The Problem

With as many typewriters as I have here in the classroom you can imagine that they get a fair amount of use. The machines are holding up quite well. It's the ribbons that are starting to wear out. Every period each typewriter is being used. They are primarily used for journaling which is a minimum of 20 lines each day. That means that each period the typewriters are used to write 260 lines of prose. Over the course of the day that would be 1300 lines of journals. On average each line is about 15 words long. In one day the typewriters are being used to write nearly 20,000 words. I would guess that the average English word is around 5 letters long. That is a total of 100,000 words per day (or 7700 key presses per machine per day). I have not changed the ribbon en masse, yet. We have been doing this about 4 months. If you do the math, each ribbon has been through a minimum of 677,600 impressions.

I need ribbon. Lots of ribbon. I really want to find a place where I could get it in bulk and wind my own spools. All of the spools in the machines are metal and can be reused. The trouble is finding a distributor. I think China is the answer. I sent an email to my uncle who is an importer and knows his way around business in China. With any luck I can find some inked ribbon.

Free Stuff!



No, they won't erase that lingering ennui.

I feel like the bell of the ball. In the course of one afternoon all five of the erasers have been spoken for, but do not be discouraged. There are some deep, dark drawers that might offer up more treasures!

I still have 5 erasers that I would absolutely love to give away. These work on typewriter ink, carbons, and regular pen. They can be really useful. Drop me a line at tryanpa@cox.net. I'll send you one in the mail. Click here for the original post.



Oh, Brother

Yesterday, during my 1st period class, a colleague came by and asked if I would want a typewriter she found. I accepted the gift gladly. This is what arrived:

Performer? Reach for that lowest star, Remington!

The Remington Performer was manufactured by Brother sometime in the late 60s to mid-70s. The machine is vaguely mentioned on Will Davis' site (mirrored on Machines of Loving Grace). Surprisingly, it does have an all-metal body and is built well with tight tolerances. This specimen is is fairly good shape with just a few scratches near the carriage return. This is due, doubtless, to this type of CR lever. It folds down for travel, but if you do not extend it fully it will drag when you move the carriage.

As it is a carriage-shift, the shift key is a little stiff. Typing on it is only acceptable to good. The sound proofing is not adequate and sounds like you typing on a pilchard can. I'll beef it up with some spare felt when I have a chance.

This Remington has all the features of a late-model typewriter; repeat spacer, paper support arm, pre-set tabulator, key de-jammer/margin release key. It shares a more than passing resemblance to some of the last typewriters made today. That is not a coincidence. This Brother mechanism seems to live on in many variations and labels.

Whitman Balm

Reconstructed from a very soggy, chewed original.

Typewriter Desk

Our home has a one-year old who loves paper. That's why there is no typecast in this post. My son ate it. Trust me, it was a wonderful typecast. Anyway, a little web-surfing came up with this interesting article from 1942.

After you go through the process, you should have this 40s-tastic desk:

I took a look at the dimensions and this would be the perfect home for a QDL.

Typewriter Round-Up Adverts

I have been working on several versions of the posters for the Phoenix Type-In scheduled for March 5th. I've finished one version in B&W that can be printed on 11x17 paper. There is a smaller 5x7 size one to the right of this post. As the days progress I hope to finish all the other sizes.

The plan is to go to some of the more interesting independent coffee houses and stores and ask them to post them. With any luck I won't be the only person there.

11x17 Poster Link
11x17 Color Poster Link
8.5x11 Poster

UPDATE: All the psoters ahve been done and I have contacted several local media outlets. We'll see what happens!

The Mysterious Joe Van De Loo