Category Archives: Typewriters in the media
Typewriters meet Tech on April 29!
Philly Tech Week 2016 starts not with a bang, but with a beep, with the Dilworth ARCADE Party an evening bash for the digerati.
On Friday, April 29, the west side of Philadelphia’s City Hall will be jammed with coders, gamers, electronic musicians and more.
But WAIT–what’s that sound? That clickety, clack, ding! ?
LAST YEAR, WE HAD JUST TWO TYPEWRITERS AT THE ARCADE PARTY; they were a hit and we’ve been invited back to do a full-fledged Type-IN.
Yes, there will be a Type-IN at the Arcade, showing off the noisy mechanical roots of word processing to the youngest generation, digital natives for whom the typewriter has a completely different attraction.
Brian Kravitz (of Philly Typewriter) and Michael Ardith (of Hometown Business Machines) will be on hand with two rows full of manual typewriters, from vintage desk top machines to sleek Italian portables.
We’ll also have an IBM Selectric –arguably the peak of analog typewriting history–available to astonish those who’ve never seen a type-ball dance like a hummingbird pecking words onto paper.
We will have a Speed Competition, and other surprise activities for your type-writing pleasure. It’s free, of course–thanks to Messrs. Ardito and Kravitz, and Trophy Bikes , the semi-official stamp and paper sponsor of the Type-IN at Tech Week.
The ARCADE PARTY starts at 5 p.m.. We figure the Speed Competition (with chintzy prizes) will start at around 7:30 p.m. NOTE: spaces limited for the contest. Please sign up in advance when you arrive!
Tap, Tap, Tappin’ on Heaven’s Door
From today’s NYT: Bob Dylan typing in a room above the Cafe Espresso in Woodstock NY. PHOTO: Douglas Gilbert. Typewriters figured heavily in Dylan’s work; songs had to be typed out for copyright filings, Bob’s notes showed he often refined even “final” typed copies. What machine is BD using here, I wonder?
Scrap Typewriter
Bought some neat film cases from JapanCameraHunter; wrapped in newspapers. The characters are unreadable; but I know a typewriter when I see one. Was going to say it could be a Royal KMG , but I have learned my lesson!
Typewriter Power leads to a tuff writer
This vintage comic pic of a guy getting clocked by a desk top–OW–led to a clear-eyed, cutting essay by author Claire Vaye Watkins about the writing world shaped mostly by white men, and its effects on a woman navigating it.
Tech Guy with Typewriter
Hmmm; this latest Phillymag story profiles the founders of Technically Philly; That’s Chris Wink, with a classic manual (Remington?) typewriter, on the left! (And Brian James Kirk with a Mac laptop on the right) Will try to find out what the story is here and let you all know.
UPDATE: Often, typewriters are used as symbolic props, brought to the shoot by stylists. Not this one. The vintage, compact Underwood in the picture was gifted to Mr. Wink years ago by his grandfather, who has since died. He typed, simply,”Hello Christopher” to his grandson; that page is still in the machine, which now graces the newsroom of Technically Philly’s HQ. Our thanks for Chris for the lovely story behind the picture.
Photo by Philadelphia Photographer Gene Smirnov
Clack vs. Click?
Graphic (novel) Content
Was shopping for something completely different at Fat Jack’s Comicrypt and found this here comic– a good story, though not much typewriter content inside. Who cares? Cover is great… can anyone help with ID’ing the machine?
Filed under private typing, public typewriting, Typewriters in the media
SAVE THE DATE: Oct. 25th • 5th Annual Type-IN • Philadelphia
Please note TIME CHANGE! Gather at 2:30 p.m. for 3 p.m. start.
Kids Collide with Typewriters
Here’s an interesting episode on Kids Devour Technology — where a group of open minded kids get some time with some “ancient typing machines.” Halfway through, ha— “I love this and I want to keep it, actually…” says one. The unseen narrator tries to paint typewriter use as a primitive privation, though… of course, it’s a TV kids’ “educational show,” so let’s no be too hard on them. Any typewriter exposure is generally a Good Thing.
Subscribe to HARPERS–right now!
This great magazine’s publisher, John R. MacArthur, says Paper is Still Relevant–and he keeps a loaded typewriter on his desk! He also believes writers should be properly paid for their work and points out this doesn’t happen when everything is free. Obvious, but rarely said so well. If you’re not a Harper’s subscriber–now’s the time. (of course JRM’s no fool–you can subscribe online Subscribe to Harpers )
phillytyper 