I just ordered a belt from West Coast Belts. Mine is a Silver Reed 8700 which uses the same belt as the Underwood 565. They're almost identical machines,
via Claude Medearis at https://typewriterdatabase.com/1979-underwood-electric-565.12254.typewriter
See: https://westcoastbelts.com/product/new-replacement-belt-for-silver-reed-electric-8700-typewriter/
Replacement belts for typewriters
WeepinbellJar13
https://www.reddit.com/r/typewriters/comments/1wr2nbt/comment/pcfu8ib/
I would like to see how one is set up and coordinated in a physical space first. I'm curious about what's needed behind the scenes to get the ball rolling. For the time being, I'm looking forward to joining one in LA County 👍
u/WeepinbellJar13
Oooh, how exciting!! I’m in the Los Angeles area, how can I get on a notification list?
u/Big-Confidence9249
Ed Medina reports that beading wire can be used to replace typewriter drawbands.
26 pound test strength.
via https://www.facebook.com/groups/705152958470148/posts/1377709554547815/
Evelyn Forevermore is that an aesthetic/dreamy “feeling” reply, or serious “has a purpose”? Serious question, as I know zero about this. Were all these fonts just aesthetic choices or are several considered apt for specific purposes and not for others. thanks!
Reply to Louis Cornelia at https://www.facebook.com/groups/705152958470148/posts/1373494441635993/
Most of it is marketing in nature. The vast majority of typewriters have a standard courier serifed typeface, but manufacturers sold italic and cursive faces for a more "personal" touch in your correspondence. Italics was particularly marketed toward business executives to the point that many have the name "Executive". Many banks and accounting applications preferred used Gothic or double gothic typefaces for accounting work. Some banks also had custom faces to make it more difficult for people to wash checks.
At the Smithsonian, Maya Angelou's typewriter holds a place of honor : NPR<br /> by [[Daniel Ofman]] for NPR<br /> accessed on 2026-09-27T13:31:46
You can see the keys are kind of well-worn. You can still read them. So it looks like she was typing very regularly.
While described as "well worn", most typewriters with plastic keys don't really show heavy wear, so it's not surprising that "You can still read them."
This is a museum curator creating a feeling of typewriter nostalgia by way of unintended misinformation.
LABODE: This artifact is a typewriter that belonged to Maya Angelou. She probably had it from the early 1980s until her death. It's an Adler typewriter. It's an electric typewriter that was manufactured in West Germany.
This tracks with the Adler Meteor 12 from Soboroff's collection which is already documented on Richard Polt's page.
My earlier SM3 (SN 1145162) does have the back rule, but the layer (SN 1268955) does *not.*
https://www.facebook.com/groups/705152958470148/posts/1381249050860532/
1958 Olympia SM3 manufacturing changes regarding adding a rule for the rear tabulator sets.
reply to u/Novembree at https://old.reddit.com/r/typewriters/comments/1hfncyz/had_a_typewriter_for_awhile_could_use_help/
Welcome to the Royal KMM club! Seems like lots of these have been posted in the last day including one by u/betternatured and another by u/the-other-gusta along with a very similar Royal KMG by u/Jacki-san.
The serial number puts yours down as a KMM with an 11 inch platen manufactured in 1945. Cross reference: https://typewriterdatabase.com/royal.72.typewriter-serial-number-database
Manual: https://site.xavier.edu/polt/typewriters/RoyalKMM.pdf
These were really popular and ubiquitous, standard (large desktop) typewriters in the mid-century that were the workhorse of many offices. Because they were so common and so heavy, they only go for $5-25 in the used market in either unknown or marginal condition. If they're cleaned up and well-serviced they can go for more with a cap of around $300-400 depending on the level of restoration. Some with special features (like special typefaces) or provenance may go for more.
The Royal KMM was known to have been used by writers including: John Ashberry, Harry Ashmore, Russell Baker, Ray Bradbury, Richard Bratigan, Richard Brooks, Pearl S. Buck, Johnny Carson, Norman Corwin, Frank Herbert, Ken Kesey, G.W. Lee, Harper Lee, Ursula K. LeGuin, David McCullough, Margaret Mead, Grangland Rice, and Dorothy Parker. This was also the model famously used by Angela Landsbury's character on the TV show Murder, She Wrote.
