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  1. Last 7 days
    1. My quick typewriter purchasing crash course: <br /> Most typewriters are solid beasts and can take a serious beating and still work really well. I've got 5 now that I bought for $10-50 and mostly really only needed small tweaks to work perfectly. One has an issue that will require some more heavy work, but having gotten it for $10, it's not really much of an issue. Several of them worked incredibly well right out of the box with no work at all. Occasionally kids will pound on the keys which can cause the linkages to come undone, but a pair of needle nose pliers and some patience to look at the mechanics of what's not working underneath can usually get them repaired without any real work. Beyond this there's a wealth of online videos and help that can get you pretty far without paying for a repair shop. Some are just old and dusty and need a quick cleaning with compressed air and/or a toothbrush.

      Ebay can tend to have heavily overinflated prices because a lot of folks think that all typewriters are rare. A very small percentage of some of the oldest are, but generally as a group they're not. If you don't want to fool around with repair issues you can purchase machines from repair shops serviced in full working condition from $75-200, but at least you can expect that they're nearly perfect beyond some small blemishes due to age. Sadly, a lot of places will list broken machines in questionable shape for this much because they see others listing (great machines) for the same amount. Don't fall prey to this. Some of the best places to look for functional machines are donation shops (Goodwill, Salvation Army, etc.) as well as yard sales or estate sales. Online sites like Facebook marketplace, https://shopgoodwill.com, or https://offerup.com can have inexpensive listings, but most are listed as untested because most folks don't know how to test them fully and are scared of them, but this is usually where you can find some great deals. You can also ask for typewriters on https://buynothingproject.org/ or a Facebook group for your particular area.

      If you're able to test things in person, it can help to have some blank paper or index cards and even a universal ribbon ($5-15, in case the old ribbon is missing or too old and dry to work) with you. Then you can put in paper, try out each key (with/without shift), and all the other buttons, knobs, and switches as well as the margin stops, and the bell. Most folks listing them are well aware they're not actually selling for prices over $50 and will be open for 10-25% discounts off of what they're listing them for. I will mention that I bought one machine as dirt cheap because someone had it on the stencil setting (rather than the usual black or red ribbon settings) and they didn't know that this meant it wouldn't type anything visible. A quick flip of the switch after purchase and I was on my way.

      r/typewriters is a wealth of information as are https://site.xavier.edu/polt/typewriters/index.html and https://typewriterdatabase.com/. Usually, you can't go too far wrong with one of the most popular models which are generally ranked at https://typewriterdatabase.com/popular.0.typewriter-models.

      Good luck!

  2. Mar 2024
    1. "The Typist"

      KSMQ Public Television

      "The Typist" follows the life and work of Larry Tillemans, believed to be the last living clerk-typist from the Nuremberg Trials. As a sergeant in the U.S. 3rd Army, it was Larry's duty to document the testimony of victims and perpetrators of the Holocaust -- information that deeply affected the young Minnesotan. After years of carrying this emotional burden, Larry decided to share his experiences with as many people as possible, a tireless effort that brought the value of first-person testimony to a world struggling to remember the lessons of Nuremberg.

    1. [[Mark Lawrence Schrad]] in Why the World of Typewriter Collectors Splits Down the Middle When These Machines Come Up for Sale<br /> at 2024-03-16 12:00 PM <br /> (accessed:: 2024-03-19 10:23:08)

    2. a typewriter with the “special key” is no more or less odious than one without; it is just a matter of the meanings we humans impart upon it.
      • consider too that the originators don't benefit though compare this with the seller who may have that sentiment benefiting.
    3. some argue that the typewriter is just an inanimate object; a tool crafted for a specific purpose, which assumes neither the responsibility of the user nor his blame.

      though what about when the creator is human and not inanimate?

