Thread: Do you own and/or use a typewriter?

I have a a very old Remington, pre-war, which I occasionally break out for nostalgia, or simply just to have some fun with. The ribbon is gradually fading, and since replacements are hard to come by, it sees less and less use as time goes by.

In my opinion, there's something about that hammering of the keys, the sliding back of the carriage, and the cold metal of the body which cannot be replicated. It's quite an experience.

Interested to hear responses.

I've never owned or used a typewriter in my life. Heck, I don't even remember really seeing one.

I used to play with a typewriter when I was little. I've not used one since, and I'm not sure I really have much of a desire to do so. If I'm feeling nostalgic, I break out the old pen and paper.

I've toyed with the idea over the last year or so. I was going to get a Remington myself, but I still live with my parents at the moment and there simply isn't room for it.

I definitely plan on it. There's a large part of me that can't wait to feel so smug and writerly.

I have an Olivetti Underwood, a little portable, stuck away in my closet. I bought it in 1970 and used it a lot before I get an electric and then the computer. I haven't had it out for a long time. I should check and see how the ink ribbon is doing, hmm, I wonder if they still make ribbons for that model?

My grandmother had an old typewriter, I don't know what brand. But I remember typing on it, watching the ball inside swivel and slap with each key stroke, peering at the raised, backwards letter-bumps on it..

I remember typing just random letters, as fast as I could, trying to confuse the ball. Time well spent, indeed!

I also remember what a hassle it was to make corrections.. you had to hold those small white plastic sheets and type over the incorrect letter.. but if you had the misfortune of removing the page beforehand, you could never really get it to line back up exactly, so corrections would result in only half whited-out letters.

I can't imagine writing fiction on one of those things nowdays. It would take a different kind of thinking, to really consider each word carefully before committing it to the page.

Originally Posted by felix

There's a large part of me that can't wait to feel so smug and writerly.

Hah!

Originally Posted by KyleColorado

I can't imagine writing fiction on one of those things nowdays. It would take a different kind of thinking, to really consider each word carefully before committing it to the page.

That would have to be a plus. "Do you believe in Physics?"

Originally Posted by Tiamat10

I used to play with a typewriter when I was little. I've not used one since, and I'm not sure I really have much of a desire to do so. If I'm feeling nostalgic, I break out the old pen and paper.

Pen and paper is nostalgic?! When I'm feeling nostalgic, I break out the dip pen, inkwell and sealing wax.

I'd highly recommend any writer to try sealing a letter with a wax stick and stamp. For myself, it's such a satisfying experience, though I don't know exactly why.

Originally Posted by felix

I've toyed with the idea over the last year or so. I was going to get a Remington myself, but I still live with my parents at the moment and there simply isn't room for it.

I definitely plan on it. There's a large part of me that can't wait to feel so smug and writerly.

I think mine is a Remington Model 5, made in 1934 or so. The ribbon, as far as I can tell, is original. No bloody wonder it's fading a little!

I definitely think you should acquire one as soon as means allow. You can pick a great condition, big-brand name one with the leather case and all for around fifty pounds. Bargain.

Originally Posted by egpenny

I have an Olivetti Underwood, a little portable, stuck away in my closet. I bought it in 1970 and used it a lot before I get an electric and then the computer. I haven't had it out for a long time. I should check and see how the ink ribbon is doing, hmm, I wonder if they still make ribbons for that model?

Quite possibly. If I'm not mistaken, Olivetti in particular still make all the ribbons from products made after the late fifties or so (they used to be Royal, if I remember rightly). If that fails, then I believe an alternate fix is to buy a similar sized ribbon, uncoil it, then put it into the old spindles. I think that's what I'll have to do.

Originally Posted by KyleColorado

My grandmother had an old typewriter, I don't know what brand. But I remember typing on it, watching the ball inside swivel and slap with each key stroke, peering at the raised, backwards letter-bumps on it..

I remember typing just random letters, as fast as I could, trying to confuse the ball. Time well spent, indeed!

I also remember what a hassle it was to make corrections.. you had to hold those small white plastic sheets and type over the incorrect letter.. but if you had the misfortune of removing the page beforehand, you could never really get it to line back up exactly, so corrections would result in only half whited-out letters.

I can't imagine writing fiction on one of those things nowdays. It would take a different kind of thinking, to really consider each word carefully before committing it to the page.

Bloody hell, that must have been old. They stopped making the models with ball technology around 1910!

I know what you mean. When I have used the typewriter, it's a case of 'Oops, I've made a mistake-- can't go back... must... continue'. I often wonder how difficult it must have been to write a novel, especially a literary novel, in nineteenth century and earlier. Those guys either planned their words intensely before committing to paper, or went through thousands, if not tens of thousands of sheets of paper. Fantastic.

