Monday, September 30, 2013

Desert Sunsets and Plexiglass Cubes

As the sun began to set in the desert and the golden rays of the sun light up the mountains and cacti I made a delivery of typewriters to the Glendale Community College North campus for the exhibit. I was able to snag a few pictures of the campus and the typewriters in the library.














Wednesday, September 25, 2013

The List

So here is the list of machines I came up with for the GCC North exhibition. I have had to make some tough editorial decisions, but I would love to hear  from you. How complete or incomplete is this list? I have tried to represent a century of typewriter evolution. Does this collection pull that off?

1909 Corona 3
1921 Underwood Standard Portable
1926 Remington 12
1935 Remington Model 7
1937 Corona Standard
1942 Royal Arrow Navy Radio Mill
1954 Royal HH
1959 Olympia SG-1
1959 Olympia SM3
1961 Brother Valiant
1961 IBM Selectric
1985 IBM Wheelwriter 5

Wednesday, September 18, 2013

Magic Margin Display at GCC North

A few weeks ago I got a call from one of the administrators at the local community college down the street. Glendale Community College's satellite campus in the North Valley has a beautiful library filled with display cases that are sitting empty. I was asked if I would be willing to put together 12 typewriters to display in the library for the rest of the semester. I jumped at the chance to get my collection out of my home Typetorium. 

We've got the ball rolling and it looks like there also might be a reception and lecture by a certain typewriter-collecting English teacher.

I've been going through my collection looking at what I might want to include in this broad collection. I think I have put together an interesting history of typewriters.

Things are in the planning stages and I'll make sure to keep everyone updated, but I am pleased as punch to be sharing our hobby with a whole new group of people.

Wednesday, September 4, 2013

A Blickensderfer in the Pines of Prescott


This is a picture of Sharlot Hall sitting at what appears to be a Blickensderfer 7 at her family home at Orchard Ranch 20 miles south of Prescott. Who was Sharlot Hall?

Sharlot M. Hall (1870-1943), who became well known as a poet, activist, politician, and Arizona’s first territorial historian. Sharlot Hall was one of the West’s most remarkable women. As early as 1907, Ms. Hall saw the need to save Arizona's history and planned to develop a museum. She began to collect both Native American and pioneer material. In 1927, she began restoring the first Territorial Governor’s residence and offices and moved her extensive collection of artifacts and documents opening it as a museum in 1928.
This great treasure of Arizona sits at a Blickensderfer 7 at Orchard Ranch 20 miles south of Prescott. Sharlot was very concerned with protecting Arizona's new history and filled an inhereted home (which was the territorial governor's mansion at one time) with artifacts and objects from Arizona's early years.

For Sharlot Hall, Prescott was far more rugged than the hip boutiques would suggest today. The simple and reliable Blick would have been invaluable to those living in these rugged wildernesses.