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Saturday, 23 August 2014

Typing at the Hairdresser's, in the Bedroom and in the BMW Roadster

Getting her hair done for Santa, on December 7, 1959, English secretary Jean Walker, of Forest Gate, London, types away on a Remington Monarch portable typewriter under the hair-dryer. Apparently the hair salon in the Gamages Store in Holborn was set up for secretaries to continue working while getting a quick shampoo and set.
Gamages 60 years earlier, before it had hair salons.
Scottish fashion retailer John Stephen (1934-2004) continues to run his business from bed while suffering from a bout of flu on February 24, 1965. With him are staff members (from left) Doris Humphries (on a cream Olympia Monica portable typewriter), Michael McGraw, Austrian model Girda Eder and Frank Merkel. 
Taking beside notes below is Jean Riddell. Stephen was an influential figure on the London fashion scene, known as 'The Million Pound Mod" and "The King Of Carnaby Street". 
Below, a sports writer works with a Remington Model 2 portable typewriter at a motor racing meeting in Paris in 1934. 
Happy to stand corrected on this, but I believe the roadster the journalist is sitting in (above) may be a BMW 319-1.
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4 comments:

  1. Richard P24 August 2014 at 03:33

    Fun pictures!

    I wish there were a little more room in the front seats of cars, especially the driver's seat. It's hard to squeeze a typewriter in there and type properly on it. Or a laptop, for that matter!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Bill M24 August 2014 at 05:00

    Dedication. Getting one's hair done and typing. Now it is a smart phone.

    Doubt one could type in a modern car. I manage a laptop in my SUV and could use a Skyriter in the passenger side though. I like to type sitting on the back with the rear gate up like an awning and use a small table.

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  3. Miguel Chávez24 August 2014 at 12:22

    That Sperry Rand Remington Monarch (wow, four brands in a single product name!) looks nice. I'll have to look for one for my collection.

    As for the car... I dunno, it looks kinda British to me. See how the rear fender is different in both cars, in that it looks more separate from the body in the picture with the guy typing. Perhaps a Morris?

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  4. Robert Messenger24 August 2014 at 12:54

    Thank you Richard, Bill and Miguel for your comments.
    Sorry, Miguel, I should have been more honest. It is a BMW, just not sure of the model. The famous 328 didn't come out until 1936, so I presumed this was its predecessor, though it appears to have a spare wheel on the side.

    ReplyDelete

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