TYPEWRITERS & TRIGGER FINGERS

Typed on a 1924 Corona Four

CORONA FOUR – THE ARRIVAL

The Corona Four, object of my impetuousness, arrived this afternoon. This is a terrible photo, but I just thought I’d share. I’ll post better pictures after the filthy thing is cleaned (though the dirt isn’t obvious from the blurry photo).

I’m still surprised at the terrible condition in which these things are shipped. I don’t expect a restoration job, but most people don’t even bother to wipe the things down. The cases always seem to arrive full of dirt, dust and lint. The typewriters are more often than not covered with grime, ribbon tangled.

Another funny thing is how some of these things are packed. One typewriter I purchased was shipped with a cornucopia of packing materials protecting the case, including pieces of broken foam, popcorn, wadded newspaper, and an old t-shirt. This Corona came with its case completely wrapped in a blanket, of all things. I guess the seller didn’t feel like making the trip to obtain popcorn, and apparently old newsprint was also not readily at hand. I can’t really complain, because the blanket was a nice, thick, fluffy number, and it certainly did the job protecting the case. Plus, after a good washing, we now have a blanket to use outdoors — well, you don’t think I’m going to sleep with it, do you?

PRESERVING THE PAST

Typed on an Olympia SM4 (whose type slugs I tried cleaning, but I still can’t get those beautifully clean letters like Professor Polt).

Out Of The Gate

I suppose the first post ought to actually be typecast, so I typed this on my 1956 Underwood De Luxe Quiet Tab