Showing posts with label Royal. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Royal. Show all posts

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Handy Little Thing

The carriage for my HH was feeling a little sluggish so I called Bill at MTE to see if he could help me do some on-the-fly diagnosis. The problem is that the carriage grabs and feels heavy in the same place. Letters pile up and some spacing between letters can be dodgy.

I was able to walk through a few diagnistic things when Bill said, "You can take the tension by removing the drawband."

That was a good idea, but I only had two hands to do this and there is a good chance I would have lost control of the the drawband causing damage to my fingers and havoc to my typewriter.

Royal's engineers thought of that and provided a handy screw for temorarily affixing the drawband to the body.


I could see that this feature might also be helpful if you were trying to fit a new drawband.


My KMG, FP, and HH all have this little knobly screw. I would have to check the other Royal desktops when I get home, but this was new to me and I could see it being a handy little thing.

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

History Comes Alive


The Royal "Radio Mill" in my private collection is one of the more interesting typewriters I own. The typeface (10 pitch all-caps) is very easy to read. Considering its purpose, that makes sense. I've been using it recently to make lists for our Sunday shopping. It is a fairly mundane task and I am sure that there have been far more important things that a 10 pitch radio-mill Royal would have done in its life.

Here is one such thing:


This is a naval dispatch is dated 7 DEC 1941; a date that will live in infamy. I found it while browsing the National Archives web page. This particular dispatch was sent to Sqantum Naval Air Station outside of Boston.

What caught my eye wasn't the historical import of the document, but the typeface used to type this dispatch. When I saw it it looked very familiar. I had and idea, so I went to the office and typed this out on my Royal:


My ribbon is a little drier and the original form might be a carbonless carbon, but the similarities are there. What clinched it for me was the number "4." It is very distinctive as you can see in this earlier post:


 When you see something like this it really makes history come alive.

Sunday, September 2, 2012

So, Where's the Classroom?

So if this blog's sub-heading is "Classroom Typewriter Project" I am sure you are noticing a lack of classrooms and projects. Typewriters? Plenty of those, but very few classrooms and projects.

Well, I am happy to say that the final spool has been wound and the ribbons are set to go back into the machines. It looks like Tuesday will be the introduction to the project with a presentation for my classes and the first typed documents will be coming out of the machines shortly after that.

There are a few new typers to be added to the list. These were donated by Ton S. and Bill M. Right now, I would like to give Bill M. the "Typewriter Packer of the Year Award" for his beautiful attention to details and twist ties. Here are some photos:










Ton's' second donation is still in a case at home. I am going to be taking it to school on Tuesday. If I remember, I'll post a copy of my presentation for everyone to see. 

I also desperately need to update the donors list and the machines currently in rotation. So, in reality, there are quite a few projects. 

Friday, July 27, 2012

Central Phoenix Typewriter Hunting

Being a teacher you are on your feet all day. With all that standing I tend to wear through a pair of shoes in the course of one school year. Almost every summer I have to take my shoes down to my regular cobbler and have them resoled. Fun shoe fact: the Prince of Wales has had the same pair of black oxfords made by John Lobb of St. James for the past 40 years. He keeps having them patched and shined and they'll last a lifetime. But, enough about shoes.

While I was in the area I thought it would be nice to go to a few antique stores and see what I could find in the way of typewriters. I didn't find much, and what I did find was pretty boring, but it was fun hunting none-the-less.







The only bright spot was finding this Gestetner duplicator. I have no idea what it would take to get it working, but it was in nice shape and only $65. There seems to be a large plasticized canvas sheet that has disintegrated with time. Perhaps it keeps the stencil stretched taught over the drums. I have no idea even where you would get the parts to make it work. But if you could it would be fun. Repeat-O-Type has inks and stencils. Anyway, here it is:



Monday, July 23, 2012

I Just Noticed


The right knob. Probably newer.

The left knob. Probably original.

1926-1927 Royal 10

Friday, July 20, 2012

Typewriters are Everywhere

Mrs. Magic Margin is much more observant than me. She notices patterns that I think are just noise and coincidence. She has saved me more than once when I have glossed over a detail. So, it was no surprise when she leaned over to me while we were out seeing Moonrise Kingdom that typewriters are everywhere.

Example the First
Garnier BB face cream is for people who care about their face. I have always considered mine nothing remarkable, so commercials about this type of product fly over my ever-increasingly bald head. But, on the advice of Mrs. Magic Margin, I went to the Internet and found this commercial. It's the usual "make your face fresh" sort of stuff, but there is a typewriter in the last 1/4 of the commercial. It isn't a plot point or anything important, but it is a typewriter. You can plainly see from the two screen grabs below:



Example the Second
The Perks of Being a Wallflower has been in print for some time. It has just recently been turned into a feature film. (Fun fact: Chbosky wrote the novel and directed the film) I have never read it, but Mrs. Magic Margin says that it's a good book. The protagonist is shy and an aspiring writer and it's gospel that shy and aspiring writers need a typewriter. You can see from this still where Emma Watson (Harry Potter) and Logan Lerman (Hoot, Percy Jackson & the Olympians) are standing in front of a very nice Royal portable. However, the case is all wrong for the model. The prop master should have consulted with a Typospherian first.


Furthermore, the title is rendered in a typewriter-inspired typeface.


Example the Third
Now, I couldn't find any pictures for this third Proof, but the soon-to-be-released film, The Words has typewriters, original typewritten manuscripts, and literary theft. It's portrayed as a romantic drama about an author who finds a manuscript and plagiarizes the story as his own. As his literary celebrity increases, so does the price of stealing someone story. There are typewriters there too.

I could go on and on about the Pottery Barn catalog that features a Hermes Ambassador, or other examples, but you get the idea.

A Summation
What is going on here? What is the deal?

I think I have an answer. It's us. It's the Typosphere. Through our blogs, and type-ins, and articles, and documentaries we have brought the typewriter out of the dusty closets, musty basements, and stifling attics. We've started to make typewriters important; perhaps even more important than they were during the height of their use.

Regardless, it's a great time to be a typewriter collector.

Let's keep it up until typewriters are everywhere!



Sunday, July 15, 2012

Bill M., You Rock!

Whenever I verge on the edge of rude, the ghostly presence of Great-Nana Magic Margin descends from her ethereal plane to slap me up-side the head. I have meant and meant to post this thank-you to Bill M. a new donor to the Classroom Typewriter Project, but I have been derailed by Scientific keyboards and other little activities. 

Bill sent a very clean Japanese Olympia and a customized Royal Companion. The Olympia is a mate to one we have in the classroom. These snappy little typewriters are popular with students who are new to typewriters. They have a more modern look and a feel that is good for novice and expert typers alike. The Royal-- like all the other Royals-- will be loved and used. I am sure there will be some interest in the unique paint scheme.

Now, I have some shame and time and it's about time that Bill be recognized for some good old-fashioned thoughtfulness. Bill shipped these typewriters to Phoenix all on his own dime (as I am a teacher and very much out of dimes, nickels, or other form of pecuniary remuneration). It's his kind of kindness that gets these typewriters into the hands of students. And you know, there are other teachers out there looking to better the lives of students through non-digital writing. Think about sending someone a typewriter. They will appreciate it!

So, it's time I banish Great-Nana Magic Margin's ghost and say thank you to Bill. You rock!

Here are a few pictures:




Saturday, March 24, 2012

March 31st Type-In Poster

I've just finished my version of a poster for the 3rd Phoenix Type-In. Feel free to down load the PDF (by clicking on the picture below) and distribute it to everyone you know! Hope to see you there!