Jittery Apostrophe

My Smith-Corona Electric has a problem:

My, what a jittery apostrophe. I think it has something to do with the power-roller. What do you think? Have you had this problem?

Typing to the Stars

In addition to the Brother XL-800 that was dropped on my doorstep several weeks ago, I also received a plastic wedge.

We all have been given these by people who want to unload some junk. They are good machines for a purpose, but hardly collectible. There are a few that are interesting.

They might have lines that suggest a harsh modern future where everything was a little Bang and Olufsen.

Or they might have an LCD display.

Such was the situation with this typewriter.

It's none other than a Canon Typestar 5. An ultra-thin battery operated wedge that hosts two different typefaces, automatic centering, a correction system, and a novel thermal transfer printhead that works on standard office paper. Pretty swanky technology for the period. Alas, this one was missing both knobs and I was forced to make new ones out of Instamorph. My knobs look a little like albino jujubes, but they do the job. Originally there were flatter and matched the body color more closely.

This machine comes from a time that I readily remember. I come across one of these plastic wedges and I am immediately transported to the Electric Avenue section of Montgomery Wards. It's as if I had my own Midwest time machine powered by casseroles and Jello-molds.  It was a wonderland of word processors, computers, and electronic typewriters. These gleaming bits of consumerism were stacked in rows on neat and tidy shelves. It was a sight to behold.

What is it like to type on? It's like a computer. It feels digital. You feel removed front he typing act. At the end of the digital line the carriage zips across and prints a line. It's quiet and efficient and completely devoid of romance. I don't care for it at all.

 

Everything about this typewriter smacks of gadgetry. It's a fun little gadget to impress people, but can you use it for any length of time? I know that I rather use a good old mechanical machine, but it is fun to play around with something outside my collecting range.

The really interesting thing about Canon is that there is an interesting similarity between that company and Brother. I'll share more about that later. Now, I have to find a place for this thing. Luckily it it pretty small.

Select-A-Type

It was a dollar on eBay.

 Here is a radical/pi:

Shipping was free. Actually, shipping was a Forever stamp. So that's good.

We are all familiar with Smith-Corona's more popular changeable types, but here is Royal's version. It's not a changeable type as much as a changeable type bar. 

They look completely unused.

I don't have a typewriter that can use these, but I thought they were strange enough to hazard the bid. Further investigation led me to one small clue at the bottom of this advertisement from around 1956.

It reads:

Could these be the interchangeable type bars mentioned in the ad?

The logo on the case is the same that Royal used all through the McBee years especially on the Safari. I am guessing they are from the 50s or 60s. The "Select-A-Type" typeface makes me think 1950s.

My mind also started thinking about why you don't see more early electric typewriters around? In all these years I have maybe seen 5 Royal electrics from the 50s and only one of the colored versions. (I kick myself for not spending the $30 on it.) Where have all the electrics gone?

If anyone has some ideas as to what machine could use these interchangeable type bars, I would be interested in hearing from you. 

Pulleys

The Super Mega Capacitor of Death



You can see the extent of the electrical complexity of this typewriter. The massive motor is on the other side. The vertical piece of  plastic to the right is the power switch which is actuated by a lever assembly at the front of the machine. Three parts make this typewriter electric; a switch, a capacitor, and a motor.

Fully charged, I assume that it would hold a nice little jolt. Who needs coffee when you have this?

It's Not the Worst Typewriter Ever

The typewriter is a tool. Much like every tool, the product that is created with its aid is shaped by the tool itself. The Typosphere would agree with this statement. It's one of the tenants that keeps us writing with typewriters; the tool transforms the work. For most of the denizens of the Typosphere, this mean manual typewriters.

Manual typewriters have more going for them than electric typewriters. You can use a manual typewriter anywhere. All you need is a sturdy desk. That's it. A desk and an idea. Nothing more. If a desk isn't to your liking you can use a bookcase. You can sit on a park bench. By the seaside.

These qualities are hard to come by with an electric typewriter. Instead of freedom, you are attached by an umbilical. The power that impels the imprint of your ideas comes from electrons sent to your wall by a smoke-belching or radiation-hot generator. But even in this grim view there are some really exceptional electric typewriters.

The IBM Selectric is an example of an exceptional electric typewriter. I know that I am not the only one who feels so. The type ball is a really interesting evolution of the single type element. The simple analog to digital conversion is really something quite unique. For every good thing about the IBM Selectric, there is a terrible electric typewriter waiting in the wings.

The IBM Wheelwriter is one of those terrible things. OK, maybe I am a little harsh. There are some really great things about the Wheelwriter and there are some things that will lead to a future filled with really trashy typewriters.

What is good about the Wheelwriter? Even though this typewriter is 100% electric there is still a fairly satisfying touch to the keyboard. You can thank the buckling spring key switches for that. The technology that makes these keyboards so enjoyable to use is the same technology that is in the IBM Model M keyboard. I am a devotee of these keyboards and they are often cited as the finest typing keyboard in the history of computer input devices. The keyboard on the Wheelwriter, though, is decidedly louder and snappier.

There are also a few features that make special typing much easier. You can center text easily. It even can remember up to two pages of text and type them back at a mere command of your fingers.

It has interchangeable typefaces.

And a very cool auto-load feature.



There are lots of keys to press.

It can be a printer if hooked up to a computer. (Everyone knows that a computer is a great big thing that sits in a lab. Why would you ever need a computer in your home?)

And it has this handy guide to various features.

With so many cool features it is understandable why it’s a popular typewriter with…

Sedaris used to have a request for a Wheelwriter in his contract. “And then I would show up and it would be some ancient Canon typewriter,” Sedaris said in a recent telephone interview. “And then you would type three words and the ribbon would snap. And then you’re at some hotel out on the highway and there’s nowhere to get a new ribbon.” Says Sedaris.

But Sedaris isn’t alone in his Wheel Writer love.

Ray Bradbury used one and

Elmore Leonard uses one.

And I admit that I have been guilty of typewriter snobbery in the past. I thought just because it was electric and modern that it cannot be as good as a manual typewriter. For me this is true, but it is not necessarily true for others. Tools can be very personal. What feels right for one might be all wrong for others. The Typosphere is a big enough place to let all typewriters have their place. This little attitude adjustment makes me appreciate this tool more than I have in the past.

Oh, By-the-way The IBM Wheelwriter is not the first typewriter to have a print wheel. This machine (From the collection of Martin Howard) is a Victor and it had a daisy wheel.