Tuesday, January 6, 2009

eBay Find of the Day: Vintage Typewriter

When we visited L.A.'s ReForm School last week, my daughter was fascinated with the vintage school- and office supplies there. She and I both couldn't resist tapping a few keys on a beautifully timeworn typewriter the shop had on display, and it occurred to me that in this age of computers and tiny, magical handheld devices, my kids had probably never seen an actual typewriter in person before.

Since we got home, I've been on the hunt for vintage model of our own. (The great irony here, of course, is that my late father-in-law had an awesome antique typewriter that we let go in an estate sale a few years ago.) I was thinking that maybe we could keep it on the table in the hallway, feed a fresh piece of paper into it every once in awhile, and tap out random phrases and notes to each other when we passed by and inspiration happened to strike. Wouldn't that be fun?

Right now, I'm digging this vintage Underwood, complete with the original carrying case.

Current bid: $10. (The auction ends Saturday evening, January 10.)

9 comments:

strikk handknits said...

i've just discovered your wonderful blog - full of gorgeous pics - and old typewriters too...although i always remember my fingers getting stuck inbetween the keys! oh how life has progressed ;-)

Anonymous said...

I love your idea of keeping an old typewriter in the hallway! I remember learning to type on one of these things, too — and, like strikk says, getting fingers stuck between the keys. Fun to clatter away on, though!

Lori
:-)

Blogger said...

Love your blog, but I *hate* sites with music. Please reconsider!

Leah said...

Stowers -- done. The music was from an embedded video that I removed.

Blogger said...

Wow, thanks for the speedy response!

Anonymous said...

Oh it's pretty. Love the color!

When I was very young, my mother did transcription for a living. I thought her typewriter was the neatest machine ever.

I used to play a game I called Typewriter with my pet duck. I'd hold out my finger and let the duck nibble along it. When he reached the end, I'd make a ka-ching noise and move the finger back, just like the carriage return on mom's typewriter.

When I told my kids about this game a few years back, they both looked at each other, puzzled, and then asked me in unison, "What's a typewriter?"

I felt ancient. Beyond elderly. One foot in the grave. Pushing up daisies while still mobile. Sigh.

Anonymous said...

I purchsed a nice, moderately priced Royal from www.mrtypewriter.com. If you are interested in something that is truly usable and are willing to spend a few bucks (ok...a lot of bucks but I'm happy!) check him out. Ebay models are great for looking but probably are great for typing unless it has been services.

Jessie said...

We have an old blue Royal on the hallway table and it is so fun! Especially for parties or when friends come over... they love typing a message and then looking at who's been there, etc. The one downside is that we have yet to be able to find a replacement ribbon for ours and the existing is almost dead!

Unknown said...

i typed many business letters for my father on thi. he still has it at his place. somebody had bought this from the US in the early 1980's and sold it to us in bombay.. where such typewriters were difficult to come by. ours came in a suitcase of its own.

on another note, what is called vintage is still used routinely in many parts of the country.

 

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