A shiny Christmas

Photo from I Dream Lo-Tech. Visit the California Typewriter website here.

Paramount lobby, photo by "The Dude." The Paramount is almost too overwhelming to be captured in a two-dimensional image, but there are a couple of nice panoramic shots of the interior here.







Sorry about the poor iPad photography for my 200th typecast!

Good typings we bring ...

Franklin, my dear, I don't give a damn

Having recently enjoyed The Mostly German Philosophers Love Song, I'm in the mood for puns.

So here's the deal: the first three readers to reply with puns (no matter how awful) on typewriter brands will receive a free copy of ETCetera no. 100 -- the final issue edited by me -- as seen on Sommeregger's Sammelsurium and Streamlines DeLuxe.



This offer is limited to those who aren't already subscribers. If you're among the first three, send me an e-mail with your address. If you're too late -- post a pun anyway!

The workings of Destiny

Just one manual typewriter at St. Vincent De Paul's in the last 5 or 6 months ... what a drought! There was nothing there now but some inanimate wedges, some ca. 1980 monsters, and a baby blue Smith-Corona electric portable -- good typewriter, but what would I do with it?

Then I got an e-mail yesterday from a reader of this blog:

Two Christmases ago you were so kind to recommend a typewriter for my 8 year old daughter. She has loved her Royal Heritage portable. Now I am looking to get one for my 6 year old daughter. She has loved watching her sister type but gets easily frustrated because she doesn't have the strength to push the keys consistently. I was thinking of maybe getting her an electric like I had when I was a kid because it would likely be easier for her to use. Do you have any recommendations?

Well yes, I did! I knew where to get a fine Smith-Corona electric and could send it to her.

So this morning, I swung by St. Vinnie's -- and the machine was gone. Snapped up by some mystery typist!

I reported back sadly. But this afternoon, one of my colleagues came by with a typewriter that needed a home:




Destiny, wouldn't you say?

Now this Coronet will be on its way to a six-year-old girl in Cokeville, Wyoming. What a place to settle down with a typewriter for the winter and write your heart away:




These Smith-Corona electrics have a special place in my heart. My father used one when I was growing up, and to me it was a magical thing. I enjoyed putting this one through its paces. They're very fast, smooth, powerful typewriters. Ultimately I prefer the self-sufficiency of a manual, but if I wanted to put typewritten text onto paper quickly and easily, one of these (or a Selectric) would be my choice.

It's fun to serve as a matchmaking and adoption service for typewriters ... guided by Destiny!

PS: Here is the Royal Heritage from Christmas 2010 getting some good use.

Purple present

Here you can see the yellow Royal Mercury I gave my other niece two years ago.

And here's Tom Furrier's blog, which I'm sure most of my readers are already enjoying.

The ytpe wirter has it's flaws and i have mine

Here's documentation of an eighth grader's first encounter with a typewriter, at WordPlay Cincy:



The typewriters continue to be very popular, says director Libby Hunter. Adults like them no less than kids (this gentleman is dealing with tangled typebars on the Royal FP).



In other news, WordPlay recently got an excellent new sign for its in-progress Urban Legend Institute store, as part of the CoSign project.



(Photos from WordPlay's Facebook page.)