New Typewriters?

I’ve been out of the loop for quite a while… Life gets busy. So busy that I don’t even have time to typecast this post. However, my wife shared something she came across and I thought I’d pass it on, though, as I already stated, I’ve been out of the loop for so long that this may come as old news to the rest of you. If so, I apologize for my redundancy.

Here is a link to read about what appears to be new typewriters. I don’t know much about it as I’m sharing this on the run.

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Venice Type-In

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Signs above the theatre entrance at Venice California

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This little fellow greeted visitors as they arrived.

In case you missed it, the film’s Facebook page can be found HERE.

For the films official website, visit HERE.

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That’s Christopher Lockett standing up front; and on that little table was a little Hermes on which guests were able to sign in.

And here’s a close-up of the Hermes with visitors’ names.

Here’s a shot of the little theater before it filled completely for the first screening of the day of the documentary film, The Typewriter (In the 21st Century).

This young lady brought a picture of her father-in-law, along with medals he won for typing competitions, as well as the very Underwood 5 he used in those competitions. Lots of history there.

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The first time I’ve seen one of these in person and in action.

My youngest daughter on Michael’s very nice maroon Corona. Although I’ve never had any luck with these models, Michael’s example with absolutely gorgeous, and a great typer, too.

My oldest daughter, who made the rounds and tried just about every typewriter there. She’s a typospherian in the making.

Even my little man got in on the action.

Ruben Flores from L.A. Office Machines was there answering questions, offering advice, and providing repair services. He was a great guy (as was everyone I met).

Danny Flores performing a repair on an Olympia SM3.

Ermanno Marzorati of Star Office Machines offering tips to young typewriter enthusiasts.

Steve Soboroff with some very fine examples from his collection of typewriters from both the famous and the infamous. He’s pictured here with Hemingway’s 1932 Royal.

Another machine from Soboroff’s collection was Ray Bradbury’s 1947 Royal KM.

I thought this was the coolest machine Soboroff brought: it’s Orsen Well’s 1926 Underwood portable.

I have no idea what kind of typewriter this was, but it belonged to Theodore Kaczynski, a.k.a. the Unabomber.

Soboroff encouraged Michael to try out the infamous typing machine.

Steve and Mike, two really cool guys.

We helped carry Soboroff’s stuff to his car. I don’t know the name of the gentleman on the left. That’s Ermmano and Michael on the right.

Here’s a close-up of the trunk with a few of the machines. Man, now that’s a lot of history there.

A bulletin board at the entrance of the theatre.

Lousie Marler posing in front of some of her work.

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There were other items for sell featuring Louise’s work.

— Yes, even typewriter t-shirts.

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This was the upstairs gallery with Louise’s artwork, as well as some typewriters within the room for visitors to try out.

My wife and the kids posing for a pic in the gallery.

I took this shot of the courtyard that was buzzing during the show. This is it near the end of the day, after most people have packed up and gone.

Well, that’s it. I took many more pics, but this was already too lengthy, and I tried to show enough to give you an idea of what it was like being there. After meeting Michael, I told him he was going to be my local go-to typewriter buddy for info on local events. He seems more plugged into what’s going on than I. But for my first type-in, this was fun. And I finally got to check out the film. Very cool.

Antique Shops

For being a filthy mess, this machines had remarkably good key action on it.

What a hunk of junk. If you looked inside, through the back, the dust-bunnies were (like real bunnies are wont to doing) reproducing beyond control. The carriage return string was broken as well. However, this was the first time I’ve ever seen an Underwood 5 in person, and it seemed smaller than I’d imagined. It also made me interested in acquiring one (in far better condition than this), though I absolutely have no room for another standard machine.

Another rusty-keyed beast. I really like the Royal 10, but this example wasn’t cared for by anyone.

This Olympia De Luxe was the only machine that appeared to be in great condition. I’m not familiar with Olympia models (beyond the SM3 & 4), so I’m not sure what this is. Anyone care to chime in?

BETTER LATE THAN NEVER

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Typed on a Olympia SM4, which really needs its type slugs scrubbed. I’m also not too crazy about the tiny font size. What’s worse, I’m internet illiterate, so no matter how large an image I upload, the largest display size is still too small, making the already small font size illegible enough to require a microscope to read. My apologies for my ignorance. I’ll eventually figure out how to get this right.