For quite some time I was dreaming of owning a typewriter. A real, old-fashioned one that still worked. I loved the thought of sitting at my desk, typing away notes, chapters and maybe the odd letter. It was a romantic notion, for sure. But still something I yearned for.
I'd looked on Etsy, but postage to get one shipped from America was costly, sometimes worth more than the typewriter itself! I knew that I wanted one, but I wasn't sure whether or not I would actually like typing enough to pay such a large sum.
Still searching for my ideal machine, one was spotted on gumtree, and it's whereabouts were local.
They had it listed for only $50, so a date was sent and I went to look at it.
The typewriter was in perfect working order, only in need of some fresh ink ribbons. Whilst it wasn't as pretty as I'd have liked, I couldn't pass it by at such a good price, what with it being local and all.
So home it came, in it's little carry box complete with original cleaning brush. I ordered new ribbons, and did some googling to find out more about my typewriter. Apparently this Everest typewriter is from around the 1930's - 1940's.
Installing the fresh ink was a somewhat messy process, but soon I was awkwardly typing away. I was at first touching the keys so gently that no letters or words were appearing. I'm used to the sensitivity of the laptop's keyboard, and it took me a while to warm up to hitting the typewriter keys with some amount of force.
I don't use my typewriter very often (might have to find myself a penpal!), but I love it just the same. I like seeing it upon my desk. And maybe one day, I'll purchase a prettier, coloured model, such as a Remington from the 50's. But for now I am happy with my purchase. And glad that I finally have a typewriter.
xx
PS day 22 of photo a day - corner. Does the corner of my typewriter count do you think?
Yes you sure give your fingers a workout pushing all the keys.
ReplyDeleteI scored my typewriter for thr very bargain price of $4 a while back and love seeing it on my craft desk every time i walk by.
It's great for adding text on gift tags and homemade greeting cards.
x
There is something so wonderful about things from the past. I have found memories of typing away on my grandmother's old typewriter. She would give me a stack of papers and I would spend the afternoon writing stories as she backed breads and pies. I only hope that I can infuse some of the "old" into my kids lives! Beautiful post...I so get it!
ReplyDeleteLucky you! I love these typewriters but they are getting very expensive in the second-hand stores down here. And yes, technically, that IS a corner :-)
ReplyDeleteI love your typewriter-I learned how to type on one of those-and owned one for a very long time after-but threw my moving around I no longer own one-enjoy!
ReplyDeleteWow! How much fun are you going to have on this, creating all kinds of gorgeous "type art". I really like this colour, it will go really well with pink and duck egg blue and other pretty pastels.
ReplyDeleteHow cool! I used a typewriter at some of my first jobs even in the mid-80's. Of course, they were electric. But I learned to type the old fashioned way when I was in high school. And still type the way I was taught, without looking at the keys. Heck, I don't even know where the keys are if I am looking -- I know them by memory and let my fingers do the walking. :) I think it would be fun to actually use a typewriter to send notes. If you need a penpal, I'm game. :) Thanks for much for stopping by my corner of the world. Have a great rest of the week. Tammy
ReplyDeleteHey again! My efforts to leave a comment may develop duplicates; if so, please delete, ok? What I wanted to say is that I learned to type on an old and very tall Underwood. I wish I still had the contrary thing!
ReplyDeleteLOVE the old typewriters...glad you found one that actually still works, and at a pretty great price, at that. Happy Typing Tuesday - Tanya
ReplyDeleteMy mum had several lovely typewriters and when we were kids and living in South Africa, we used to type letters to our grandparents in Scotland. I loved (and still do!) the whole process of typing. How fab to pick it up for $50 - keep looking, you may come across another one sometime too.
ReplyDeletexx
Great that you were able to find one locally, I'm sure you'll enjoy using it.
ReplyDeleteI learned to type in high school on a manual typewriter (and it really doesn't seem that long ago to me!). Imagine the noise of about 30 kids clacking away at the keys all at once!! There IS something special about a manual typewriter. I have a little black one from my dad (Imperial?). It's very cute, but the ribbons are dry. I didn't think you could still buy ribbons. Wendy
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on your old typewriter! I've been wanting one too. I so wish I'd kept my two old electric ones and, especially, my mom's really old manual one. It's a classic now. I'm keeping my eyes open for one just like it.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great buy! I too looked into getting one on ebay but the shipping was so costly. I've yet to find one in my price range so I'm very jealous of your typewriter.
ReplyDeleteCongrats on the new addition to your office! I love the sound of the old typewriter but I would miss my spell check.
ReplyDeleteSo funny that they are such a nostalgic thing now. We still had one in our office along with the computers. We used it just to make the occasional label so we wouldn't have to bother with feeding the labels,etc into the printer. We had a 16 year old intern whom we asked to type up a label and we pointed her towards the typewriter. She looked at us and said "What is THAT?" She had never seen one before and had NO idea how to even begin to think of using it....the typewriter disappeared at the end of the week...wouldn't want to seem like we were behind the times in our high tech office ;) I LOVE them though!
ReplyDeleteSweet find. Love those keys. I've been hunting for one too, but can't seem to find one that actually works, as I want to use it and type with it.
ReplyDeleteOh, gosh a typewriter. I remember when my mom used to type on one of those for work, instead of a computer... can you imagine??!! Well, of course you can! You have one now. :)
ReplyDelete