I'll just say that the noise of the keys 'punching' is such a joy, at least for me. It really feels like a hearkening back to very old times, like an atavistic way of making your words come alive. I realise the pen pre-dates the typewriter an awful long time, though with a mechanical device, it feels much more personal.

Originally Posted by The Backward OX

That would have to be a plus. "Do you believe in Physics?"

lol

Kyle is probably talking about an electric typewriter, some of them used a ball instead of keys. Think eighties and early ninties. You could change fonts by changing the ball. I had one of those just before I got my first computer in ninty-three. The nice thing about electrics was the automatic erase feature, no more little bits of white-out paper to deal with.

Originally Posted by philistine

When I have used the typewriter, it's a case of 'Oops, I've made a mistake-- can't go back... must... continue'. I often wonder how difficult it must have been to write a novel, especially a literary novel, in nineteenth century and earlier.

*puts on pedantic hat*. typewriters didn't become commercially successful until the late 19th century and i doubt many, except the wealthier, writers would have owned one before the 20th century, the patent wasn't really standardized until then. throughout most of the nineteenth century, and certainly earlier, i'd imagine most manuscripts would have been hand-written. but i agree, i think about that too. when i first started writing i loved my typewriter because i was all into that 'first thought = best thought' spontaneous prose thing, but now i'm an editing freak and i have to say my writing has markedly improved in quality since i started using word processors.

My first typewriter was a Model Five Underwood. I bought it at a pawn shop in 1952 for, I believe, ten dollars. It was probably 25 years old when I bought it, twice as old as I was. That was the machine used to write my first stories for the Daily Herald and Dixie Guide in 1954. All my work at university was done on that machine, including graduate work that required a carbon ribbon and error-free typing. In the sixties I bought an IBM electric that I used until computers came along in the late seventies. Both typewriters are in storage in the U.S. I'm thinking of having the Underwood shipped down for those days when the current is off.

Frankly I like the feel of a good manual typewriter such as the Model Five.

Originally Posted by luckyscars

*puts on pedantic hat*. typewriters didn't become commercially successful until the late 19th century and i doubt many, except the wealthier, writers would have owned one before the 20th century, the patent wasn't really standardized until then. throughout most of the nineteenth century, and certainly earlier, i'd imagine most manuscripts would have been hand-written. but i agree, i think about that too. when i first started writing i loved my typewriter because i was all into that 'first thought = best thought' spontaneous prose thing, but now i'm an editing freak and i have to say my writing has markedly improved in quality since i started using word processors.

Oh, assuredly. My sentence was badly phrased. I should have elaborated. I meant to say that before such a time, the pen and paper once must have gone through would have been immense. Have you tried to use a dip pen and inkwell? It's so damn difficult, that I almost gave up. I bring the equipment out once a week or so, torture myself for a half hour, before retiring into a rage and grabbing the nearest Japanese ballpoint, in what in retrospect, seems to be some kind of revenge against the past.

Originally Posted by garza

My first typewriter was a Model Five Underwood. I bought it at a pawn shop in 1952 for, I believe, ten dollars. It was probably 25 years old when I bought it, twice as old as I was. That was the machine used to write my first stories for the Daily Herald and Dixie Guide in 1954. All my work at university was done on that machine, including graduate work that required a carbon ribbon and error-free typing. In the sixties I bought an IBM electric that I used until computers came along in the late seventies. Both typewriters are in storage in the U.S. I'm thinking of having the Underwood shipped down for those days when the current is off.

Those look like excellent machines. It seems a lot of older Underwoods and Royals (Royals especially) seem to be absurdly difficult to get a hold of, and when they are available, are only so at a very expensive price. Alas, as a student and part-time bum, I couldn't afford one.

I wonder, what is it like having to use a typewriter as a necessity, rather than an apparently masochistic glimpse to the past?

I threw my typewriter out about ten years ago after it had sat idle in my closet for many years. I'm a tour guide in a museum. We had a kid come through some time ago, maybe six or seven years old. He saw an old 1920s cash register and asked what it was. Satisfied, he moved on down the aisle to a display of a dozen or so manual typewriters. He exclaimed, "Wow! Look at all those cash registers!" I had another kid come through, maybe twelve or fourteen, very proud of the fact that she could tell her friend about feeding the paper into a typewriter and rolling it around the platen. She understood how the ribbon and the hammers worked and how the cylinder would move across from right to left as you typed. She had no experience with typewriters. She had picked it all up through reading or by talking to us old folks. Makes you feel good, doesn't it? To know that typewriters are museum pieces. C.M.

I own one. It's Teal and white in an almost modern style (whatever that means) The ribbon is dry and I've been to bothered by everything esle to go find a replacement. Looks pretty on my T.V cabinet. When I first got it I just smashed the keys to see what letters would all stick in a bunch...