The typosphere welcomes everyone who blogs with some frequency with or about typewriters. If you would like to have your blog added to the Mighty Blogroll, send an e-mail to Mike Clemens or Richard Polt.
I've been writing my Christmas letters for many years on 1954 Olympia De Luxe, my high school graduation present. As a reluctant user of a MacBook Pro, which never works properly, I find my typewriter infinitely more reliable, and it never tries to out-think me. It knows it is not smarter than I am.
I once had a 1954 Olympia portable with a European keyboard ( á, à, â, ^, ~, etc.) It also had an extra-long carriage for long envelopes. In the 1980s my husband told me to donate it, and in return he gave me an electric typewriter. I did, and have regretted it ever since. If I can type 60 wpm on a non-electric, and 40 wpm on an electric, there's a problem. The problem is that electric typewriters work on Murphy's Law: if you accidentally push 2 keys at once, the key you didn't want is the key that prints. I wish I could find another working Olympia with a European keyboard. The electric typewriter was a part of out family for less than a year, then was donated.
Greetings, I am not new to typewriters, but new to this movement, and I do recognize this as a movement. For those in geekery, I am writing this on an old G3 macintosh, still running and doing what I like on the net. Simple, eloquent, and has history and a story. I feel the same way about typewriters, they all each have a story, a history, and character. I did indeed watch the movie, California Typewriters, and identified with that philosophy entirely. I am not new to typewriters because I have already had a history with typewriters, owning a 1932 Woodstock typewriter I rescued and fixed up, two decades past, but my history with typewriters goes back much further, in my youth my dad brought home old typewriters when his work transitioned to computers. I had fun typing away. I wish now I kept some of those machines. (Kicks self... just like I wished I kept all those star wars toys from the late 70's and early 80's). I have since collected a few more machines, and gonna do my research to make sure they weren't scavenged and reassembled with alien parts of different similarly bastardized systems. I am also excited because now with the databases and this community I can do something else I like, finding the personal history of the machines. I have done genealogy work on my family lineage, and relish learning history beyond a name on a page, a black and white 2D depiction of a person, kinda like looking at a barren colorless tombstone. Me, I would want to know more, what where they like, what was their personal history, stories, experiences, and what did they think about the world? That same curiosity I would want to construct of my machines. Each have a story, and like a good archeologist, I wanna dug up its history.
Greetings and merry met! I look forward to being involved in this community and hopefully I can network with anyone hailing from Maryland, where I live now, or Maine, where I will end up, and contribute to the community.
Note: I also have an old jornada 720 handheld pc I still use, as well as older Macintosh computers, dabble in Linux and raspberry pi via Pi-top.org. I even have a commodore64 in my repertoire too.
But despite being a geek of older computers, it is Typewriters that have really clicked with me since I’ve had to refocus my life. Technology isn’t as much a friend to me as it used to be, posts brain bleed, and seems I need to restrict distractions and disruptions, so Typewriter and old school is way to go!
I think you missed including retro or classic bicycle lovers as part of the typospherian crowd. I know there's a logical bias towards assigning them into another group, but I find that the overlap between them and your typical typospherian culture is too large to justify a leave-out.
I am new to the typewriter community. I started it because my wife wanted a typewriter to write stories with. We could never find one locally. Then just browsing an antique store we found the Remington Portable. I was fascinated with the mechanics of them and sought other models out. Rest is history.
Located in Charleston SC, I hope to find repair shops (thus far no dice), clubs, and fellow Typists.
Collection as of now: Two Remington Portables Underwood No 5 Royal No 10 L.C. Smith No 8 Dalton Adding Machine 181-4 (Similar tech, more complex) Smith-Corona Silent (Likely sell to a friend at cost) Smith-Corona Galaxy Deluxe Underwood Noiseless (Escapement busted :\ )
Over the holiday I used heat shrink tubing to restore platen of Dalton machine. Seemed to work fine. Other machines have just needed feet, oil, and ribbon.
I'm not sure I belong here, but I'll give it my best. I learned to type in the 8th grade in Beatrice, Nebr., in typing class at Beatrice Junior High School. I learned on manual office-style typewriters, and it was one of the few classes I got an 'A' in! I've always been a writer, even though I made my career (and my living) in another field. The older I get (I'm 73), the more I appreciate simple things: Tube-type radios, Morse code, clothing and shoes made in the U.S.A. I've traveled a good deal, across the U.S. and around the world. I'd like to own a manual typewriter once again, and am reading up on the avocation. For now, let's just say 'hello' until I get a firmer typewriter world under my feet.
skippermike@gmail.com Shawnee, Kansas 10 February 2019
Is there a suggested standard for typecast images? I've been sizing at 800 pixels wide, 72 ppi, and optimizing as JPEG at as low a file size as practical. I've also been previewing in WordPress to make sure it looks fairly good on desktop, table, and cellphone.
