Or...I could have been hitting the spacebar accidentally. The keys have a very light, loose action.
Sorry for the bluriness, and the lack of getting the Aristocrat logo in the shot.
Love these stamps! Did you carve them, or pick them up at the type-in. Peter? I'd love to know.
-Anna.
Salutations Typospherians,
Today, I received a Typogram from Nats, along with goodies!
Since Gargoyle was on the secretary anyway, I couldn't resist getting her in the shot. She is quite the photogenic beastie, and I'm sure you'll all get tired of seeing her eventually. Here's a close up of the correspondence.
Sorry for the glare; I forgot to cover the flash! The round paper wrapped package is washi tape, though I like to refer to it as typewriter band-aids. It's the same cute pattern as the 'A', hearts and clouds! The two cards are original typewriter keytop replacement cards for a Royal, I believe an Aristocrat specifically. Where she found them, I have no idea. What I'll use them for is the topic of another post.
I put the newspaper behind it on purpose, to accentuate the interesting shape! It was its own envelope. I'll have to remember this for the future. Also, look at that adorable sea turtle! Thanks Nat!
As an aside, I apologize to those I've already written to for my lengthier-than-typogram length correspondence. I'll try to pare it down for the future.
And to Nat--hubs was mentioning what nice handwriting you have, so I'm not alone in that sentiment!
Post on, good people!
-Anna.
Salutations Typospherians,
Between myself, Darling and a shiny new ribbon, the Oliver No. 3 that I have dubbed 'Gargoyle' now flies again. Here are her first words in who knows how long.
I must admit, I'm really in love with this typer, and it isn't simply her devilishly good looks (Prada, eat your heart out). The type action is actually much lighter than on my Remington, so I don't have to smash the keys into oblivion just to get a little ink on the paper. She's a beast and needs no coaxing to slam straight through two pieces of paper on her own accord. Even with a light touch, she does this, which reminds me I really must do something about that platen. The nice thing about this wickedly snappy action, however, is I need push no harder on her antiquated keys than I do on my new laptop.
I think she must have been dropped on her head at one point, or had something very heavy placed on top of her, as the alignment is all sorts of out of whack, typearms were bent, ribbon covers were bent and the spacebar is broken off on the right side. All but the spacebar are now fixed, and the break isn't affecting the action at all. She's one deliciously spooky looking machine and I feel I'm channeling Igor at his pipe organ when I type on her!
Some more artistic edits of photos of Gargoyle to leave you with as I sign off. Enjoy!
--Anna.
Salutations Typospherians!
I received correspondence from notagain on Tuesday. I apologize for not posting it sooner!
I think it's fabulous that it was completely typed on Torpedoes, especially given the subject matter! That's a machine I don't currently have; I need to procure one.
Your typogram is on its way to you, as well!
So now, all you good folks who have already sent and received correspondence, please report back to me so we can start on second round pairings!
Salut!
-Anna
P.S.-still working the bugs out for uploading typecasts. Blogger and Photobucket don't work together, so I'm going to continue tinkering with the blog settings to see if I can get it looking the way I would like it to. If that doesn't work, I'll use another image hosting site that was recommended to me by all you good people who commnted. Thanks for your patience!
Hello Typospherians,
Last night I introduced you all to the newest addition to my collection, the Oliver No. 3. I was playing around with it last night and it seemed the ribbon was advancing in a normal fashion (I looked at the top and the bottom of the machine, watching the spools and mechanism), but today when I tried the ribbon again, the typeface tore a hole in it! So, it obviously is not advancing as it should be. I was wondering if any of you have ever had this problem on Oliver 3's and if so, what did you do to fix it? The machine has been cleaned (not deep cleaned, however) and oiled, so I don't think it's as simple as that but was wondering if it may have something to do with the ribbon guides, as they do seem a bit off-kilter. If you have any suggestions or a link, please send them on!
Thank you!
-Anna.
