Does Anyone Else Also Use Manual Typewriters? What For?

[kealani]

22 minutes ago, gpsgrandpa said:

Outrageous does nicely describe the level that typewriter prices has reached. I recently did a search on Etsy for Hermes 3000 script machines and people were asking well over $1000! Fortunately there is a dealer in Canby with more reasonable price tags for typewriters.

Very true.

I have a mint condition Hermes Baby super portable, one of the smallest very functional vintage typewriters. It was made in Switzerland. I paid about $75 for it decades ago.

There are some outstanding professional typewriter restorers on ebay as well. Their workmanship is amazing. But prices also are very high. I paid $600 for a completely restored like new condition Olympia SM9 that functions perfectly and looks brand new. It was originally made in "Western Germany" in 1967 and the last and most refined model of the SM series.

Mint condition or fully restored manual vintage typewriters are difficult to find if one is looking for something specific.

[EWinter]

I'm a bit late to the party, yet I'll say that I love typewriters for drafting, for outlining, and for massaging ideas into more useful shapes. The clattering, the noise, the feel and touch, the physicality of it all is great. Similar to handwriting in that each form is fast enough to get your ideas out, yet slow enough to keep track of where you are. I love writing on a typewriter.

 

Computer typing is fine, but to me it is more of a finishing tool.

 

I'm fond of Royals and Underwoods, desk or portable, preferably prior to the late 1940s. The machines feel more solid, and type "snappier".

[kealani]

On 10/28/2022 at 3:50 PM, EWinter said:

I'm a bit late to the party, yet I'll say that I love typewriters for drafting, for outlining, and for massaging ideas into more useful shapes. The clattering, the noise, the feel and touch, the physicality of it all is great. Similar to handwriting in that each form is fast enough to get your ideas out, yet slow enough to keep track of where you are. I love writing on a typewriter.

 

Computer typing is fine, but to me it is more of a finishing tool.

 

I'm fond of Royals and Underwoods, desk or portable, preferably prior to the late 1940s. The machines feel more solid, and type "snappier".

so true.

I've found that different vintage typewriters are "happiest" when used at various speeds from very slow (1 finger typing), slowly (2 finger typing, or slow-medium touch typing but very deliberately.

Otherwise, all sorts of things happen if they are "rushed"; keys pile up and jam, space bar skips, etc.

 

It might be possible that, depending on the writer, some people write quicker with a fountain pen than lines can be typed on some vintage typewriters.

Which adds to the creative process and deliberate thought and action as the words and prose is formed on the page.

What do you think?

 

Thanks

k

[kealani]

On 6/25/2022 at 11:39 AM, inkstainedruth said:

Not sure how I missed this thread before now....

Back in the day, my mom wrote something like 30 novels on a Royal manual typewriter, before upgrading to an IBM Selectric electric one).  When she finally broke down and got an early word processor, she called me up one time (I was married by then) all excited because she had figured out how to use the search function to edit stuff, like changing a character's name) and I was going "Yeah, Mom, on my Apple computer it's "command key, F key...".  After she died, I gave the Royal to a friend who collects typewriters (he was a graphic artist and typesetter by trade, after going to art school).  Not sure what happened to the Selectric, or my old manual typewriter from middle school or high school, which was bought (along with one for my brother) about the same time she got the Selectric).  Dave may have gotten those as well.  

She also did correspondence (even personal letters) on a typewriter rather than by hand.

The comment that someone made about not typing on one without paper in the platen is a good one.  In fact, I was taught to have TWO sheets of paper the second one being extra cushioning, even if you weren't making a carbon copy.  (For my mother, it was often TWO carbon copies for the manuscript -- the good copy (on good paper) to send to the publisher, a backup copy for her, and a third copy one cheap yellow paper as a "just in case".  And when editing, she'd have three boxes on the dining room table (one for each copy), using the lids to turn each set of pages into so the pages would stay in order, and that way made sure any changes went into EVERY copy.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

What a wonderful story.

Thanks for taking the time to share it.

Wow!

30 novels. Back in the day, "real published novels" were a minimum of 100,000 words and 400 published pages. Far different from what many "writers" call "books" nowadays.

What memories.

Are you also a published novelist. . ."Like Joan Wilder" in the movie, "romancing the stone"?

 

k

[inkstainedruth]

3 hours ago, Kamuela said:

What a wonderful story.

