Django Day
Django Reinhardt
born 102 years ago January 23rd
every guitarist’s inspiration
no explanation
just listen
The Underwood Files
My first typewriter was a Hermes 9. I used it when I was starting out in business in 1983. Then came computers and the typewriter went into the closet, then bye bye. Fast forward to 2003. I bought a little portable for $10 at a thrift shop. I typed a few things on it (including some thoughts about typewriters and where they were going) and got a back ache – so I gave it back. It was pale blue and had a red label on the top right. It may have been a Hermes too, but I can’t recall. 
Then last June I had an urge to type again, why I cannot imagine. I went to a thrift store and lo and behold here was a pair of Underwood’s. Yes a pair. UnderWOOD. I selected the fancier one, called Golden Touch which had gold trim. It was your basic Universal with all the trimmings c. 1956. 
We had some fun with it, typing poems and short pieces. However, it had one flaw – the platen advance mechanism did not work perfectly. Clearly some part was missing or installed wrong, but I could not make it work. I took it apart and put it back together – no dice. I was not planning on acquiring more typewriters until one day while on vacation in California I spotted a little package sitting on the floor in an antique mall. I picked it up and opened the case. It was an Adler Tippa S. I left without it, but it was on my mind for a day. The following day I decided to go back. What the heck, it was small enough to carry around in the car, unlike the Underwood. So I bought it. It impressed me right off. So compact, so precise, and so easy to use.
I began to look into the whole typewriter blogging world, and was amazed with all the fascinating things related to typewriters! I went back to the thrift stores with my eyes peeled for more. Now I have 11 typewriters. The latest is the other half of the pair of Underwoods from day one last summer. This one could be called the ugly sister, but basically it seems to have the same essential parts. It’s called the Correspondent c. 1952. 
The good news is that looking at the Correspondent gave me some ideas on how to fix the Golden Touch, so I went at it again and with the use of some heavy wire I got it to advance properly – now it works fine. And I didn’t break it.
Filed under Thrift shop finds, Typewriters
Let It Snow
It was a day of sublime beauty here. I found another typewriter. Underwood “Correspondent” made in Toronto. Works perfectly, and a great pleasure to use. Parallel action keys no less.
Filed under Poetry, Typewriters
Practice Makes Perfect
Since the name of this blog has the word ‘guitars’ in it, I feel obliged to provide from time to time some relevant content pertaining to same, to wit the following instructional(s);
Beauty & the Beast
While trolling thrift shops for typewriters I turned up a few interesting objects the other day. Some undoubtedly lovely, and one absolutely revolting.
The lovely:
1 – tiny dish with enameled painting of Piccadilly Circus. Made in England by Wade.
2 – glass coffee mug, Fire King. When I drink from this I’m expecting a waitress to come by and say “can I heat that up for you sweetheart?”
3 – Swedish made stapler with retractable staple removal tool on the bottom. The Volvo of staplers. Form follows function, neither too heavy nor too flimsy. Solidly made.
The revolting:
A useful little notebook, once presumably humorous now takes on an air of pathos. The question is “what to do with it”?
Filed under Thrift shop finds
Old Typewriters
Yesterday I purchased my 10th typewriter. To say “old” typewriter would be a tautology no? The one I just got dates from 1959 or so. As tools and objects with useful lives go, that’s old. I may be older but that’s different. I am not old. I am seasoned. In my mental rough guide to typewriters an old-old typewriter would be from the 1930’s, i.e. before my time. This I admit might be an insult to some folks I know, so perhaps I shall revise the date further back in time to when no one living now can remember. That would be an old-old typewriter. Antique even. But in technological terms, anything that is more than say, six months old, is now “old”. Just look at your phone. It’s already obsolete isn’t it? I bet there are six generations since it was made.
Back to the machine: Smith Corona “Sterling”, virtually identical to the last typewriter I acquired – a Smith Corona Silent Super (aka series 5) with the Eaton’s label. Except this one has been used a lot. It had 2 non-functioning keys, and the letter “n” was crooked and too high on the page. I raised the hood to have a better look inside. It has a hood like a car. Not only that, it has a trunk! To top it off there are rabbit ears ( the antenna – ok cars didn’t have rabbit ears). There is no radio however. Under the hood is the engine, the guts, all those little pieces that are connected together by other little pieces. The reason that the 2 keys were not doing anything was that the intermediate arms, (connecting rods – engine analogy) had come detached from the type bars. Not only detached but rather bent. Some fiddling and straightening done I managed to reconnect these now straighter rods to the bottom ends of the 2 corresponding type bars. This connection is ingenious to behold: a tiny spring clip. Perhaps some sort of safety feature, like a telescopic steering column, designed to separate under excessive force.
Filed under Typewriters
nathanguitars 