A San Francisco corner at night:
Meanwhile, in Oakland earlier today ....
... I stopped by the amazing Cathedral of Christ the Light, on Lake Merritt. It's impossible to capture this space in a photo. A visit is highly recommended.
PS: Here's my visit to New Haven and my interview with Manson Whitlock.
Lovely read. Sounds like you will enjoy your time in the city by the bay.
ReplyDeleteNice typewriter, great article. Enjoy yourself!
ReplyDeleteIt never dawned on me that there might have been universal carbon ribbons available, from where. I assume that the imprint with them is consistent compared to standard ink ribbons?
ReplyDeleteLike Dan (below), I use ribbons for a Selectric. They are 9/16", so it's a bit of a squeeze to get them onto a typical spool and through a typical ribbon vibrator, but it is usually possible. For best results, you also want the spools to advance far enough with each stroke that letters will not overlap on the carbon ribbon. I find that most carbon ribbons provide a crisp, black imprint -- but only if letters don't overlap. There is also a multistrike carbon ribbon that can deal with overlaps, but the typing is less dark.
DeleteHi John, I re-spool IBM Selectric I ribbons onto conventional spools. They don't type quite as darkly as a conventionally-inked ribbon, perhaps because manual typewriters don't strike with the same force as the electrics for which they were designed. (I don't have a Selectric I.)
ReplyDeleteSee this page for a post I wrote 4-5 years ago when I encountered a case of these ribbons.
http://typosphere.blogspot.com/2014/05/selectric-i-ribbons-available.html
Nice. I moved away from the City in 1984 and have never stopped missing it. Haven't been there since before the digital revolution, and I fear the changes I'd see, especially considering what's happened to Seattle, my second favorite city.
ReplyDeleteLove that little Aristocrat. Is the little return lever stiff when used to advance the line? All the Babys and Rockets I've tried have that problem--you return the carriage and then have to press harder to roll the platen.
No, it doesn't have that problem.
DeleteThank you for sharing your wonderful SF experience! Hope you have a great time in one of our most dynamic cities!
ReplyDeleteSeems odd that a typewriter made in Britain was sold in the US, the homeland of the typewriter. Rather coals to Newcastle.
ReplyDeleteThey are rare in the US, as are most British typewriters. I got lucky and found an Aristocrat in my own town, Cincinnati.
DeleteThat cathedral is spectacular.
ReplyDelete