Thanks for taking the time to share it.

Wow!

30 novels. Back in the day, "real published novels" were a minimum of 100,000 words and 400 published pages. Far different from what many "writers" call "books" nowadays.

What memories.

Are you also a published novelist. . ."Like Joan Wilder" in the movie, "romancing the stone"?

 

k

No I'm not.  I've had one poem published in a little magazine, back when I was a freshman in college (the only reason I knew it had been accepted is when I got my ONE(!) contributor copy).  Been trying my hand at fiction but I'm not disciplined enough.  My problem is that I have great ideas for scenes and it's a matter of then getting them down on paper.  Using fountain pens help because I can write much faster than I can type or keyboard, and don't have to get concerned about formatting stuff, and I will forget something so I've got stuff in the margins with arrows pointing to where it should go, or the little carat things where I forgot something or changed it written above the line.  MUCH easier to to with a pen on paper.

100K words?  Yikes!  Even the bodice-rippers my mom wrote were only about 80K....

Poetry is a LOT easier for me to write than prose is.  I tried to do NaNoWriMo a few years ago, and the first couple of days I managed to stay on pace, even though it was the weekend of the Ohio Pen Show.  But the rest of the month (including driving up the greater Boston area to my mother-in-law's for Thanksgiving)?  Not so much.  Had trouble focussing and concentrating.  I'm much better at NaPoWriMo, which is (1) in the springtime; and (2) there are daily prompts (subjects, themes, styles of poetry) that I can take and run with, or go at an oblique angle at, or ignore altogether; and (3) are much shorter -- maybe two or three pages in a composition notebook at most if it's something with stanzas.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

 

[EWinter]

Thank you very much.

 

I learned to touch-type in 7th grade, and never looked back. I've been guilty of going too fast on a typewriter, and that usually gets me quite a traffic jam in the keys. However, once I settle down and get a rhythm, jam-ups don't happen too often. Using a typewriter is sheer pleasure combined with efficient productivity.

[kealani]

On 10/30/2022 at 1:16 PM, EWinter said:

Thank you very much.

 

I learned to touch-type in 7th grade, and never looked back. I've been guilty of going too fast on a typewriter, and that usually gets me quite a traffic jam in the keys. However, once I settle down and get a rhythm, jam-ups don't happen too often. Using a typewriter is sheer pleasure combined with efficient productivity.

Each vintage manual typewriter has a personality. Some can only be 1 finger typed, and carefully, or 2 finger typed, IE: A vintage Baby Hermes made in Switzerland. Whereas some of the large desktop Royals, Underwoods, used in offices and businesses, etc, can be typed quickly. Though, as you said, only a certain rhythm and precision or the classic, "Key traffic jam" resulting in ink stained fingers.

 

Somehow, an electric typewriter is the lst step to a disconnect between thoughtful prose and writing and the process of getting it on the printed page, key by key, line by line. Perhaps. . . 

[jesus iribarren]

On 10/25/2022 at 10:11 PM, OregonJim said:

 

Thanks.  No, the Royal is all original - no restoration or refurbishing.  I do clean it once a year.  The platen is still soft and quiet, so I believe it will outlive me.  The machine doesn't have a single issue, cosmetically or mechanically.

 

Those Olympias sound beautiful.  I've seen a few SM4s locally, but haven't felt the need to pick one up.  Yet.  I do want to find a Royal KHM for sentimental reasons - my grandmother had one when I was a child - but the prices as of late seem outrageous.  The ones I've seen are in the $150 US range in "as-is" condition...

The Royal KMM, a monsteer, heavy, favorite of Truman Capote, I had one, I gave it to mu sister  i regret it, Olympias are beautiful but I prefer Remington Rand Model 5, blacks, beautifuls, impressive ones, I have 2, I have too the Royal Quiet de Luxe the favorite of Heminfway but I dont like it, and is working fine, Y dont know why.

[OregonJim]

On 11/3/2022 at 8:58 AM, Kamuela said:

 

Somehow, an electric typewriter is the lst step to a disconnect between thoughtful prose and writing and the process of getting it on the printed page, key by key, line by line. Perhaps. . . 