Spools and Ribbon:<br /> The spools for the standard Royal typewriters (Ten, H, KH, KHM, KMM, KMG, RP, HH, FP, Empress, 440, 660, etc.) have a custom metal mechanism for their auto-reverse. The spools are known as the T1 (which is the same as General Ribbon part # T1-77B , T1-77BR, and Nu-Kote B64.) If winding on universal ribbon onto them, remove the eyelette which isn't needed and may interfere with the auto reverse.
If you're missing the original spools, Ribbons Unlimited carries them: https://www.ribbonsunlimited.com/6N064-Royal-Standard-Electric-Ribbon-64-p/6n064.htm or you might source an original metal pair from a local repair shop.
Duane of Phoenix Typewriter has a video about how to change and spool up your Royal standard.
Collector Sarah Everett can show you most of the functions on her YouTube Channel for Just My Typewriter: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v0Zvc1m-8aI.
Depending on your level of typewriter knowledge try out some of the following short films which will also provide some tips, tricks, and maintenance advice common in the era of your machine:
Happy Typing!
https://www.facebook.com/groups/TypewriterCollectors/posts/10164182544099678/
Webster XL 747 typewriter with Piclite type
I am scared by random people writing this and that with compressed air.We learned in typewriter school in the navy.1.remove rubber bumpers platen and feed rolls.2. Mix 1to 1 superagetine and mineral spirits. Stoddard solvent also works.3. Soak overnight.4. Drain and rinse with fresh solvent.5 air dry or bake @95°F.6 .cool and manually re oilNow a day oil only with synthetic 0 weight oil.7 .check and brush typefaces.8. Clean platten.Reinstall and type test, align typefaces. Only permanent align is peening typebars. This is the way I maintained 200 typewriters on an aircraft carrier.This what worked for me.Spring scale at .75 Lbs. For tape tension.Adjust the rail clamps and clean under if required. Carrage should slide with 3 oz or lessLike
I am scared by random people writing this and that with compressed air.<br /> We learned in typewriter school in the navy.<br /> 1. remove rubber bumpers platen and feed rolls. 2. Mix 1to 1 superagetine and mineral spirits. Stoddard solvent also works.<br /> 3. Soak overnight.<br /> 4. Drain and rinse with fresh solvent.<br /> 5. air dry or bake @95°F.<br /> 6. cool and manually re oil<br /> Now a day oil only with synthetic 0 weight oil.<br /> 7. check and brush typefaces.<br /> 8. Clean platten.
Reinstall and type test, align typefaces. Only permanent align is peening typebars.<br /> This is the way I maintained 200 typewriters on an aircraft carrier.<br /> This what worked for me.<br /> Spring scale at .75 Lbs. For tape tension.<br /> Adjust the rail clamps and clean under if required. Carrage should slide with 3 oz or less
via professional Navy repairman James Yearnd at https://www.facebook.com/groups/705152958470148/posts/1382145190770918/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/705152958470148/posts/1381071097544994
An Olympia SM2 pained electric blue.
Lawn Jockeys - 2008 - Question of the Month - Jim Crow Museum<br /> by [[David Pilgrim]], Curator, Jim Crow Museum<br /> accessed on 2026-09-25T22:51:44
Asking the no-oriented question, "Do you have a problem with me doing xyz?" is better than directly asking for the thing you want.
Ask for the "no" answer rather than the "yes" answer which feels like the respondent is giving something up.
via atypical.erin at https://www.instagram.com/reel/Ddrye7yytr0/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&stkn=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==
https://www.reddit.com/r/typewriters/comments/1wqa69b/elf_typing_paper/
Leaves described as "elf typing paper".
GOAT = Get Old And Type ????
via u/Pete1885 at https://old.reddit.com/r/typewriters/comments/1wpx74d/i_think_i_found_the_goat/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/705152958470148/posts/1381074304211340/
I was an IM rating in the Navy. As a instrument repairman I was responsible for repairing typewriters of all types regardless of the make or model as well as adding machines and the calculators of the time like the mighty Monroe 1000 gear long division moving carriage machine.<br /> I retained many special tools and books and have knowledge that will go away when I die
https://www.reddit.com/r/typewriters/comments/1wpglhv/professional_elite_font_on_my_olympia_sm3/
u/Every_Bandicoot2321 is Tom Fasano of https://tomfasano.com/
https://www.reddit.com/r/shavian/comments/1wp1yjj/announcement_of_the_worlds_first_shavian/
Taken from “Imperial News”, Volume 20, Number 2, Winter 1963-64.
This would have been published after 1963-11-22 which is mentioned in the article.
