Plan and Preview

The idea what to do with all these machines has really started me thinking. Sure, I could keep them in the classroom collection, but that would only impact my students. I want to share the love of typewriters with many people. That's why I have decided to create a new program called Typegrant. Typegrant is designed to get typewriters into the hands of creative young people. While the application process is still in development, a student under the age of 18 can apply to receive their own beautiful typewriter. Each one will be completely working and filled to the brim with ribbons, paper, and Ko-Rec-Type correction tabs. This machine will be their to keep. Exciting, no?

I will be working out the details over the weekend and hope to have a completed application and plan in the next few days. In the interim, please enjoy these pictures form the Eric Lawson donation!

Things are Happening!

A Type-u-copia

Typewriter Gifts

A Little Organization Goes a Long Way

I took some time to dust my home collection and I thought that some people might enjoy a look at how I have them displayed.

Top left: Remington Model 7, Top right: Royal Quiet De Luxe
Bottom left to right: Corona Zephyr, Royal Portable, Royal Model 'O', Naval Royal Arrow

These are just the home machines. The ones at school make for the sum total of the collection. I really like this IKEA shelf (Expedit) because each cube is the perfect size for a typewriter.

Typewriter Activities: Part III

For those of you just popping in, I have put together 5 activities for teachers to use typewriter in a classroom setting. This is number 3 of 5. So, please excuse all the education lingo. 

Response Zine
This is my favorite activity so far. I like it so much that I am going to use it when we get to Romanticism (in a few days). It’s such a great thing to see student-made publications. When it comes to examples there thousands of good (and school-appropriate) zines yo could bring for inspiration. Look in your own community. I am sure you’ll find something.

Supplies Needed 
Several typewriters
Paper
Access to a Xerox machine
Saddle stapler
Markers
Old magazines
Glue
Tape
Zine introduction slideshow*

Set-Up Steps 
1. Have the Zine presentation queued up and ready to go.
2. Arrange your desks into groups of four.
3. Put all the supplies the students might need on group desk.
4. Set up a “binding station” on a table or desk somewhere in the room.

Activity Overview 
By creating a Zine in response to a literary selection, students will have the opportunity to express their opinions about a work an its meaning in a larger context. Also, students will be able to express opinions in a public forum. Zines are intensely personal so each group’s product will be vastly different. Don’t worry if the result is a little odd or strange. This is an acceptable outcome to this assignment.

Instructional Narrative 
Anticipatory set: “Does anyone know what a Zine is?” (Allow time for discussion.)

A Zine is an amateur magazine, but there is so much more to them. I would like to go through this presentation for you. If you have any questions, write them down on a piece of paper and you will get a chance to ask them later.

We are going to make Zines as a way to reflect and comment on what we have learned about Romantic literature. Romantics were inspired by nature and believed in the Romantic Notion. You are going to answer this question in the form of a Zine:

Does the Romantic Notion have a place in the 21st century? 

You will work with your table groups. If you feel like working on this project alone, that would be perfectly fine, you just need to let your table group and me know.

I am putting no restrictions on genre or style. As long as your Zine answers the guiding question (as you see the answer) you will have completed the requirements. Please give this an effort. What you put into this project will be reflected in your grade. I will give each table group a rubric to assist in developing their Zine. You will have a number of days to work on this project.

You may use any of the tools at your table. Typewriter, pens, pencils, magazine cutouts, etc. Be very creative.

Whatever you turn in will be copied and returned to you. Yo can then take what you have over the binding station and assemble it. Each table will make 20 copies of their Zine and we will make them available to our school community.

Other people will read it, so make sure that it represents our best work. We will deal with other problems as they arise. Are there any questions?

Wrapping It Up 
You will have to make all the copies for the students, but it shouldn’t be too difficult. Let them bind them and put them together. You will need to keep an eye on the content. Use the standards of your school be your guide. If in doubt, ask a colleague you trust.

You can use the finished products as fodder for reflections or other types of writing assignments.

Remember, this assignment can easily be altered to fit whatever you are teaching. Just change the guiding question.

*The slideshow will be done fairly soon. You will be able to download it here.

