The Magic of a Typewriter - SOS 7/30/20
This typewriter image has been an intrigue to me since the beginning of the SOS blog.
An old black Royal with a carriage and paper bail, keys that were hard to press, a return lever, ribbon on a spool - stuffed in a closet until my Dad needed to fill out a form. This was the very first typewriter that I ever used when I was in elementary and high school (just a few years ago!).
When I was in high school and took a typing class, I learned the keyboard and used another manual IBM typewriter - somewhat easier to use, but no speed. As the year progressed, we got to use the Selectric IBM typewriter that had a ball with all the letters and numbers on it. The speed increased and we were graded on that. No backspacing to make a correction - erasures only. You had to be very careful when erasing as you could easily tear the paper. And then there was the carbon paper - one, two, three carbon copies - whatever you typed you definitely did not want to make a mistake! How many times I had to start over from scratch.
Over the years of my secretarial work, I used a variety of typewriters and then word processors. I remember typing a business plan spreadsheet with column after column of numbers only to find out that the numbers needed to be changed. It had to be retyped.
Then the miracle of computers came into being. A multitude of programs to learn and perfect. But oh the ease of making changes. Some of my bosses even got into the picture and typed their own memos for me to edit and redo.
Things have come a long way since that very first Royal that my Dad used. And now the technology of today is beyond my comprehension. I sometimes wish for the "old" days when things were somewhat simpler. When speed wasn't the main focus of doing business or for pleasure.
I still have Dad's old Royal typewriter. It sits on display and reminds me of spending time with my Dad and watching him type.
I love these old typewriters. My dad used to use one too, and he made me want to learn faster typing so I could be as good as he was. He kept one in his classroom long after computers were the main way we did everything. Love this picture.
ReplyDeleteOur local independent bookstore has a collection of old typewriters. They put them out for folks to use occasionally. It's fun to see the youngster's trying them out. When I married my husband, he an a portable electric. I thought we were lucky for sure! I still remember working one summer in our school office and programing the typewriter to type form letters. I would call friends and they wondered how I could type so fast!
ReplyDeleteMy mom was a secretary and I remember her joy at first using an IBM Selectric. She died in 1978 but this brought a happy memory of her happiness! I remember she bought me a manual, portable typewriter for college. Ugh...typewriter ribbon, whiteout, and hunt and peck. At least nothing got accidentally erased. It seems so archaic, now.
ReplyDeleteYou truly have an antique! Those old typewriters bring back so many memories, but I love the ease of fixing errors on a computer.
ReplyDeleteOne of our last field trips was to a writer's museum and my fourth grade students had an absolute blast typing for fun. They were excited to see the words appear on paper. For me there is something romantic about old typewriters.
ReplyDeleteI love that you captured this story. My grandma's old typewriters sits on the hutch in my dining room. On special occasions, I take it to the flower shop and have the florist add daisies for a special center piece. Thanks so much for writing.
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