History of the Shavian Keyboard Imperial Good Companion Portable Typewriter<br /> by [[Robert Messenger]] of oz.Typewriter accessed on 2026-09-24T10:20:26
https://collection.powerhouse.com.au/object/254367
Typewriter- 'Imperial- good companion' which types in the Shavian alphabet
Arne Lange10 Mar 2015, 16:23:00Thanks a lot for this article. I am looking forward to part 2! Olympia portables are my favourites.There is some interesting history behind the Colortip rebranding. Those typewriters were primarily sold by agents door by door, resulting in quite some scandals. The company that ended being renamed Colortip was run by Josef Haid, who at times ran a network of more than 4000 agents. Their practice was to sell contracts for typewriter telecourses - only that those contracts had a hidden clause that included the purchase of a typewriter. Different brands were involved over the years (Alpina typewriters also made some sales over this route). If you trust google translate, this German article from that time would be quite interesting: http://www.spiegel.de/spiegel/print/d-45140285.htmlWhat I find especially interesting about the Colortip machines is that there should be some modified later versions of Olympis SMs, that allowed to lock certain keys to make learning to type easier. As far as I know, they have an extra lever, that has three settings: program (lock all keys that are subsequently used), type (only the keys not locked before would budge) and reset. This lever would be unter the spool cover close to the left spool. I have been looking for those, but haven't found one yet. Also there is not much info to find about those....
Jack Lemmon roasts Burt Reynolds over donation<br /> https://www.reddit.com/r/classicfilms/comments/1wnetp1/oh_jack_lemmon_my_favorite/
Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) for LA's totally Awesome All Purpose Cleaner & Degreaser & Spot Remover<br /> https://sds.chemtel.net/webclients/safariland/raw_materials/AwesomeProductsIncorporated_LAsTotallyAwesomeAllPurposeCleanerandDegreasersandSpotRemover_01-10-2011.pdf
I Bacteria Tested La's Totally Awesome<br /> by Field of Focus
https://reddit.com/r/typewriters/comments/1wmszod/whats_this_key_for_on_my_groma_kolibri_luxus/
you can type a C > backspace > = and create a Euro sign.
“His name, Socrates, is Evenus, he comes from Paros, [c] and his fee isfive minas.”
Callias, son of Hipponicus recommends Evenus of Paros to Socrates as a Sophist teacher whose fee is five minas.
Compare this five minas to the price Socrates mentions at the end of the trial as potential penalty. Socrates says he can afford one mina while his friends could put up 30 minas for him.
Yet I think it afine thing to be able to teach people as Gorgias of Leontini does, and Prodicus ofCeos, and Hippias of Elis.2
- [Editors:] These were all well-known Sophists. For Gorgias and Hippias see Plato’s dialogues named after them; both Hippias and Prodicus appear in Protagoras.
The editors call out these philosophers/teachers as Sophists. Compare where they appear in Protagoras.
god
Socrates is accused of impiety. Several times throughout this piece there are various mention of god (singular) and gods (plural). Which is it? Is there a linguistic difference from the Greek to English and what effect, if any, is there on the culture being represented and how does that interact with Socrates' argument and position with respect to impiety?
in making one’s defense, and cross-examine when no one answers.
Those who maliciously [d] and slanderously persuaded you—who also, when persuaded themselves then persuaded others—all those are most difficult to deal with: one cannot bring one of them into court or refute him; one must simply fight with shadows, as it were,
Synopsis: Rumor is a difficult thing to fight
It is right for me, gentlemen, to defend myself first against the first lyingaccusations made against me and my first accusers, and then against the lateraccusations and the later accusers.
Socrates defense will be broken up into two parts:<br /> - lying accusations by the first accusers<br /> - these are of the nature of rumors which he poses as untrue and which received no defense and fell on the ready ears of young and inexperienced people who presumably were indoctrinated unquestioningly<br /> - later accusations by later acusers (Meletus, et al.)
concentrate your attention on whether what I say is just or not, forthe excellence of a judge lies in this, as that of a speaker lies in telling the truth.
unless indeed they call an accomplished speaker the man who speaks the truth.
Socrates self-deprecatingly considers himself an unaccomplished speaker unless one re-defines the term entirely as someone who speaks the truth.
he does set uphuman reason in his own person as the final arbiter of what is right and wrong,
APOLOGYTranslated by G.M.A. Grube
Cooper, John M., and D. S. Hutchinson, eds. 1997. “Apology.” In Plato: Complete Works, Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing Company, Inc.