Typewriter Activities: Part II

Typing Discussion (Silent Discussion with Typewriters)

As an activity, this one is pretty easy to do. The only challenge is that you need to keep your class silent for the discussion. What do I mean by this? Read to find out more:

Supplies

• A number of questions for whatever you’re teaching. (Hint: try to have questions that require a longer answer. “Who is Paine’s audience in ‘The Crisis’”? is a fair question, but “How does Paine use pathos to persuade his audience?” is a better question.)
• 1 typewriter per question.
• Pieces of paper.
• Larger pieces of paper (legal or tabloid would be great).

Set-Up Steps

1. Write one question on each of the larger pieces of paper. Make the question clear and easy to read.
2. Set up the typewriters at stations where they are relatively far apart.
3. Type each question on a sheet of paper.
4. Load those sheets (with the typed questions) into the typewriters. Have the typewriter read to go.
5. Post the questions on the larger sheets of paper above the corresponding typewriter.

Instruction Narrative

“...So, we are going to complete an activity called “Typing Discussion”. You may have noticed the typewriters I have set up around the room. Each one is under a question relating to our reading. When I say go, you are going to walk around the room, read each question, think of a complete answer, and type it down on the corresponding typewriter. After you have typed your response, type your name.

Don’t copy what someone else has said. Be original. If you are having a tough tome coming up with something to type, you can respond to someone else’s comment. Make sure that your response is substantive and adds something to the discussion. Don’t type ‘same”, “me too”, or anything similar. Also remember to keep all comments school-appropriate.

The key is to be quiet during this activity. All I should hear is the sound of typewriters. When you have responded to every question take your seat.

Go!”

You will want to circulate during this activity. Proximity is the best tool for managing an activity like this.

Wrapping It Up

As a debriefing you can have groups of 3-4 look at each question and circle the “gem” in the morass and share out the findings. There might be some essay topics hidden among these pages.

Silent Discussion and this variant are great because students who are hesitant to share have a way to participate stress-free. I, however, am a little old-fashioned when it comes to teaching. I think that a little classroom stress can be good, but when I want everyone to show an understanding of the topic this is a good technique. Questions that are challenging and thought-provoking are needed. If you lob slow-balls this activity is nearly worthless. 

Ahoy!

While I am working on the description of the next classroom typewriter activity, I thought you might enjoy some pictures of the newest machine to enter my private collection.

As you can see it is a pre-war Royal Arrow made for the US Navy. I have no idea what kind of service record this little typewriter had, but it did serve for some time in the Oregon Civil Defense.

The odd keyboard layout is one clue to the unique nature of this typewriter. The other clue to its specialness is the type style.

Sans-serif, with a slashed 0 is the hallmark of a "Radio Mill" typewriter. This machine was used to transcribe messages sent over wireless.

Wonderful.

It boggles my mind to even think about what kind of messages this typewriter typed. There is definitely some history there.

The light white-gray paint was so dirty and grimy that the machine looked yellow. It was shockingly filthy, but the dirt created a protective layer ensuring that the paint, when clean, would look new.

Typewriter Activities: Part I

This is the first of five blog posts focusing on how a teacher can use a typewriter to enhance classroom activities. Most of these strategies are really modifications of existing best-practices.

I’ll start with an activity that has a huge visual impact. it’s called “The Never-ending Story.”
This activity relies on a variation of the big roll of paper that you may have seen mentioned in various corners of the Typosphere.

Supplies
A manual typewriter (desktop models work well for this).
A very large roll of paper or a significant amount of continuous-feed paper.
A hanger.
3 or 4 binder clips.
Something long, thin, and heavy..a metal ruler would be good. Be creative.

Set-Up Steps
1. Find a nice, safe place where you can set up the typewriter and have the paper feed easily.
2. Hang the hanger from the ceiling above the typewriter. You can jimmy it into the false ceiling of your classroom.
3. Feed the paper to the typing-ready position.
4. Think of a basic conflict for a story.
5. Start by typing the first sentence of that story.
6. Give the classroom Instruction Narrative.