*Transcription below*
Greetings Typospherians,
I am finally typecasting with Molly, my cute little green keyed, red cased Royalite with obvious shift issues. Also has some ribbon alignment issues. But overall, it works. I picked this little darling up on ebay for $0.99. After a little TLC such as replacing lost screws in the base, refreshing the ribbon (which I thought I had ruined), a good cleaning, saddle soaping and repairing the leather case, she is ready to go anywhere. But Molly is not the reason I am typecasting tonight. Today, my first-round correspondence went in the mail, as well as a little impulse something to one [on the list of] correspondents, which I am certain will be blogged about once received.
I also rescued an old Underwood Standard No. 6 from the hands of keychoppers. It is almost in as sad shape as the Royal 5, but at least it can live out its twilight years in peace with me. I will attempt to revive it at some point, but for now, I am focusing on the working typers with bugs and trying to keep the ones that work well working well.
additionally, I picked up the Oliver No. 3 that I won on ebay the other day (I will link the seller below). He was very nice and told me his father had a bunch of them, and that he was now selling them off, so keep an eye on his ebay store for more grand old machines. His photos were good, response time and courteousness was phenomenal he even met me instead of shipping the Oliver.
I was gobsmacked by the sight of the grand old machine. Though I had absolutely committed to it, I just had to test it out before it hopped from his car to mine. I typed shakily, in a state of disbelief that I had an Oliver in my hands...and it actually worked. There wasn't even much dust on it, just ancient oil. Some of the typebars did stick a bit, but not enough to deter me in the slightest. It sat on my lap all the way home while I admired it, as darling said, 'in Oliverland'. When we got home I cleaned and oiled it while he refreshed the ribbon, then I tried it out. The ribbon either needs more time to soak up the WD or it needs re-inked. It looks truly ancient, with that faded blue-black sheen. It still has the ribbon covers, and the ribbon was on wooden spools, which I assume is original to the machine. After the clean/oil/test/verdict, I covered it up with a plastic computer cover and will test the ribbon again tomorrow. All in all, I adore it. I cannot wait to begin typecasting and typogramming with it!
I am including tasty photos. Also pictured are some typers seen in the wild. I have picked up three in the wild this week, and two were gifts. Antique row on Second Street in Pomona seems the place to go for this, as most of the prices are fair, most of the typers work, and extra incentive is that they are having their annual antique street fair on the 29th. I hope some of you are able to go and rescue some wonderful old machines and perhaps even share them with someone you love.
Lets put keychoppers out out business!
-Annalese Stradivarius
This is the Underwood I found in the wild and rescued, exactly as it was found. It was $15.
Two Smith-Corona portables located across the street from the Underwood. The Clipper on the left was $85. There was also a Royal portable underneath the freezer (hence the sign). There were other typers at this antique mall as well, including the Lettera 32 mentioned in my last post.
The machine for the end of the world, my Oliver No. 3! Right where it belongs, on my secretary.
Platen is a little hard. After I got it oiled and was testing it, I was putting holes through two layers of paper.
There is something ominous and enthralling about those typebars and the way they move. Draconic, skeletal, pipe organ-esque. The iron butterfly has finally landed at a very doting home!
After cleaning and oiling. It wasn't very dirty, so there doesn't appear to be too much of a difference in the photos.
Molly, the Royalite which made tonight's typecast possible. I disabled lightbox, but I'm still playing with the other suggestions, so until I get everything nice and big and legible, I'll continue to transcribe on the laptop. I over-saturated this typer's ribbon, so the type is difficult to read in person.
This one is for fun, but is also the image I'll be using for every correspondence post. All my correspondence today went everywhere with me in this bag until I put it in the post at ten till five in the afternoon. I believe it was a mail bag to begin with. It is from WWII.
A special thank-you to ebay seller serius for a fantastic and expedient transaction! The typer exceeded my expectations, as did communication and willingness to accommodate me. Thank you serius--I have the typewriter of my dreams, thanks to you!
As you can see, what's left of the graphics is incredibly difficult to make out. This is not the entire collection; it is missing the Aristocrat, the Erika (still en route) and one I'll not disclose but am going to win tonight. I wasn't smart enough to remember to bring a camera either time that we went out, either. And if nobody snags that Lettera, I may just end up going back for it. If anyone wants to go rescue some typers, I'll send you shop names and locations; I'm loath to do so on the blog because I don't want a keychopper swooping in on them at some of the prices these lovely old machines are marked.
Discuss and enjoy!
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