As you can see, the [Chinese] typewriter is extremely complicated and cumbersome. The main tray — which is like a typesetter's font of lead type — has about two thousand of the most frequent characters. Two thousand characters are not nearly enough for literary and scholarly purposes, so there are also a number of supplementary trays from which less frequent characters may be retrieved when necessary. What is even more intimidating about a Chinese typewriter is that the characters as seen by the typist are backwards and upside down! [more inside]
posted by Trurl
on Feb 27, 2012 -
43 comments
How to build a newsroom time machine. Some pessimists predicted ALL ON PAPER would be an exercise in futility. It’s proven to be a lesson in humility – for both the student journalists struggling with the old tech for the first time, and for the veteran journalists trying to recall how it all worked a few decades ago. A college paper makes an issue the old-fashioned way.
[more inside]
posted by shakespeherian
on Aug 4, 2011 -
52 comments
I disassemble typewriters and then reassemble them into full-scale, anatomically correct human figures. I do not solder, weld, or glue these assemblages together- the process is entirely cold assembly.
{flash, sound}
posted by dobbs
on Aug 4, 2008 -
62 comments
A fantastic example of old meets new, a man spends weeks crafting the perfect Christmas gift for his wife, with spectacular results. I give you the
typewriter-keyboard conversion: a true labor of love.
Makes me want to dig up my grandpa's old Underwood and give it a go.
posted by Igor XA
on Jan 25, 2005 -
27 comments
The Classic Typewriter Page. A gorgeous site to behold (and informative). Everything and anything you ever wanted to know about the classic typewriter. Before you ask, What's a typewriter?, check out this site.
posted by jacknose
on Jun 25, 2002 -
10 comments