Instruction Narrative
“We are going to use this typewriter for an interesting experiment. We are going to write a story and everyone will have a say in how it turns out. It might be an interesting story or it might make no sense whatsoever. That’s OK. We are trying to be creative.

I have typed the first line of a story. I have no idea where this story will go or what kind of characters will be created. All I know is that this sentence is a springboard. Use it to create something completely unique. I want you to type the next line of this story. The next line needs to make sense and be related to the narrative that comes before. You cannot introduce a Deus Ex Machina. Everything must logically precede from the previous to the next..unless you don’t want to.

Everything must be school appropriate and you must include you name with your contribution. You may contribute once a day. Don’t add your contribution while another activity is going on. Be respectful of others.”

Wrapping It Up
Let this typewriter sit there for the entire school year. Keep reminding the students to contribute. In a school year you’ll have quite the story to read.

When the roll is so long that you cannot manage it, take the end of the paper and feed it through the hanger lodged in the ceiling. After feeding the paper, take the ruler or whatever you have and clip the paper to the edge. This will weight the paper slightly keeping it taught as it leaves the typewriter. It will look silly, but that’s part of the fun.

You don’t have to keep this typewriter out for the entire year. You could make it part of a unit or even a couple-day lesson. It’s imminently scalable. The whole story can even be copied for sharing or used as an editing exercise.

A great use for old paper.

A Typewriter is a Mental Restorative

Having Blog, Blog Not, and Having Fingers, Type Not

Up-To-Date Textbooks

Well, it would be up-to-date in 1963. I was given this book along with a plethora of other things. My other hat at Alhambra is advising the Newspaper and Yearbook staff. Publishing and design has come a long way and I could not imagine making a yearbook in a pre-digital manner. However, I would be willing to give it a try.

Beautiful typeface.

What interested me about this book was the section about "Other typesetting machines." The Varityper, of course, is pictured, but there is another machine I have never heard of. I wonder how it works?

The Varityper has "crazy eyes."

The heavy brow makes the Justowriter look mean.

How To: Cleaning Wrinkle Paint

You either love wrinkle paint or you put up with it hoping that a machine in shiny black comes your way. I happen to love the finish. It's very rugged, hides a myriad of metalwork sins, and can come in some very sober and serious colors. As great as I think this paint is, it is a magnet for dirt, grime, and crud. Dirt invariably make its way into the wrinkles and makes your typewriter look tired and grungy. However, the innate ruggedness of the paint makes it easy to clean. This is the process I use. Your mileage may vary. 

To start with you need some simple supplies. A couple of soft cloths, a small Tupperware container, a household laundry detergent without dyes or perfume, an old toothbrush, a utility spray bottle, and a blue Olympia SM3 (or whatever you happen to have). As with the other How-To, I recommend you dust/wet-dust your typewriter first. It takes a minute and "Water is the best solvent."

This process assumes that your typewriter is clean on the inside. There are some really good and some really bad ways to clean the inside of your typewriter. I'll share some of those other methods another day. This, however, is just an exterior clean. 

Everything begins with the cleaning solution. I like to use 1 part detergent to 4 parts water. However, I have been known to eyeball it. Whatever you think is right. I like to have just a hint of bubbles on the surface. 

Take your toothbrush, dunk it in the cleaning solution, and start scrubbing the typewriter. Use a fairly vigorous scrub. Depending on how dirty your typewriter is the suds will slowly change. They'll range from pale white to mud brown. The pictured machine was fairly clean to start with, so the suds are pretty white. The suds on one of my Royal Aristocrats looked like a mudslide. While you're cleaning, your nose will get a nice whiff of 50 year old dirt. Somehow, when you clean using this method, the smell of the past is rekindled. It's an odd smell, but you will learn to love it.

After you marvel at the dirt hidden in the wrinkles, take the spray bottle and use it to spray down the area you just scrubbed. Catch the run-off with one of the cloths. Work in sections and you will notice a significant improvement. Repeat until you are satisfied.

As a finishing touch I like to spray some Pledge on a cloth and go over the surface. Pledge adds a little shine and happens to smell nice.

