In what may be part of a disturbing trend for someone who doesn't use a cell phone, I just took possession of a typewriter. A manual typewriter. From 1923. It's one of the earliest Remington portable typewriters. My main impetus to getting the thing is, of course, a game--De Profundis. I like the idea of people playing the game by writing letters to each other on vintage equipment, so when I found this one for cheap at a typewriter repair shop I picked it up. The dealer oiled it up, put on a new ribbon, and it's about as good as new. I'm sure I'll find some other use for it as well, such as perhaps a doorstop.
There are several interesting things about the typewriter. The first is that, once you sit down in front of it, you feel an overwhelming desire to move to the Florida Keys and write about boxers. The next thing you notice is that there's no "1" key. I'm not sure how to handle that. At first I thought that there was some kind of mistake, but I found other pictures of these typewriters...and no 1 key. And there's no typebar for it, either. How do you make a 1? A lowercase "l"? If so, how do you make an exclamation point? It's also a very attractive piece; it makes a nice objet d'art. The other thing about manual typewriters is that you have to learn to move your fingers differently. On a computer, or an electric typewriter, you can kind of let your fingers glide over the keys, taking mild taps of the required letters. Unless you're mad. On a manual typewriter, if you want the letters to show up you have to show some authori-tay.
My typewriter didn't come with an instruction manual, so you have to figure out how everything works essentially on your own. Manual typewriters are complicated instruments, I tell you what. All kinds of levers and wheels and settings and miscellaneous dealy-bobbers. There are a few internet resources, but not a whole lot. I did find a place that'll sell me a reproduction manual, though. I've got just about everything puzzled out; it's actually a fairly clever machine. You can do all kinds of stuff, as long as it doesn't involve the numeral 1 or exclamation points.
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