The Best Type-In Yet!

Phoenix has cacti, hot sun, and one of the most exciting Type-In scenes around. 

The Type-In today was more than a success. I lost count of how many people showed up, instead focusing on circulating and talking to people.

We had reporters from the Arizona Republic and the local NBC affiliate, Channel 12, interviewing, filming, and photographing all the wonderful people who came out for the event.

When it came to machines, boy did we have some interesting ones. There was a Bennett, a Continental, a Swissa (Ted's), and a host of other machines. I brought the script Facit, an SG-1 with 16" inch carriage, and the US Navy Royal Arrow with radio mill typeface.

The staff of Lux were gracious and very kind. We had far more than anticipated, but they took it in great stride. I want to thank Jeff, the owner of Lux for his generosity. Also, Danielle, worked hard to make sure that we had want we needed.

Finally, Bill Walh deserves a big thanks. It was his word-of-mouth and constant Facebook efforts that get so many people there. It was very fun.

Type-In Today!

A Taste of the Type-In

I have been mulling over what three machines to bring to the Type-In. I have narrowed it down and these are the three. However, the pictures of the machines below are just teasers. To see them in their full glory, stop by Lux between 1p and 3p! Oh, by the way, bring a typewriter with you if you can!

[Archive] Type-In Tomorrow!

In case you were wondering, this is a post from a Type-In long past. However, you are in luck. There is a type-in happening this weekend (May 23rd, 2015) at Changing Hands on Central Ave. There's a blog post about it here:

http://www.magicmargin.net/2015/05/the-countdown-to-type-in-and-type-in.html

So, if you are free, check out the typewriter excitement.

This post seems to be popluar. That's great, but there is more detailed and newer information on the current March 6, 2013 type-in here:

http://www.magicmargin.net/2013/02/4th-phoenix-type-in_25.html

and here:

http://www.magicmargin.net/2013/02/4th-phoenix-type-in.html

Obviously, the Type-In happened and it was a great success. If you were there, thanks for coming. It was fun to see typewriter fans getting together and sharing their love of this wonderful machine. Keep an eye peeled for information about future Type-Ins!

March 31st Type-In Poster

I've just finished my version of a poster for the 3rd Phoenix Type-In. Feel free to down load the PDF (by clicking on the picture below) and distribute it to everyone you know! Hope to see you there!

Magic Kismet

Know 99 Typewriter Story

The City of Phoenix has an education channel called Know 99. It's very local and very fun to watch. Many of the students from the Cronkite School of Journalism at ASU produce segments and this is one. It fell on the heels of the CBS story and, honestly, I forgot about it. It's these kinds of local things that give me the most pleasure. CBS Sunday Morning was awesome, but when your local educational community recognizes something, it's really nice.

 

The awful thing about seeing yourself on TV (or in this case the internet) you can really see where you need to shed some pounds. So, if you excuse me, I need to run up and down the stairs while holding a couple of Royals.

A Tad O' the Green

This afternoon I spent a little time preparing a typewriter for a special young lady. Diana is Alhambra's valedictorian and I found out that she wanted a typewriter of her own. From what I gather, she had worked hard all year in a part-time job and her tax return was going to be used to buy the typewriter of her dreams. Well, I've seen what's out there and I was positive I had the perfect machine for her…and gratis too. She can keep the tax return. It's this Hermes 2000:

Wow, the iPad camera is pretty grainy in medium-light situations.

I really must get some better pictures tomorrow.

As it was in a fine condition when it came to me I only had to clean it up a little and throw a ribbon in it. 

This looks more green, but still sickly.

I had offered a few other machines, but it was the Hermes 2000 that she really wanted. Until I had the joy of getting this one ready for a new user, I was unaware of how lovely they are. This diminutive gem has a touch regulator and you can tune it quite nicely to your typing peccadilloes. I feel the touch is less "pillowy" than the Hermes 3000. It's not snappy, it's soft in the first half of the key press and then it thickens in the last half. It's quietly muffled like all Hermes are and is not distracting in the least. As one is inured to the rhythm and cadence required from the 2000– the commonest problem being skipped letters originating from the type bar segment antipodes– the experience becomes smooth and enjoyable. I have heard that the letter 'a' is a particular nuisance to our more ham-fisted Typospherians, but I have never had that sort of problem. 

While this post comes at the nadir of St. Patricks Day it is appropriate that this Typegrant is green. The greenness bends more to the mint and less to the kelly, but the sentiment is the same. And to honor those of Irish blood here is a link to a very interesting report by Michael Everton on Irish Typewriter Keyboards. This link comes by way of Richard Polt's very stimulating website. It's very interesting and there are samples of the typefaces too. Absolutely beautiful!

Royal Doire from
http://www.evertype.com/celtscript/type-keys.htm  

Yellow Typewriters are for Redhead Apple-Eating Geniuses

March 31st Type-In at Lux Coffeehouse

Spring Break

Photographic Evidence

A few days ago I lamented not finding more pictures of HHs in the rarer colors. Well, I stumbled across a picture of one while looking for information on the Royal Grand. Will Davis' site (currently mirrored by Machines of Loving Grace). When I first saw it I thought that the picture was just an odd shade, but as you can see, the ribbon is very visible. Very grey. This is a sombre typewriter. I LOVE it!

From what I have read this machine is the personal favorite of the Elder Davis. I can imagine why. Smooth operation. Snappy feel. Easy carriage tension adjustment. The keytop's bowl shape make typing less fatiguing. When it comes to the pinnacle of typewriter design perfection, this is it. I know they are not lookers, but form will follow function and these function perfectly.

From Machines of Loving Grace's mirror of Typewriters by Will Davis

Ton, You Are Awesome!

The Tower in its tawny glory.

Already in use! You go, student!

Wanted!

The affinity I have for the Royal HH borders on lunacy. Thankfully, I only have the one, but given the option I would take another in one of the other 5 colors out there...

Here are some examples I found on the web (with as much attribution as I could gather):

A green HH as presented on the blog Typewriter Hoarding.

Pink on meedily's flickr account.

I have not found the blue, the yellow, or the charcoal/grey. If you know of a picture, let me know. If you have such a colored HH I would be really interested in getting one. Send me a letter, and we'll talk.

N.B. As far as I can tell, it looks like the colors were painted with some sort of sheen finish. The brown HH which is ubiquitous is always in a wrinkle finish. There is so little about these machines out there.

FP In The Library

This is the FP in the school's library. When it was in my possession -- being more willing to beg forgiveness than ask permission -- I went ahead an painted it. The color was not exactly like the historic FP green, but gave an overall impression of the same color. In reality, the gray was chipped and scrapped from years of use in public education. This is one of the few public typewriters I have been able to get set up around our campus.

Krylon Celery Green. It's much lighter than the old FP green.

This FP has a a darker tint and earmuffs. 
The earmuffs are a carbon ribbon kit. 
Photo via Machines of Loving Grace

Blue FP from a Life magazine advertisement.

I have started to see an interesting shift in the mindset of my students. The typewriters are no longer objects of curiosity or antiquated tools, they are starting to become part of the fabric of their educational experience. It's an interesting and nuanced change. I am proud to have some hand in making that happen.