If you have fingerprints from inky fingers, you might be able to get them out. At the very least, you will make it look a little better. I know there are other methods out there (Richard Polt uses PB Blaster to great effect), but this one has no harsh chemicals so your wife won't hate you for stinking up the house with kerosene.

Harlequin Creature

School is out for October break. We have been school-less since Monday. Our school district makes us go back to school a week earlier than everyone else so we can fit in the break mid-October. It's nice to be out of the classroom when the weather is this nice. Projects are getting done. Halloween decorations are up. Other hobbies are indulged.

I opened my email to find a letter from Nicole Ray, the talented Ann Arbor artist who made the banner for Magic Margin. She ran into a young woman, called Meghan, who is also doing something interesting with typewriters. She has a blog called Harlequin Creature. Her web site is the virtual counterpoint to a literary journal of the same name.

What makes this journal interesting is that every copy is hand typed. Meghan shares the work in small groups called "typing bees." The idea is similar to the quilting bee; people gather to complete a shared task. It is an exceptionally novel idea.

Volunteers for Harlequin Creature at a typing bee.

From what I can gather, the first edition is planned to be released this weekend with parties in New York and Ann Arbor. Imagine the work in typing a compete literary journal. Amazing. I cannot help but be amazed at how vibrant and creative the Typosphere is.

The Signs

Overheard at a Typewriter

Sad Mac

In his younger days, Steve Jobs found himself at Reed College in Portland, Oregon. I can't remember the story completely, but he sat in or audited a course on calligraphy. The experience of studying letterforms was (as he said) the impetus for proportional spaced typefaces built into the Macintosh. Steve Jobs was the steward of beautiful type in the digital age. He took that ancient and daunting art and made it accessible to an English teacher in Phoenix, Arizona. 

Steve's vision of what computing can be has played a major role in my creative life. I've admired his vision and dedication to excellence for many years. Thanks, Steve.

An Infamous Arizona Typewriter User

Arizona history is peppered with interesting characters. Billy the Kid murdered his first victim in Arizona while rustling cattle. Charles Keating orchestrated the savings and loan scandal form his office on Camelback Road. Sammy "The Bull" Gravano's crime syndicate installed pools in suburban Glendale.

We've also had our share of interesting politicians. John McCain. Bruce Babbit. Carl Hayden. However, there is one current public figure--  a real character-- who loves his 1970s Smith-Corona with a passion; Sheriff Joe Arpaio.

"Sheriff Joe" as he is known in this desert hinterland, has certainly made a name for himself in the public discourse. He is an outrageous character as is this tweet:

Regardless of his political leanings everyone can appreciate someone who loves his typewriter so much that the flack from the New Times doesn't even matter. I doubt the public safety hinges on that Smith-Corona. However, I think that there might be another typewriter shop (J.C. Business Machines) hidden away in Cave Creek. We shall see.

The Missing Typewriter Shop

Obviously, this news comes a bit late, but Mr. Owens passed away and the shop is now closed. Mesa Typewriter Exchange is still the best place to have your typewriter serviced. -RA

Casually, almost nonchalantly, someone mentioned, "Did you know there's a typewriter shop on Northern and 19th Ave?"

"What-the-what?" I responded.

Well, after a little recon this Sunday I snapped these pics:

Hidden away in a slightly run-down strip shopping block is this little typewriter shop. I have driven by this place hundreds of times and have never noticed it until someone mentioned it. Crazy, huh? From a peek into the window I can see the regular compliment of Selectrics and a few manual machines here and there. While I haven't had the chance to stop in, I will very soon. But, of course, my heart will always belong to the Mesa Typewriter Exchange.

How To: Polishing a Typewriter

I've only very recently been calling the typewriter cleaning process I use "The Magic Margin Treatment." It sounds much more grandiose than it actually is. The process only requires some simple equipment and the best paint polish/cleaner in the world.