So, too, Meletus first gets rid of uswho corrupt the young shoots, as he says, and then afterwards he will obviouslytake care of the older ones and become a source of great blessings for the city, asseems likely to happen to one who started out this way.
How do you accomplish this in modernity, when you can't "get rid" of the opposition? You chill their speech, you erase their language, you erase their history. This seems to be the playbook of the far right in American politics under Donald J. Trump.
Redefine and poison words like DEI and Critical Race Theory (CRT), marginalize and criminalize the people who don't fit in your world view.
hould be as good as possible, just as a good farmer is likely to take care of theyoung plants first, and of the [3] others later.
I think he is the only one of our public men to start out the right way, for it is right to care first that the young
Cross reference: Teach Your Children Well by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
[2] EUTHYPHRO
Euthyphro<br /> Stephanus numbers 2a–16a<br /> G. M. A. Grube translation
in <br /> Plato. 1997. Plato: Complete Works. eds. John M. Cooper and D. S. Hutchinson. Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing Company, Inc.
SOCRATES: I do not really know him myself, Euthyphro. He is apparentlyyoung and unknown. They call him Meletus, I believe. He belongs to thePitthean deme, if you know anyone from that deme called Meletus, with longhair, not much of a beard, and a rather aquiline nose.
cf. with Benjamin Jowett translation:
A young man who is little known, Euthyphro; and I hardly know him : his name is Meletus, and he is of the deme of Pitthis. Perhaps you may remember his appearance; he has a beak, and long straight hair, and a beard which is ill grown.
There is certainly a charge of "youth" in both translations, but the "beak" and "ill-grown beard" seem to be more belittling in Jowett which be ad hominem appearance attacks on Meletus of Pithos before we've even heard his argument.
Which of these descriptions would have had cultural significance in Ancient Greece?
See: Pithos, Pitthos, Pithus: https://topostext.org/place/380239DPit
Does Platomean to suggest that piety may be shown simply in doing one’s best to become asmorally good as possible—something Socrates claims in the Apology the godswant more than anything else?
Of course if this is the aim, then one also ought to define "morally good" as cleanly as piety, something which might be elusive or which may vary based on an individual person, that person's culture, or even across cultures.
Plato. 1997. Plato: Complete Works. eds. John M. Cooper and D. S. Hutchinson. Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing Company, Inc.
Uni MH500 2mm Lead Holder - One Cautionary Note, One Defeated Expectation - Mechanical Pencil Review<br /> by Unnecessary Detail
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRAh0vF2WEk
Surely AI generated, but an interesting paean to a slower life with evening hobbies.
HB Lead Grades Explained + How to Select Right Pencil for Writing & Art<br /> by [[Unnecessary Detail]] on YouTube<br /> accessed on 2026-09-20T23:58:33
HB is typically the mid-point for most manufacturers <br /> H (hardness) tends to go lighter and scratchier (less graphite, more clay)<br /> B (darkness) tends to go darker and smoother (more graphite, less clay)<br /> F is typically a grade (fine/firm) between H and HB
For general writing look in the range of H / F / HB / B / 2B
Charcoal pencils tend to be much darker that clay/graphite pencils.
In the United States, pencils are often graded from #1 to #5 with the #2 being equivalent to HB.
5 Stages of Lead Holder Usage & Collection - 2mm Mechanical Pencil Buying Guide<br /> by [[Unnecessary Detail]] on YouTube<br /> accessed on 2026-09-20T23:56:00
Lead Holders Explained in 5 Levels of Detail - 2mm Mechanical Pencils<br /> by [[Unnecessary Detail]] on YouTube<br /> accessed on 2026-09-20T23:37:00
Why You Must Try 2mm Lead Holders vs. Wooden Pencils, Fountain Pens & Mechanical Pencils<br /> by [[Unnecessary Detail]] on YouTube<br /> accessed on 2026-09-20T23:24:15
September 19, 2026<br /> by [[Heather Cox Richardson]] in Letters From an American<br /> accessed on 2026-09-20T22:51:34
And the elites set out to drive wedges between Black slaves and white servants, establishing greater punishments for Black Virginians. In 1705 the Virginia Slave Codes pulled all those regulations together and went further. They prohibited Black Americans from owning cattle, hogs, or horses. They made it legal to kill an enslaved Virginian in the process of “correcting” them. And they made enslavement hereditary.
From 1670 to 1715, colonists enslaved between 30,000 and 50,000 Indigenous Americans. Entire tribes disappeared, and white farmers moved onto their lands.