    4. More frequent were machines built with the double-lightning-bolt SS Siegrune, usually above the No. 3 or 5 key. With sieg meaning “victory,” the runes became ubiquitous in Nazi Germany as a shorthand rallying cry for “victory, victory!” In their more sinister application, the SS runes became the logo for the Schutzstaffel—the notorious paramilitary units most responsible for the wanton slaughter of 6 million Jews across Europe.
    5. In very rare circumstances, a German typewriter would be made with a dedicated swastika key, like this one at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.
    6. Larry McMurtry thanked his trusty Hermes 3000 typewriter while accepting his Golden Globe for Brokeback Mountain.
    7. As strange as it sounds today, German klein (“small” or portable) typewriters were among the most sought-after souvenirs for soldiers fighting in World War II. Think of it: Adjusted for inflation, top-of-the-line portable typewriters cost roughly the same as your MacBook Pro today, and their usable lives were measured not in months or years, but decades and generations. Consequently, thousands of Uranias, Gromas, Erikas, Rheinmetalls, Continentals, Olympias, and other high-quality, precision-made German machines were looted from Nazi military and government offices, businesses, and even from civilian homes, whether their owners were dead or alive. “War trophy” is of course a pleasant euphemism: It denotes a reward for heroism, bravery, and sacrifice, while simultaneously acknowledging that even the good guys steal, pillage, and destroy amid the haze of total war.
    1. Typewriter Typefaces: Pica vs Elite, an explainer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qwCD69jUPps

      Pica machines (12 characters per inch) will usually have a scale up to about 80-84.

      Elite machines (10 characters per inch) will have a scale up to 100.

      On Olympia machines, script only comes in Elite sizes (scale to 100 on platen).

    1. Facebook marketplace, set location in various regions. (Ymmv)Ebay (flooded with junk, diamonds in the rough are either overpriced or seller wants high shipping)Auctionninja.com (like shopgoodwill, but higher quality items on average and higher final bids on interesting items)Hibid.com (I've gotten a thing or two here)Estatesales.net (I've gotten good deals here)Estatesales.org (usually redirects to respective company sites to bid there)Shopgoodwill.com (hard to win bids on interesting items)Goodwillfinds.com (the higher end/rarer items they receive go here, so higher prices)Craigslist (usually baren of typewriters)Kijiji (I don't find much that's both interesting and feasible to ship)Etsy (meh, overpriced)
  3. Feb 2024
    1. SUNY Brockport’s Drake Memorial Library greets its userswith a typographically generated image of a card catalog:Your automated catalog, by DYNIX.Copyright (c) 1992 by DYNIX, Incorporated.

      A library card catalog drawn using ASCII art. :)

    1. Arber also suggests to Murray in this letter that he should use atypewriter. ‘I am quite certain’, he wrote, ‘that the only way to keep down thecost of corrections is to type-write the copy’, suggesting a model called theIdeal Caligraph, no. 2 price £18. Murray did read The Snake Dance of theMoquis of Arizona but he did not buy a typewriter.
  4. Jan 2024
  5. Dec 2023
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  7. Sep 2023
    1. I wonder what you think of a distinction between the more traditional 'scholar's box', and the proto-databases that were used to write dictionaries and then for projects such as the Mundaneum. I can't help feeling there's a significant difference between a collection of notes meant for a single person, and a collection meant to be used collaboratively. But not sure exactly how to characterize this difference. Seems to me that there's a tradition that ended up with the word processor, and another one that ended up with the database. I feel that the word processor, unlike the database, was a dead end.

      reply to u/atomicnotes at https://www.reddit.com/r/Zettelkasten/comments/16njtfx/comment/k1tuc9c/?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=web2x&context=3

      u/atomicnotes, this is an excellent question. (Though I'd still like to come to terms with people who don't think it acts as a knowledge management system, there's obviously something I'm missing.)