Unknown, on my blog I usually divide a regular 8.5-inch-wide sheet into two columns, and digitize each column at about 500-550 pixels wide. This seems to maximize readability on a screen or phone. But try looking around the typosphere and seeing what format you find most readable and attractive. —Richard P
I really miss typewriters. I miss the sound of them when you would go into most buildings in the past. I would LOVE to have a good old IBM Selectric, I learned to type on one of those electric beasties in high school in the 1980s, and they are my favorite of all time. Of course, my mother had an old black manual typewriter, you really had to bang on the keys to get them to work. I used to marvel at how my mother could whip up letters on that thing in a matter of moments! On rainy days my sister and I would take it down in the basement and write stories on it, oh the memories. Anyway, it was nice to find this page, thank you for indulging my nostalgia.
Thanks for your comment above. If you get a Selectric, I recommend splurging on one that's been reconditioned by an expert. They almost always need cleaning and repair after sitting around for decades. But they are wonderful!
After I received a Lettera 35 as a gift few months ago, I re-discover the pleasure of slow writing. Now I have a Lettera 35, a Lettera 32, a Rover 2000, a Singer Personal (= Royalite 120) a Triumph Tippa and a wonderful Olivetti Linea 98.
( Hi My name is Joseph Bank”s and i am from Texas ) I have been a film freak for 13 years using both 120mm and 35mm cameras but I always wanted to write a novel and i wanted to To do so on a typewriter so about 10 years ago i got a 1958 Olympia sm3 deluxe and tried to write on it but unfortunately it had lot of problems even though it looked brand new so after 10 years and about 200 attempts to use it , i still could not enjoy it so i got pretty Lucky and traded it and some vary old cameras and got a mint newly refurbished and repainted yellow Lettera 22 typewriter that types like A angel now i can finally enjoy using this fine machine I have a question, how does one join this typosphere ?
Hi, Joseph! If you have a typewriter-related blog, just send an email to one of the administrators as explained above on this post. Otherwise, the typosphere is not an exclusive club—it's just a vague term for the online typewriter-lovers' world. See this page for some good places to start joining us. —Richard
I've been writing my Christmas letters for many years on 1954 Olympia De Luxe, my high school graduation present. As a reluctant user of a MacBook Pro, which never works properly, I find my typewriter infinitely more reliable, and it never tries to out-think me. It knows it is not smarter than I am.
ReplyDeleteI once had a 1954 Olympia portable with a European keyboard ( á, à, â, ^, ~, etc.) It also had an extra-long carriage for long envelopes. In the 1980s my husband told me to donate it, and in return he gave me an electric typewriter. I did, and have regretted it ever since. If I can type 60 wpm on a non-electric, and 40 wpm on an electric, there's a problem. The problem is that electric typewriters work on Murphy's Law: if you accidentally push 2 keys at once, the key you didn't want is the key that prints. I wish I could find another working Olympia with a European keyboard. The electric typewriter was a part of out family for less than a year, then was donated.
Greetings, I am not new to typewriters, but new to this movement, and
ReplyDeleteI do recognize this as a movement. For those in geekery, I am writing
this on an old G3 macintosh, still running and doing what I like on
the net. Simple, eloquent, and has history and a story. I feel the
same way about typewriters, they all each have a story, a history, and
character. I did indeed watch the movie, California Typewriters, and
identified with that philosophy entirely.
I am not new to typewriters because I have already had a history
with typewriters, owning a 1932 Woodstock typewriter I rescued and
fixed up, two decades past, but my history with typewriters goes back
much further, in my youth my dad brought home old typewriters when his
work transitioned to computers. I had fun typing away. I wish now I
kept some of those machines. (Kicks self... just like I wished I kept
all those star wars toys from the late 70's and early 80's).
I have since collected a few more machines, and gonna do my
research to make sure they weren't scavenged and reassembled with
alien parts of different similarly bastardized systems. I am also
excited because now with the databases and this community I can do
something else I like, finding the personal history of the machines. I
have done genealogy work on my family lineage, and relish learning
history beyond a name on a page, a black and white 2D depiction of a
person, kinda like looking at a barren colorless tombstone. Me, I
would want to know more, what where they like, what was their personal
history, stories, experiences, and what did they think about the
world? That same curiosity I would want to construct of my machines.
Each have a story, and like a good archeologist, I wanna dug up its
history.
Greetings and merry met! I look forward to being involved in this
community and hopefully I can network with anyone hailing from
Maryland, where I live now, or Maine, where I will end up, and
contribute to the community.
Note: I also have an old jornada 720 handheld pc I still use, as well as older Macintosh computers, dabble in Linux and raspberry pi via Pi-top.org. I even have a commodore64 in my repertoire too.