On Monday, the editorial board of the Wall Street Journal reported that although Republican lawmakers are celebrating Trump’s tariffs in public, they are privately seeking exemptions from tariffs for manufacturers in their own state. “Tariffs for thee, exemptions for me,” the board wrote in a piece detailing the efforts of Senator Katie Britt of Alabama to stop tariffs in private while praising them in public.
September 18, 2026<br /> by [[Heather Cox Richardson]] in Letters from an American accessed on 2026-09-20T22:33:34
reply to u/Silly_Captain2089 at https://reddit.com/r/NoteTaking/comments/1wldauj/do_you_actually_organize_notes_by_folders/
The missing secret and an affordability that disappeared roughly when folders moved to digital contexts was the time and effort that people used to put into indexing their work beyond just filing it away.
Tags and wiki-type cross linking has helped some of this problem, but it takes some time and effort to make it easier for you to find the things you're always looking for.
Back in the late 1600s famous philosopher John Locke wrote a short treatise about how to index notes in one's commonplace book so that you could write entries in linear order, but still find them under multiple indexed headwords and didn't need to copy them into multiple places (or folders in your case). Here's a copy from 1706 in English (the original was in French.) - Locke, John. 1706. A New Method of Making Common-Place-Books. London: Printed for J. Greenwood, bookseller. http://archive.org/details/b30540434.
The pinnacle of the practice was probably in the 1950s when there were multiple filing and indexing schemes available and in wide practice. - Duffield, David Walter, and Various. 1951. Progressive Indexing and Filing. 5th ed. New York, NY: Remington Rand Inc. http://archive.org/details/progressiveindex0000varo.
These seemingly "boring and dull" methods do require a miniscule amount of additional work, but if you're regularly using and especially reusing your notes for writing or other creative work, then the extra work pays for itself 100 times over in long-term creativity and usefulness.
Underling the boredom and seeming tediousness of this practice, in a note in his system entitled "Does Spirit hide in the filing cabinet?", Niklas Luhmann wrote: "People come [to look at his filing and indexing system], they see everything and nothing more than that, just like in porn movies; consequently, they leave disappointed." This is a telling story about the simplicity of the idea of well-kept notes (filed and indexed) in a zettelkasten, card catalog, filing cabinet, or commonplace book because you don't get to see the creativity of the end product without putting in the work.
As a crazy example of resultant creativity, I was able to use some notes I indexed five years ago on tools to link a passage from the Book of Matthew in the Bible to Henry David Thoreau's book Walden and Conway's Law on corporate structure. I can guarantee that without my notes being reasonably well-indexed and filed, this serendipitous bit of rather brilliant creativity would never have happened.
https://youtu.be/0ajIPRy_yc0?si=tBJjJNjg5tnlR9oW&t=1504
For whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them.
How teaching kids to read went so wrong - Sold a Story: Season 1, Episode 1: The Problem<br /> by [[Emily Hanford]] in [[Sold a Story]] from APM Reports
Are typewriters becoming an elite hobby?
A: Personally, I think it's a pica hobby.
Charles Anderson discovers dragonflies that cross oceans<br /> TED on YouTube
Lawrence Lessig: Fixing the Republic
Recommended by TB
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Corporation_(2003_film)<br /> The Corporation (Zeitgeist Films, 2003)
Robert D. Hare, a University of British Columbia psychology professor and FBI consultant, compares the profile of the contemporary profitable business corporation to that of a clinically diagnosed psychopath. The Corporation attempts to compare the way corporations are systematically compelled to behave with what it claims are the DSM-IV's symptoms of psychopathy, e.g., the callous disregard for the feelings of other people, the incapacity to maintain human relationships, the reckless disregard for the safety of others, the deceitfulness (continual lying to deceive for profit), the incapacity to experience guilt, and the failure to conform to social norms and respect the law.
The left Shift key on the Antares Parva was scratched. I sanded it first with wet-dry sandpaper and then polished it with a cotton pad and toothpaste.
via Tomi Aho at https://www.facebook.com/groups/705152958470148/posts/1375748211410616/
Secretaries Get to Throw Their Typewriters<br /> The Best of the Iowa Traveler<br /> by Iowa's News Now
Found via https://www.facebook.com/groups/TypewriterCollectors/posts/10164157502764678/
Getting Gabriel García Márquez's Smith-Corona 5TE Ready For Exhibit<br /> by [[Richard Messenger]] on oz.Typewriter<br /> accessed on 2026-09-19T12:30:13
Includes multiple photos. The Smith-Corona 5TE isn't listed on Richard Polt's site as of 2026-09-19.