      Some of your distinction comes down to how one is using their zettelkasten and what sorts of questions are being asked of it. One of the earliest descriptions I've seen that begins to get at the difference is the description by Beatrice Webb of her notes (appendix C) in My Apprenticeship. As she describes what she's doing, I get the feeling that she's taking the same broad sort of notes we're all used to, but it's obvious from her discussion that she's also using her slips as a traditional database, but is lacking modern vocabulary to describe it as such.

      Early efforts like the OED, TLL, the Wb, and even Gertrud Bauer's Coptic linguistic zettelkasten of the late 1970s were narrow enough in scope and data collected to make them almost dead simple to define, organize and use as databases on paper. Of course how they were used to compile their ultimate reference books was a bit more complex in form than the basic data from which they stemmed.

      The Mundaneum had a much more complex flavor because it required a standardized system for everyone to work in concert against much more freeform as well as more complex forms of collected data and still be able to search for the answers to specific questions. While still somewhat database flavored, it was dramatically different from the others because of it scope and the much broader sorts of questions one could ask of it. I think that if you ask yourself what sorts of affordances you get from the two different groups (databases and word processors (or even their typewriter precursors) you find even more answers.

      Typewriters and word processors allowed one to get words down on paper quicker by a magnitude of order or two faster, and in combination with reproduction equipment, made it easier to spin off copies of the document for small scale and local mass distribution a lot easier. They do allow a few affordances like higher readability (compared with less standardized and slower handwriting), quick search (at least in the digital era), and moving pieces of text around (also in digital). Much beyond this, they aren't tremendously helpful as a composition tool. As a thinking tool, typewriters and word processors aren't significantly better than their analog predecessors, so you don't gain a huge amount of leverage by using them.

      On the other hand, databases and their spreadsheet brethren offer a lot more, particularly in digital realms. Data collection and collation become much easier. One can also form a massive variety of queries on such collected data, not to mention making calculations on those data or subjecting them to statistical analyses. Searching, sorting, and making direct comparisons also become far easier and quicker to do once you've amassed the data you need. Here again, Beatrice Webb's early experience and descriptions are very helpful as are Hollerinth's early work with punch cards and census data and the speed with which the results could be used.

      Now if you compare the affordances by each of these in the digital era and plot their shifts against increasing computer processing power, you'll see that the value of the word processor stays relatively flat while the database shows much more significant movement.

      Surely there is a lot more at play, particularly at scale and when taking network effects into account, but perhaps this quick sketch may explain to you a bit of the difference you've described.

      Another difference you may be seeing/feeling is that of contextualization. Databases usually have much smaller and more discrete amounts of data cross-indexed (for example: a subject's name versus weight with a value in pounds or kilograms.) As a result the amount of context required to use them is dramatically lower compared to the sorts of data you might keep in an average atomic/evergreen note, which may need to be more heavily recontextualized for you when you need to use it in conjunction with other similar notes which may also need you to recontextualize them and then use them against or with one another.

      Some of this is why the cards in the Thesaurus Linguae Latinae are easier to use and understand out of the box (presuming you know Latin) than those you might find in the Mundaneum. They'll also be far easier to use than a stranger's notes which will require even larger contextualization for you, especially when you haven't spent the time scaffolding the related and often unstated knowledge around them. This is why others' zettelkasten will be more difficult (but not wholly impossible) for a stranger to use. You might apply the analogy of context gaps between children and adults for a typical Disney animated movie to the situation. If you're using someone else's zettelkasten, you'll potentially be able to follow a base level story the way a child would view a Disney cartoon. Compare this to the zettelkasten's creator who will not only see that same story, but will have a much higher level of associative memory at play to see and understand a huge level of in-jokes, cultural references, and other associations that an adult watching the Disney movie will understand that the child would completely miss.

      I'm curious to hear your thoughts on how this all plays out for your way of conceptualizing it.

    1. facilitated by having selected passages typewritten anddistributed to the class in mimeographed sheets.

      Not sure I knew that typewritters and mimeograph machines were so prevalent by 1910. (typewriters yes, but mimeo?)

