Friday 16 July 2010

I (heart) Typewriters



I think typewriters are so neat. Dismiss me as a tragic hipster, but I have loved them since I was a kid. I don't know why - it probably related to my love of words. And my love of old things. And my hipster tendancies too, perhaps.

Now, typerwriters are extra attractive because it's writing without a computer. Why is this good? No internet. No distractions, no YouTube, no Twitter, no Facebook. Sure, I could close the internet, but that doesn't last very long on papers, and is worse when I'm trying to be creative. I want one.

In fact, I think I have one. It's got a neat leather case and I bought it at a garage sale but, alas... no ink strip. I don't know where to get one, or how to install it. Or, for that matter, where the typewriter is.

Are there any typewriter enthusiasts out there who can help me out?


Photo: noobits on flickr

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

We have my grandmother's old type-writer in the house, still. It's beautiful, but the ink is dried up so it doesn't work :(

Milan said...

Aesthetically, typewriters are great.

Practically, having to re-type a page to fix one error stinks.

Jennifer said...

I wonder if you could write directly to the maker for where to find a replacement ribbon? I share your enthusiasm for typewriters -- I have an electric Smith Corona in a handsome robin's egg blue :)

Up until my second year in university I wrote my papers with a word-processing typewriter (could correct without white-out!). There were fewer distractions than using an internet-ready computer, but the price was that it was a lot slower going, especially when it was time to edit.

Darrell said...

Hey, I just got into typewriters too! (I just bought 2 off etsy and 2 off ebay lol). Depending on your model, you can find good cheap universal typewriter spools at Staples (Porelon SKU #11822) for up to $9 a pop. I also ordered a few specific models for my non-universal typewriters off of scantracker.com--just search on their site and when you go to place your order, add a note about what model typewriter you have and wanting to confirm it matches; I actually ordered the wrong ones but because of my note, they contacted me right away and made sure I ordered the correct ones.

I also love to write and am getting into typewriters partially for nostalgia/decor/cool factor and partially so that I have no computer distractions (like, searching for typewriter-related blogs for exa mple LOL).

What model typewriter do you have?

Best of luck!
D-

Asteroidea Press said...

General Typewriter Ltd
99 Ave Holland
Ottawa, ON K1Y 0Y1(613) 725-3043

They might have moved, you might want to check. And I don't know if the old guy who started the company still works there - he's the one who knew typewriters. Still, worth a shot - they were able to get me a spool for an old Royal, I believe, that I wasn't able to get elsewhere.