<br />
—via https://www.latercera.com/culto/2021/04/28/40-anos-de-cronica-de-una-muerte-anunciada-la-novela-que-garcia-marquez-consideraba-su-mejor-libro/<br />
Photo of Gabriel García Márquez in front of a standard typewriter with the brand name Underwood on the back.
Not included in Richard Polt's collection of typers as of 2026-09-19
This article has a variation of the same photo credited as "El escritor colombiano y premio Nobel Gabriel García Márquez / Foto: archivo Biblioteca Nacional de Colombia"
Profile photo of Gabriel García Márquez at a 1970's version of a cartridge-based Smith-Corona electric typewriter. <br />
Potential variations of this typewriter are already in Richard Polt's collection of typers, but this particular photo is not as of 2026-09-19.
Typewriter force curves, bellcrank classification, and velocity curves<br /> by Haelscheir's Haven on YouTube
https://www.cookshelf.app/
Similar to Eat Your Books.
Potentially the same company just re-instantiated? What has changed with their cost/charging/business model?
Eat Your Books is an electronic database/index of recipes in cookbooks to make it easier for people to search their own paper (cook) books.
This is the sort of thing that Mortimer J. Adler was doing for the Great Books.
How nice would it be if there were a better digital index for all books which worked as well as this portends?
Smith Corona Electra 210 Typewriter // Inside the Robert A. Caro Archive<br /> The New York Historical
Suggested by Peter McKinnon<br /> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EXaQ_lU4JIM
How I cured my phone addiction with 2 tiny notebooks<br /> by Peter McKinnon
Adding a piece of string to a pocket notebook for use as a bookmark. https://youtu.be/EXaQ_lU4JIM?si=r4s-LHKV76IAq_mn&t=1091
clever...
The pocket notebook that will save you 5 hrs a day<br /> by Rachelle in Theory
Using a pocket notebook over a phone to regain time. Well reasoned out and a good overview of "why".
Some tools have the ability to speak to you in ways that others do not.
An extension of this is Conway's law which may tend to force us to create work which not only reflects us, but which becomes us.
The relationship with tools becomes a two way street between us and the tool as well as the tools which interpose all of us (humanity).
What might this mean for our relationship with Artificial Intelligence? Will our laziness with respect to thinking turn us into non-thinkers who rely on a tool not actually able to think?
In my experience, a Typewriter's soul reveals itself to the folks that are MEANT to be their custodian for a time. I find most objects that serve a creative purpose to be this way; They absolutely have voices, but only the right person(people?) can hear them. People don't find Typewriters. Typewriters find people.
reply to Kirk Jackson aka u/NashvilleTypewriter at https://old.reddit.com/r/typewriters/comments/1wjidrf/what_words_could_we_use_to_better_describe_the/pal3wez/
This is great. I find it to be the case as well.
Watching other spaces like note taking applications (and methods), stationery, planners, notebooks, pencils, pens, fountain pens, etc. it repeats itself over and over. Some will really love a particular object which seems to work for them while others don't. Fora are filled with people asking, what do you like? how do you use it? when instead they ought to be attempting to figure out what they like and how they would use it.
Some turn their love of a particular thing into a religion (Apple vs. IBM comes to mind) which also tends to make others doubt their own choices and what might work best for them. Instead of experimenting around a bit to see what works for them, they take the supposed "magic" propounded by others and wrongly try to make it work for themselves. This is one of the primary reasons I tell potential new typewriter stewards to visit shops or type-ins so that they can put their hands on a variety of machines to see which "speaks" or works best for them and their needs. There are so many people limping along out there on dreadfully maintained machines because they haven't tried others (or even cleaned, oiled, and well-adjusted ones) and don't know what they're missing.
I was reading/listening to a series by APM recently called Sold a Story about how some academics and scientists created a "new method" for teaching reading and sold it as a products to school systems all over the country. While it managed to work for a terrifically small population, it was broadly wrong for the majority of people. Decades of harm was done to children and the educational space because everyone went with what these experts said (and which may have seemed logical) rather than doing some work, trusting testing and results, or continuing to experiment with a variety of strategies. Similarly, while computers and writing software may work for many, some of the older tried-and-true methods out there using tools like pencils, pens, loose paper, index cards, notebooks, notepads, and typewriters can provide dramatically different affordances in ways of working with them which are actually better for some of the things one might wish to accomplish with them. Some tools have the ability to speak to you in ways that others do not.