  8. Aug 2023
    1. In the documentary California Typewriter (Gravitas Pictures, 2016) musician John Mayer mentions that he's never lost a typed version of his notes, while digital versions of his work essentially remain out of sight and thus out of mind or else they risk digital erasure by means of either data loss, formatting changes, or other damage.

      Mayer also mentions that he loves typewriters for their ability to easily get out stream of consciousness thinking which is a mode of creativity he prefers for writing lyrics.

    2. Historian and author David McCullough prefers a manual typewriter over computers with keyboards specifically because it forces him to slow down and take his time.

      Ref: @Nichol2016 https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5966990/

    1. Carpentry aspires to build from scratch, whereas the Deformed Humanities tears apart existing structures and uses the scraps.

      I'm reminded of Jeremy Mayer's work of deconstruction old, non-functioning typewriters to create sculptures.

      Intriguing that he uses the word "scraps" here which plays directly into the practice of the zettelkasten within the ars excerpendi!

  9. Jul 2023
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  11. May 2023
    1. Commonly known was that using an apostrophe, the back space key and a period would allow one to type an exclamation point on a typewriter. Less common were some of these additional special characters:

      • Division (÷): colon and hyphen
      • Pound Sterling (£): Hyphen and small f
      • Equation (=): Hyphens turning the variable slightly (unlocking the platen and moving it up)
      • Cedilla (ç): small c, backspace and comma
      • Paragraph mark )( parentheses

      p. 16

    2. Card Grip. (Right and Left). Hold cards firmly against the platen.

      p 5

    3. “The Remington Noiseless Way.” Remington Rand Inc., ca 1940. From the Peter Weil Typewriter Archives. https://site.xavier.edu/polt/typewriters/RemingtonNoiseless10.pdf.

    1. I don't have any affiliation with the book (other than ordering a copy for myself), but thought I'd share the pre-order details for the forthcoming book Shift Happens: A book about keyboards by Marcin Wichary: https://shifthappens.backerkit.com/hosted_preorders The book, shipping in October 2023, was originally funded on Kickstarter at https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/mwichary/shift-happens. Even more details available at https://shifthappens.site/. The author Marcin Wichary compiled a huge list of typewriter/keyboard resources, books, and manuals at https://archive.org/details/wicharytypewriter which the hard core historians and type enthusiasts many may also appreciate. (h/t u/amidfallenleaves @ r/typewriters/#)

  12. Apr 2023
    1. help with shadowed lettering

      In using a typewriter, "shadowed" letters can be remedied by using quicker, short keystrokes. Or as William Forrester said, "Punch the keys for God's sake!"

      Of course it also goes without saying that one should also use a backing sheet which will also help the longevity of the platen.

    1. How to Clean a Typewriter


      Rubbing alcohol or WD-40 for cleaning out light rust, oil, dirt and grime.

      Use Rem-Oil for oiling typewriters

      Toothpaste and toothbrush is great for cleaning crinkle paint on typewriters.

    1. And there are some useful bits of trivia, like how the letters for the word TYPEWRITER are all on the top row of a QWERTY layout, presumably to make it easier for typewriter salesmen in their day to impress potential clients with their mastery of the keyboard.
    2. Musician John Mayer, too, describes his typewriter as more of an emotional companion than a logistical tool. He laments writing lyrics with the judgemental “red squiggly line” of spell check, which he says stops the creative process because he feels compelled to fix the error, and turning to a typewriter which “doesn’t judge you, it just goes, ‘right away, sir, right away’.”
    1. “Tom Hanks, Typewriter Enthusiast.” CBS News Sunday Morning. CBS, October 15, 2017. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UTtDb73NkNM.

    2. https://youtu.be/UTtDb73NkNM?t=49

      CBS has a card index with an index card indicating that Morley Safer brought an Olivetti typewriter to the office.