 

I don't know - my wife, who has arthritis in her fingers, might disagree.  Still, there are things you can't do with an electric - like take it out into nature and write by the side of a stream or on top of a mountain.  I'd like to find a good ultra-portable for just that purpose.  Maybe a Smith-Corona Skywriter or an Olympia SF...

[kealani]

5 hours ago, OregonJim said:

 

I don't know - my wife, who has arthritis in her fingers, might disagree.  Still, there are things you can't do with an electric - like take it out into nature and write by the side of a stream or on top of a mountain.  I'd like to find a good ultra-portable for just that purpose.  Maybe a Smith-Corona Skywriter or an Olympia SF...

Very true.

Arthritis and neuropathy, etc, in my hands and fingers. . electric typewriter to the rescue. My only electric is a restored Smith Corona Electra. Works wonderfully. And, the "key's" don't "traffic jam"!

Otherwise, Olympia SM9, Remington Quiet-Riter 11, or Royal KMM, types wonderfully.

[kealani]

"new" vintage typewriter, works great for being over 90 years old.

1929 Royal "portable".

 

[Lamy4life]

Here is my Hermes 3000, got it for $40 needed quite the cleaning but it works now. I will clean it later, its quite clunky feeling tho that may also be due to how hard the platen is. 

[ajoe]

No, but I saw the movie "California Typewriter" with Tom Hanks which I enjoyed.

[kealani]

11 hours ago, Lamy4life said:

Here is my Hermes 3000, got it for $40 needed quite the cleaning but it works now. I will clean it later, its quite clunky feeling tho that may also be due to how hard the platen is. 

Wow!!! A great find! Very nice. And, a steal at only $40

Thanks for posting a picture of it.

I have a fully restored Hermes 3000 that is in like new condition. It is indeed a bit clunky and stiff to use compared to the later models Olympia SM's. The later model Royal Quiet DeLuxe and also even the Smith Corona Galaxie and Deluxes seem to type easier with less key effort.

Like fountain pens, these "vintage" typewriters all have unique personalities.

[bsenn]

On 1/12/2023 at 5:52 AM, Kamuela said:

"new" vintage typewriter, works great for being over 90 years old.

1929 Royal "portable".

 

 

Wow, that's gorgeous!

 

[Estycollector]

On 8/30/2022 at 2:50 PM, Kamuela said:

Apologies for being away from the FPN for awhile (health issues. . old age. . . nothing new).

I've had to correspond more with my small collection of vintage manual typewriters due to carpal tunnel and nerve issues in my hands that make my handwriting more illegible than it already is.

 

Here's one of my favorites. I think it's about 1948. A Smith Corona Sterling in mint restored condition. It feels great to type a letter on it. Something about the sound and the feeling of the keys.

 

Remember when everything for school and work was done on a manual typewriter?

And, things "Mathematical" were done on a manual 10 key machine?

 

image hosting free

My 17 year old granddaughter wanted one and I found a model exactly like this one pictured. Even came in the original case and an extra ribbon. Thank you for posting. 

[kealani]

4 hours ago, bsenn said:

 

Wow, that's gorgeous!

 

It works great as well. I don't know what the font is. It's smaller than "elite" (12 cpi) (vs Pica 10 cpi). Maybe in the old days the type slug fonts were not standardized. It's really tiny.

But types very well.

k

[amberleadavis]

I still use them on envelopes.

[essayfaire]

I love manual typewriters.  I stopped being able to get the right ribbons/corrector ribbons, so I don't use it much anymore.  It was actually much easier to type with foreign accents than it often is on a computer.

 

The Royal is TDF.  Bet it's fun to use.

[kealani]

19 hours ago, essayfaire said:

I love manual typewriters.  I stopped being able to get the right ribbons/corrector ribbons, so I don't use it much anymore.  It was actually much easier to type with foreign accents than it often is on a computer.

 

The Royal is TDF.  Bet it's fun to use.

https://www.amazon.com/s?i=merchant-items&me=A3CMAE01M1078O&rh=p_4%3AFJA+Products&dc&ds=v1%3AFy6yKBPeo7U%2BooRh%2BWC0FGZlBMEI2HTVO63GJyyaZB0&marketplaceID=ATVPDKIKX0DER&qid=1674487379&ref=sr_nr_p_4_7

 

Here is the link to FJA Products on the Amazon.com website. They make a variety of typewriter replacement ribbons and cartridge. And, are very reputable with good customer service and products.