(P.S. Thanks for your observation as this may become the kernel of the introduction to the book I'm slowly working on.)
[O]rganizations which design systems (in the broad sense used here) are constrained to produce designs which are copies of the communication structures of these organizations.— Melvin E. Conway, How Do Committees Invent?
https://www.reddit.com/r/Zettelkasten/comments/1wjdcjs/removed_by_reddit/
Do connected notes actually work better than folders?<br /> via u/Purple_Clock5044 on 2025-09-17
It's a lot easier to identify typefaces of typewriters if you include a few things in your photos: <br /> - Full frontal picture of the machine with clear shot of one or more of the rulers (so one can attempt to determine pitch as well as more easily identify the make/model for cross referencing).<br /> - A full typed sample of all the characters, especially some of the more unique ones like Q, 3, 5, 4, 7, &, G, A, E, and W in both upper and lower case.<br /> - A close up shot of the slugs which clearly shows the foundry marks (generally found in the middle of the slug) of both letter slugs and special character/number slugs as sometimes the latter are different.
Princess 300 with RaRo Elite Imperial typeface
The "AR" foundry mark is a shorthand for Albert Rodrian, one half of RaRo. If you ever see an R inside an octagon that's the mark for the other half, Alfred Ransmayer.
The "84" on the foundry mark is typical of RaRo's 12 pitch Elite Imperial which can be found with a sample at: https://typecast.munk.org/2023/02/04/1961-adler-typewriter-type-font-styles/
You can also compare other known Princess typefaces at the database: https://typewriterdatabase.com/twdb.0.typefaces?mfr_search=70&model_search=100#
If you put a ruler up to your type, you should find that there are 12 characters per inch.
You can also cross reference the following: - the Hass catalog, page 3, row 1:<br /> https://archive.org/details/typewriter-foundry-marks-haas/page/n1/mode/2up<br /> - RaRo Catalogue Page B3-4 "Elite-Schatten Ro 84":<br /> https://www.sommeregger.name/typewriters/files/RaRo/rarotype_katalog_1980_OCR_20160523.pdf
Reply to u/CaptainCulinary at https://old.reddit.com/r/typewriters/comments/1wjb0gk/princess_300_with_typeface/
https://www.instagram.com/p/DaqqSrUvM9I/?hl=en
Typing on an 1890s Odell model 3. Made in chicago, refurbished in chicago.<br /> via typewriter_chicago_
https://youtu.be/NWnX3ZkL_eA?si=mUD52esB34cLxhbJ&t=353
Suggestion to use index card or pocket notebook as a viewfinder for narrowing down one's view of the world.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/68103485@N05/
Examples like: <br />
I got several reels with a special discount. Nylon 1005 yards was €60 each, Cotton red/black was 360 yard was €125. I got several reels. They gave me a big discount. I purchase often from them. They paid tariffs with the shipping.
Sameera Sandaruwan Abeyrathna has had ribbon shipped from Europe before.
The Royal Companion was a trim line name for Royal portables in the 40s and 50s along with variations like the Aristocrat and the Quiet De Luxe. For some of its life it's essentially a cheaper Quiet De Luxe which may be missing features like a tabulator, Magic Margins, card fingers, or a touch control. You'd have to cross check the manual and the typewriter database to see how yours may differ from the QDL at the time it was made. Often it was a $5-10 price differential at the time for the difference in features, but with inflation this would be the equivalent of $140 now.
You could essentially use the list of QDL users from Polt's site and say that they all used a typewriter similar to your Companion. (Depending on the photos and angles, some of the listed Quiet De Luxe users may have really been using either a Companion or an Aristocrat, but it's incredibly difficult to discern unless you can see the specific feature differences between them.)
See also: - https://boffosocko.com/2024/06/25/users-of-the-early-henry-dreyfuss-royal-quiet-de-luxe-portable-typewriters/<br /> - https://typewriterdatabase.com/royal.72.typewriter-serial-number-database<br /> - https://typewriterdatabase.com/Royal.Companion.72.bmys - Manuals at: https://site.xavier.edu/polt/typewriters/tw-manuals.html
Reply to u/chocolate-sheep at https://old.reddit.com/r/typewriters/comments/1wi0jd6/writers_using_royal_companions/
Yes, dust can be an issue over time, especially if your machine is over-oiled and even more if you're in high dust/pollution area of the world and leave windows open regularly or have pets with lots of hair and dander production.
