Friday, February 19, 2016

Typewriters in Buenos Aires



F.A.'s blog (hope he revives it)

University of Buenos Aires:



Librería Obelisco (website):



Prices are in Argentinian pesos (currently about 15 to the US dollar).
















This name variant of the Imperial is new to me:








I checked my laptop and found that I had this image of an ad for the Remington Ema. I'd forgotten about it.

 


8 comments:

  1. Those prices aren't too bad, if they've been restored. Sounds like an enjoyable trip.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Great pictures. I can't get over the plastic-wrapped typewriters in the shop. Also - I 'm shocked that the young people of Argentina are uninterested in typewriters. Sounds like a country ripe for Typewriter Revolution.

    ReplyDelete
  3. La EMA era una mala máquina, la armaron con partes provistas por Remington. Todos suponemos que rezagos, scrap de Remington. Fue un fracaso. Remington mismo fabrico máquinas de no muy buena calidad como la "600", la "100" y la "24".

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Gracias, Natalio. ¿Vives en Buenos Aires? Juntate a nosotros, nos encontraremos en el bar El Federal (esquina de Perú y Carlos Calvo) el domingo a las 10 de la mañana, y visitaremos la Feria de San Telmo.

      Translation of Natalio's comment: "The EMA was a bad machine. They assembled it with parts provided by Remington. We all suppose that these were leftovers, scraps from Remington. It was a failure. Remington itself manufactured machines of not very good quality such as the 600, the 100, and the 24."

      So were the 600, 100, and 24 made in that same factory in Argentina?

      Delete
  4. Wow. You could equip a whole office with that many machines! Richard, I wonder if it would be possible to ask anyone you meet on your trip about freedom of speech during the reign of the junta? I know it might not be a popular topic, but I've always been curious, since it was around the same time that writers like Jorge Bores were popular.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Such topics may very well come up. Argentina has had various strongmen and military dictatorships over the years. In the late '40s, Perón demoted Borges from his position as librarian to poultry and rabbit inspector. During the "dirty war" in the 1970s, tens of thousands of critics of the government were "disappeared."

      Borges is still very popular. Today I bought a nice illustrated book that juxtaposes several of his stories with photos of Buenos Aires.

      Delete
  5. So many typewriters in one spot! I wonder if the wrapped ones are fully restored and the the others fully working but not restored. Some of the prices look ok, if they could be brought back on an airplane, and if one had he time to learn to use the keyboard they use.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I would try it out on that Olivetti M20. I love its chassis.

    ReplyDelete