DeleteBut despite being a geek of older computers, it is Typewriters that have really clicked with me since I’ve had to refocus my life. Technology isn’t as much a friend to me as it used to be, posts brain bleed, and seems I need to restrict distractions and disruptions, so Typewriter and old school is way to go!
I think you missed including retro or classic bicycle lovers as part of the typospherian crowd. I know there's a logical bias towards assigning them into another group, but I find that the overlap between them and your typical typospherian culture is too large to justify a leave-out.
ReplyDeleteHello all!
ReplyDeleteI am new to the typewriter community. I started it because my wife wanted a typewriter to write stories with. We could never find one locally. Then just browsing an antique store we found the Remington Portable. I was fascinated with the mechanics of them and sought other models out. Rest is history.
Located in Charleston SC, I hope to find repair shops (thus far no dice), clubs, and fellow Typists.
Collection as of now:
Two Remington Portables
Underwood No 5
Royal No 10
L.C. Smith No 8
Dalton Adding Machine 181-4 (Similar tech, more complex)
Smith-Corona Silent (Likely sell to a friend at cost)
Smith-Corona Galaxy Deluxe
Underwood Noiseless (Escapement busted :\ )
Over the holiday I used heat shrink tubing to restore platen of Dalton machine. Seemed to work fine. Other machines have just needed feet, oil, and ribbon.
Welcome to the club! Here's a list of repair shops that may be useful:
ReplyDeletehttps://site.xavier.edu/polt/typewriters/tw-repair.html
I'm not sure I belong here, but I'll give it my best. I learned to type in the 8th grade in Beatrice, Nebr., in typing class at Beatrice Junior High School. I learned on manual office-style typewriters, and it was one of the few classes I got an 'A' in! I've always been a writer, even though I made my career (and my living) in another field. The older I get (I'm 73), the more I appreciate simple things: Tube-type radios, Morse code, clothing and shoes made in the U.S.A. I've traveled a good deal, across the U.S. and around the world. I'd like to own a manual typewriter once again, and am reading up on the avocation. For now, let's just say 'hello' until I get a firmer typewriter world under my feet.
ReplyDeleteskippermike@gmail.com
Shawnee, Kansas
10 February 2019
Is there a suggested standard for typecast images? I've been sizing at 800 pixels wide, 72 ppi, and optimizing as JPEG at as low a file size as practical. I've also been previewing in WordPress to make sure it looks fairly good on desktop, table, and cellphone.
ReplyDeleteUnknown, on my blog I usually divide a regular 8.5-inch-wide sheet into two columns, and digitize each column at about 500-550 pixels wide. This seems to maximize readability on a screen or phone. But try looking around the typosphere and seeing what format you find most readable and attractive. —Richard P
ReplyDeleteThanks, Richard! That sounds like a good approach.
ReplyDeleteI really miss typewriters. I miss the sound of them when you would go into most buildings in the past. I would LOVE to have a good old IBM Selectric, I learned to type on one of those electric beasties in high school in the 1980s, and they are my favorite of all time. Of course, my mother had an old black manual typewriter, you really had to bang on the keys to get them to work. I used to marvel at how my mother could whip up letters on that thing in a matter of moments! On rainy days my sister and I would take it down in the basement and write stories on it, oh the memories. Anyway, it was nice to find this page, thank you for indulging my nostalgia.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comment above. If you get a Selectric, I recommend splurging on one that's been reconditioned by an expert. They almost always need cleaning and repair after sitting around for decades. But they are wonderful!
ReplyDeleteAfter I received a Lettera 35 as a gift few months ago, I re-discover the pleasure of slow writing. Now I have a Lettera 35, a Lettera 32, a Rover 2000, a Singer Personal (= Royalite 120) a Triumph Tippa and a wonderful Olivetti Linea 98.
ReplyDeleteMy new blog https://the-typewriter-boy.blogspot.com/ (in italian language)
ReplyDelete( Hi My name is Joseph Bank”s and i am from Texas )
ReplyDeleteI have been a film freak for 13 years using both 120mm and 35mm cameras but I always wanted to write a novel and i wanted to
To do so on a typewriter so about 10 years ago i got a 1958 Olympia sm3 deluxe and tried to write on it but unfortunately it had lot of problems even though it looked brand new so after 10 years and about 200 attempts to use it , i still could not enjoy it so i got pretty
Lucky and traded it and some vary old cameras and got a mint newly refurbished and repainted yellow Lettera 22 typewriter that types like
A angel now i can finally enjoy using this fine machine
I have a question, how does one join this typosphere ?
Hi, Joseph! If you have a typewriter-related blog, just send an email to one of the administrators as explained above on this post. Otherwise, the typosphere is not an exclusive club—it's just a vague term for the online typewriter-lovers' world. See this page for some good places to start joining us. —Richard
ReplyDelete