      Whose card index was this? What other purpose did it serve?

    3. Friday<br /> 7 July <br /> 2017

      Lee,

      You are a wise and brave man. This 1930's era Smith- corona Clipper will last you for the ages..

      Happy to have served you...<br /> /s<br /> Tom Hanks


      Hanks wrote this letter to an interviewer who purchased one. Lost here on the viewer is the fact that the Clipper wasn't manufactured until 1946...

    4. This is what I would suggest: if you wanted the perfect typewriter that will last forever that would be a great conversation piece, I'd say get the Smith-Corona Clipper. That will be as satisfying a typing experience as you will ever have. —Tom Hanks on CBS Sunday Morning: "Tom Hanks, Typewriter Enthusiast" at 07:30

    1. My favorite is always changing. Any Smith-Corona Sterling or Silent is a gem. Any Hermes, either the green or tan, all work like lightning. I have a thing for my Olivetti Lettera 22’s, as they are masterpieces of design, the action is crazy fast and light, and the typewriter is in the Museum of Modern Art.

      —Tom Hanks in TribLive 2020-05-22 at https://web.archive.org/web/20200522085215/https://archive.triblive.com/aande/books/tom-hanks-on-his-love-of-typewriters-and-the-free-press/


      I've seen several sites and listings for Smith-Corona typewriters which mention this interview quote.

    1. The Clipper was named after Boeing's 314 Clipper- which although was retired by Pan-Am in 1946- still continued to represent a new era of elegant, luxurious travel, and which this typewriter is directly associated with.
  13. Mar 2023
  14. Jan 2023
  15. Sep 2022
    1. Here it is probably necessary to explain that lots of things were once typed — on machines called typewriters — during a period of human history after stone tablets and before laptops and cellphones. It is probably also necessary to explain that reference to a card catalog in the first paragraph. A card catalog was an inventory of what was in a library before all the holdings were listed, and maybe available, online.

      A bit tongue-in-cheek, the New York Times describes for the technically inadept what a typewriter and a card catalog are.

  16. May 2022
    1. Sometime in 1882, Friedrich Nietzsche bought a typewriter—a Malling-Hansen Writing Ball, to be precise. His vision was failing, and keeping his eyes focused on a page had become exhausting and painful, often bringing on crushing headaches. He had been forced to curtail his writing, and he feared that he would soon have to give it up. The typewriter rescued him, at least for a time. Once he had mastered touch-typing, he was able to write with his eyes closed, using only the tips of his fingers. Words could once again flow from his mind to the page. But the machine had a subtler effect on his work. One of Nietzsche’s friends, a composer, noticed a change in the style of his writing. His already terse prose had become even tighter, more telegraphic. “Perhaps you will through this instrument even take to a new idiom,” the friend wrote in a letter, noting that, in his own work, his “‘thoughts’ in music and language often depend on the quality of pen and paper.”“You are right,” Nietzsche replied, “our writing equipment takes part in the forming of our thoughts.” Under the sway of the machine, writes the German media scholar Friedrich A. Kittler , Nietzsche’s prose “changed from arguments to aphorisms, from thoughts to puns, from rhetoric to telegram style.”

      Saving the entire story for context, but primarily for this Marshall McLuhan-esque quote:

      “You are right,” Nietzsche replied, “our writing equipment takes part in the forming of our thoughts.”

      I want to know the source of the quote.

  17. Dec 2021
    1. Pomera, a folding Japanese pocket writer
    2. Even so, new inventions have always influenced literary production, as Friedrich Nietzsche, who struggled with a semi-spherical typewriter, once lyrically observed: “The writing ball is a thing like me: made of / iron / yet easily twisted on journeys.”

      Probably overbearing, but this is also the exact sort of thing a writer faced with a blank page is apt to focus on as they stare at the type ball in front of them. Their focus isn't on the work its on the thing immediately in front of them that isn't working for them.