This process is only for shiny painted typewriters. I would not use it for wrinkle paint. In fact, I have a whole other process that I follow for cleaning textured paint typewriters. I'll share that one with you later. To polish grandmother's old Model O you will need:

Meguiar's Cleaner Wax (Target), microfiber rags (Target), and a shiny painted Royal Model O (wherever you find one). My mother-in-law (the most accomplished stain remover in the world) would always suggest you start with water. It is "the best solvent." Not sopping wet, mind you, just get off the major dust and other caked on crud with a wrung-out rag. This particular Royal was very clean when I got it, but even with a very clean gloss paint typewriter there is hidden dirt. I like to use 2 different colored rags to ensure they are used for their respective jobs; cleaning and buffing. I'm going to use the one with a touch of grey for cleaning.

Don't use too much. Just a dab will do you. Spread a thin layer onto the typewriter and work it in with a circular motion. Let the polish dry to a slight haze.

Hazy residue

I tend to work in sections to ensure that everything is done well. Is it working? Well, if you look at the rag where you applied the polish you will see this sign that your typewriter is getting cleaner:

Yes, that is 80 years of dirt, smoke, and crud. Keep in mind that this machine was pretty clean to start with. It's just a fact that most typewriters 50 years or older were in houses or workplaces where people smoked. That grime is really long-lived and gross. You always feel better after it's gone. The funny thing is that often the gloss black typewriters don't look too dirty. 

Buff with the second cloth and there you go. After you are done, there should be a noticeable mirror-like difference.

<- Unpolished. Polished ->

The bottle of Meguiar's says you should not get this on rubber. I would agree. It stained the platen of the Ambassador and it nearly impossible to remove that residue. Caution would be in order. This particular cleaner does not polish metal. For that I use Mother's Mag and Aluminum. You can try, but it might be a waste of time. Polishing is a great therapy. 

So, feel confident in getting that old gloss black (or any other color) typewriter clean and shiny.

A Swiss Ambassador

Ted said that he didn't like his new Ambassador. I had seen the very machine to which he was referring. It had been sitting in the Mesa Typewriter exchange for months gathering dust and looking generally sad. After a little negotiation, Ted was willing to give me the Ambassador to see if I could make a go of it. After a few hours of working I have resurrected this great green giant to an acceptable state.

I'll start with the paint. I had thought it was really dusty, but on closer inspection I could see that the paint was terribly oxidized. Every surface was dusty with powdery-white oxidation. I know that heat can do that to paint, but I had never seen it so evenly cast over the body. It must have, at some point in its life spent a lot of time in a hot room. Not being prepared to strip everything, I decided to try some cleaning wax. The thought was to give it a sheen similar to a regular Hermes while stopping the paint from dusting off. It seems to work. Obviously, the paint is nowhere near as durable as it once was, but it looks good and will be good enough until I make a final decision about the paint.

The whole machine was filled with grit so a lot of my time was spent just getting the Arizona dust of the carriage guide rails. A couple drops of oil really freed every thing up.

As Ted reported, the platen is in a sad state, but I have never seen an original Hermes platen that wasn't rock-hard. Fortunately the feed rollers are still really soft and grip the paper well. If you use two sheets of paper it works great. I tend to use two sheets of paper regardless. If time and money is freed up I might send the platen to Ames for recovering.

This model has a twin ribbons system. It can use standard fabric ribbons or the lovely high-definition film ribbon. This particular machine came with a completely full film spool so I didn't have to install a ribbon.

As desktop typewriters go, the Ambassador is really ridiculously large. It dwarfs pretty much any desktop typewriter. My HH looks like a portable next to this thing. I have no idea why the size. Maybe it's the one typewriter to rule them all.

No students have used it yet, but I will make it available tomorrow for part two of a two-day project. I am sure there will be some interested takers. It types like a dream and is filled with every bell and whistle. I love the paper injector. It makes you feel like you are shifting a really fast car into first.

The decision that I am facing is whether I should make this into a Silver Surfer. Shining it to a mirror finish might make this the most formidable typewriter ever.

We're Ready For Our Closeup, Mr. DeMille

I really glossed over the filming for the Typewriter movie and Mrs. Magic Margin thought people might like to hear more about it.

