really. While my eyes are still peeled for earlier portables from my era of choice, this little Imperial will do quite nicely for now. I was bemoaning just the other day my lack of a portable typewriter should a type-in ever appear in the UK (and, by the way, my recent poll about a UK type-in received one vote, but it was a Yes so I look at it as 100% in favour!) and now I've got one!
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