Typewriter Stationery

What's even more awesome than sending a hand-typed letter is getting one in return.  It's better to receive than to give, ha!  I'm filled with pure happiness when savoring a letter from a type pal. It's better than feeling a little insecure about writing & mailing them.  Is my writing too simple?  Am I going overboard with the typewriter talk?   Will they like the stationery?  Lately I've grown confident that I'm being totally silly.  We'll all adore each other's letters no matter what, because we're all neat folks and we use cool TYPEWRITERS!
 

 
Slowly but surely I'm catching up with correspondence.  I've sent out several letters these past few weeks and already I've gotten a few in return.  Fun!  Here's an example of the typewriter-themed stationery I make, with a letter from a year ago.  I meant to post it our TypePals.com community but never got around to it, much like some of letters I've digging out and sending.  Y'all know who you are! ;-D 
 

A Medley from my Machines

Sometimes I type stuff and then leave the paper in the platen to write more later. It makes sense for recurrent events and journaling. It's a little awkward when replying to Type Pals. I've spent way over a month writing letters, which is sort of neat to me, so I'll finish what was started and mail them off anyway. I'll even add a whole new letter, like a cover-page with apologies for taking so long to respond. This post is like one of those letters: Something old, something new, something random, something cool, in a typecast just for you.

Cute, huh? All lines are 8 syllables, so they could be songs too. I'd have to investige which typewriter was the first one. The other two are definitely from that first Electra 220 because I recognize Regency #80 by the unmistakable "g" like it's handwritten

Next are ramblings during two Typewriter Club Live chats. If you're the type of person who'll read anything just because it was written on a typewriter, then here's just the thing for you. ;-D

Yikes! That was way too many first person "I..." sentences. Learning to write better will require more thoughtful typewriting time. Fun!

 

February Archives

I'm always typing something during our Typewriter Club Live chats. What else are we supposed to do with our hands? I promise to do better with following through and actually posting my musings. Here's the stuff from the February chats.

Hello From a One Year Hiatus

    Hi, typewriter fans! Wow, I can't believe it's been a whole year since I last posted. Needless to say I've been quite busy with family and work as we all do. It's nice to take a break and shake my tasty dash here and there to this wonderful world of the typosphere. I began this typecast during today's Type Pals Typewriter Club Live then completed my thoughts in a rambling fashion after we signed off. This is nothing more than typing for the pure joy of typing while trying to work out a few kinks with the machine, and then posting it to share with Munk and other folks like us who dig this sort of fun. Everyone's typed stuff I've read over the years is all amazing, and I've had a blast chatting and geeking out over favorite machines, techniques, and all the important acoutrements. Type Pals, y'all rock!

TypewriterDatabase.com

Type Pals, October 22, 2023

She's Got a Ticket to Ride

Here are some older typing prompts that I banged out during Typewriter Club Live in April and May.  I've been known to scan and post typecasts long after composing them. :-)

https://arkansastypewriter.blogspot.com/2022/04/what-is-strangest-thing-youve-ever.html

https://arkansastypewriter.blogspot.com/2022/05/typewriter-club-live-scm-electra-120-in.html

I also posted one earlier this evening.  Two in one day!  Ted would be proud. :-D

https://arkansastypewriter.blogspot.com/2022/10/i-like-big-type-and-i-can-not-l.html

I Like Big Type and I Can Not Lie

 This is my 4th typewriter.  I was so green back in the summer of 2020 that I had no idea it sported a 6-CPI when I bought it from only seeing its very blurry photos on Facebook Marketplace.  I simply saw a Smith-Corona 5-series for $30 locally.  I discovered the wonderful surprise soon after I brought it home and shared its images online with the Typosphere.  A Silent-Super never disappoints, and this uncommon Sight-Saver #47 type style rocks my typewriter world.  I've not browsed all the TWDB galleries, but the only other one I've seen is Ted Munk's that he eventually relinquished to Bill Wahl of Mesa Typewriter Exchange.  He must've gotten something really awesome in trade, because you'd have to pry this awesomeness from my cold dead hands or perhaps $4,000.  :-D

 https://typewriterdatabase.com/1957-smith-corona-silent-super.15009.typewriter

Typing for the Pure Joy of Hitting the Keys

I'm always snapping away at the keys while we're all chatting on Typewriter Club Live. Sometimes I make creative stories and songs in response to the typing prompts. Other days I'm just taking minutes of the meeting, like today....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QUGqsLrVIjU

First Typewriter Experience

     What a heartwarming experience it is to turn on folks to typewriters for the first time!  In a room full of teenagers, only these two were fascinated by my machines.  Beecher is a senior newspaper staff member and Kishaun is in the jazz band.  Both are very creative types.  ;-)

     Beecher asked where he could buy a typewriter, and as I was explaining ShopGoodwill.com to him, he cut me short and told me his mother works with their graphic design team.  He also buys jewelry and shoes from their website.  He's going to look around this weekend and find an electric machine, because like me, he prefers them.