As class started you could tell the kids were excited. They knew that it was the day that Jack, the cameraman, was going to be filming for the documentary. I didn't notice it until Mrs. Magic Margin (who's also an English teacher at Alhambra) mentioned that many of them looked like they dressed up. Most of the girls had done their hair and chosen outfits just for the occasion. The boys had neatly pressed t-shirts and clean shoes.

Since some of the kids in this class hadn't used the machines before, I made a short slideshow presentation to lay out the basic parts of a typewriter and how to load the paper. It's almost pointless to do these introductions now. Most kids at Alhambra have had some sort of contact with a typewriter before. They aren't the mysterious machines they were two years ago. If that is the only measure of success with the CTP, I would be immensely proud.

Deep thinkers use Royals.

I went through the parts and gave my basic spiel about the typewriter offering distraction-free wirting. They have all heard the mantra before. They wanted to go to the shelf and choose one to use. That's what I like about having such a diverse collection of machines. You can choose a typewriter that fits your personality. They come in a wide variety of styles and it's interesting to see which ones they pick out. I've noticed that students with "old souls" tend to pick pre-war machines. I have a couple of Remington Model 7s and an early 40s Arrow that are often picked up by students with a timeless personality. Others, however, are persuaded by the histrionics of flashy chrome trim and fun colors. This time around there were a number of Hermes selected (of course) and a good number of mid-century Royals.

J.'s choice. Here pictured in my
old classroom. We have since
moved to more spacious digs.

J., a new inductee to the world of typewriters, went to the shelf to choose a typewriter. She gravitated toward the deep maroon Olympia SM3. Taking it back to her desk she said, "Look. It matches my nails." And, you know what, her nails were an identical match.

I gave them a little time to get used to the typewriter they were using and then I gave them the most post-modern assignment ever. They were to write a letter to themselves on a typewriter explaining what their life will be like in 30 years. They used an antiquated device in the digital era to speculate on the course of their future.

The whole class period was great and you could tell they were proud to show off something unique about their school experience. It's not every day you get a chance to use a typewriter in school anymore. As I think about the goals of this project, I am starting to understand that it's less about getting students to write distraction-free and with greater awareness of what they write and more about sharing my love of typewriters and the appreciation of something wholly mechanical.

There is an evil assumption in education that student engagement can only be achieved through the use of modern technology and unceasing novelty. This faulty logic assumes that because these kids are so "plugged-in" that, if what they do in class is not equally "plugged-in', they will not respond. They will shut down and give up. That's a canard. It's not the technology that matters. You can only type on a typewriter, but the impact on a student far greater than I have ever imagined.

P.S. I have heard form several kids that if this movie goes big we have to go see it. Gary Nicholson, if you need screaming teenagers at your movie, I got 'em.

A Selectric Gift and Typewriter Movie Shoot

The 22nd was a big day. My classroom played host to a cameraman taking some video for The Typewriter (In the 21st Century) documentary, I fixed a Selectric given to me as a gift, and it was my birthday. The important stuff first:

The really old table under the Selectric is probably in keeping with the time-frame.
The white board, however, gives it away. 

The two angle and rotation bands fell off their respective wheels. So, the element wasn't moving to the correct position and the angle was all messed up. After getting them set properly the machine was as good as new. The motor must have been replaced recently as it purrs with only the gentlest of hums. I am not an electric typewriter fan, but considering the historical importance of this machine (and the fact that I already have a ready supply of type elements) I am apt to let it stay in the classroom. The size is much better than that Vader-like machine that I gave to Bill Wahl.  It comfortably fits on a desk or typewriter table. These machines are the easiest things to open up even if-- once on the inside-- you find that they are more akin to Brazil-like devices designed to baffle all but the most experienced typewriter repairman. Looking at those 2800 possible mechanical adjustments would drive you mad. It's clear to me that the engineering team were geniuses (and Noyes was an artist). But with every silver bauble there is a little tarnish; there is something missing. The paper scale at the top seems to have vanished. It didn't have one when it was given to me, so I can assume that it was taken off long ago. Perhaps the old owner didn't quite "measure up." 

If you haven't been to the Kickstarter page for The Typewriter (In the 21st Century) you should go there now. Here.

Oh, I'm 31 now. Still younger than most of my typewriters.