From Typewriter Topics, May, 1907
This isn't the dismayed French reporter in question, by the way, but the image is far too tantalising to resist. It is, in fact, J.H.Field, a telegraph operator, at a Caligraph in Vancouver, Canada, in about 1912.
6 comments:
Don't tell this to my neighbours, they might want to call the police the next time I type on my Selectric at night...
... maybe I should pull the Remington Noisless from its shelf, just in case...
I wonder what those guests would think of all the noisy modern hotels with paper thin walls where you hear every little noise from the next room(s).
"Manipulated his typewriter in his room at night"? I'm shocked, shocked. (And let's remember that "typewriter" was still an ambiguous term at this date.)
I am shocked--shocked--to find typewriting is going on in here.
I must confess this never crossed my tiny mind, as pure as the driven snow as it is. First Bill set off some sinister thoughts, then in comes the R & R cavalry. I wonder ... Typewriter Topics did have a wicked sense of humour!
I must admit to being a huge fan of the Selectric, as I just bought my first [?!] the other day for $20.00 It was a pot-luck thing advertised as not going, seller said the thing would not switch on after 35 years sitting in his garage [don't blame it] but when I got it home, plugged it in and pressed the on switch I was rewarded with the Selectric hum. Good news, it must prefer my vibe to that old garage. Bad news, I am captivated by it's mechanical excellence, and it's phenomenal speed, and it's trademark blat - blat- blat [rat-tat-tat?] sound. Quite the different soundscape than my 1922 Underwood 3-bank or my 1939 Royal P or my 1955 Rheinmetall or my Hermes Ambassador or my Olympia SG3 and the truth of it is [shame] I enjoy the M-16 crack of it so much I can't get enough of it. Typing this on a computer keyboard is weirdly nightmarish, squoggy keys, limp sound, and teeny type appearing on a glowing, buzzing screen behind a alternating utility pole? It'l never catch on.
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