     They gave me permission to post their first typewriter adventure...

Royal Easter Weekend

     I gifted my sister a custom gold Royal O for her birthday last year. She asked me specifically for a champagne gold with glass keys model to match her décor, a combination that I've never seen before. Unplug Typewriter Co came to the rescue, restoring a scruffy machine with a cork platen into a beautiful work of art that types like a dream. Often when I visit, I'll type a little something about the good times we're having.  It's like a little timeline of our family gatherings.  She's had the typewriter well over a year now and still I'm the sole person who has ever typed anything significant it.

     If I don't go with them, I'm the usual house and pet sitter when my sister's family goes on vacations.  The Royal O is a nice machine and all, but I still prefer the ease of the electric machines.  I brought my Sears Medalist with the intent to type several pages of personal writings and letters to type pals.  This is as far as I got...

Green Ribbon for the IBM Selectric II!

     I was happy enough to find a working green IBM Correcting Selectric II that was fairly easy to clean and tune-up.  Now that I've discovered the colored ribbons that were available, I'm over the moon!  Even though I'm crazy about old manual typewriters, especially black shiny ones with glass keys, I can't keep my hands off electric machines, especially the Smith-Corona 6-series and this beloved Selectric.

What is the strangest thing you've ever found in a typewriter?

Here's the answer to the Typewriter Club Live typing prompt.  I banged it out on my 1954 Royal Quiet Deluxe that got a fully rubber-ducky treatment, AKA dunking in a sink full of hot soapy water and typing the hell out of it.  I joined late in the meeting, like the last 30 minutes, and as always, it's a wonderful chat with like-minded typewriter fans. Though it's virtual, the friendships are real. I missed you, Ted, Bob, Brenda, and many more, especially Sarah who's been away for a long time now. Life does get in the way of typewriter fun. Sometimes I wish I could be living in the mid-century when typewriters were everywhere. Then again, I might not appreciate them as much as I do now, and I'd probably constantly be upset about the huge gaps in gender inequality. I'm glad typewriters have helped to make life better for women!

SCM Electra 120 in Script and Stacks of Typewritings

https://typewriterdatabase.com/196x-smith-corona-electra-120.17843.typewriter

Which is growing faster, the stacks of my typewritten stuff or my collection of old typewriters? I'm better at documenting my machines on the Typewriter Database than I am at blogging in Typosphere. I enjoy typing on them, whether I'm making repair notes, telling stories, or singing about how awesome these machines are. What matters most is that they make me want to write. Eventually I'll get there!

The Sears Medalist by Smith-Corona is an Amazing Typewriter!

Sears Medalist by Smith-Corona 4-Color Typewriter Ribbon

I can't get over how awesome the Smith-Corona electric typewriters are. I want to type, type, type until my fingers are numb.

 

Happy Birthday, Dear Ted, from a Sears Medalist Electric 12

Obviously I like Ted Munk a lot. He's one of the finest typewriter people in all the world. I'm a huge fan of other folks too, especially Richard Polt for The Typewriter Revolution & Cold Hard Type series, and Joe Van Cleave's many insightful videos. I would've never gotten this far so quickly without the Typosphere. <3



The Sears 4-color typewriter ribbon is quite cool, could be easily spliced to use on any typewriter, wound onto any old spool, and more than 2 colors is possible. Connect the color-change with a grommet within a few inches of clean ribbon and it's good to go for practically any machine.



I revived this 50 year-old ribbon by unwinding and fluffing the length in a cardboard box while lightly misting it with WD-40 and then let it sit all afternoon to dry a bit before rewinding. As you can see in the type sample up top, it's still got a some colorful life to it.



The Smith-Corona 6-series electric typewriters give the fastest typebar experience! A power return can add some speed, but I'm more into creative rather than productive typing, so I like the old-fashioned return lever too.





The previous owner installed a rope handle. Perhaps for easier lifting out of the case?



The main reason I bought this typewriter is for the SCM Changeable Type international kit, because it will fit all my Smith-Corona 6-series machines, both electric & manual.