However, if uber-collector Martin Howard can be trusted, perhaps when designing your dream typewriter display room, dust isn't as horrible a problem as you might imagine. See: https://lumicrest.com/showcase-lighting-martin-howards-antique-typewriter-collection/ One imagines that occasional dusting and a can of compressed air will do the trick.
You could also do a nicer dust cover/mat the way Tom Hanks does: https://boffosocko.com/2025/06/16/tom-hanks-ingenious-custom-typewriter-covers-mats/
For my refurbished machines displayed in the house (where we have had a monster German Shepherd who sheds all year long and lots of exterior dust from Southern California pollution), if they're not in regular rotation, I'll drop a sheet of tinfoil or plastic wrap under the hood to prevent dust coming in through the hood and that seems to be more than enough protection while not covering up the entire machine.
reply to u/harperjones at https://old.reddit.com/r/typewriters/comments/1whqodm/closed_cabinets_for_display/
legendwill11
https://old.reddit.com/r/typewriters/comments/1wgjf93/i_made_a_video_about_why_i_use_a_1949_royal/
legendwill11 has a '49 Royal Quiet De Luxe and lives in the Glendale, CA area (via video at https://www.youtube.com/shorts/-YuazfTLiiw)
Why I Write Ads for Big Tech on a Typewriter
The Inner Game of Tennis says that real focus and creative freedom isn't about focusing harder, it's about narrowing in on what's actually relevant to the task in front of you, whether that's the seams on a tennis ball or whatever detail is clear in your creativity. For me, turns out a 60-year-old machine it does that better than any app I use.
Creativity isn't a gift, it's a system<br /> by Perry Daniels on YouTube
Perry Daniels' "Grail Notebook" is just a translation from the latin of ars excerpendi?! hmmm....
Stop Buying Field Notes<br /> by Perry Daniels on YouTube
Most Pencils Are Terrible. Here Are 6 You Should Actually Buy<br /> by [[John Pattison]] on YouTube<br /> accessed on 2026-09-14T23:51:04
What Reading Out Loud Does to Your Brain<br /> by The Upgrade with Makai Elías Calles
UsefulCharts<br /> by [[Matt Baker]] on YouTube<br /> accessed on 2026-09-14T23:08:17
Books: HitParade: 1895-1945<br /> by [[TIME]]<br /> accessed on 2026-09-14T23:02:57
The Success of Nonviolent Civil Resistance<br /> by [[Center for Nonviolent Conflict Research]] [[CNCR]]<br /> accessed on 2026-09-14T22:55:14
The '3.5% rule': How a small minority can change the world<br /> by [[David Robson]]<br /> accessed on 2026-09-14T22:54:21
And of this ourmother the state is to be the judge.
Plato. 1952. 7 Plato. 1st ed. eds. Robert M. Hutchins and Mortimer J. Adler. Chicago, IL: Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc.
The history, mythology, and literature of Greece, taken up by the Roman Empire, shaped the development of European and American culture. ToposText is a free tool, a mobile app and website, for going back to the primary sources and historic roots of western civilization, and in particular a tool for students and travelers eager to experience the ancient world through its surviving texts.
Pitthos deme (Attica) 12 unknown - Πιτθός Πιτθός - Pitthos, an ancient deme of Attica, exact location unknown
https://www.facebook.com/reel/1632254748516251
Beau L'Amour does a tour of his father Louis L'Amour's typewriters:<br /> - Brown Olympia SM3, used in the 50s, on a trip or in a car primarily<br /> - Small gray portable typewriter (Hermes ultraportable?) <br /> - IBM Model B, purchased in 58 or 59, the majority of his writing work was produced on this machine<br /> - IBM Selectric (II or III), this became his primary machine once it was released and he began using it <br /> - SMC Electra 120
The M.R. key on a typewriter stands for "More Room" as defined by William Clark's daughter. <br /> via https://www.facebook.com/groups/27453296880990639/posts/28305005765819742
This is the “emotional support “ typewriter I brought to the office today
https://www.youtube.com/@Woodys-corner<br /> James Wood, typewriter collector<br /> aka u/Wooden_Underpants on Reddit aka elwoody.typewriters on Instagram
match via<br /> - https://www.reddit.com/r/typewriters/comments/1wbs1wq/day_in_the_life/ - https://www.instagram.com/p/DdEvO6Aol-j/?hl=en
https://www.patreon.com/GoIntoTheStory/posts/download-spec-168834157<br /> Spec Script Deals: 1991-2025
Spice Mixes Recipes by Naomi Braeden [2017] Cooking With Spices - 100 Recipes for Blends Marinades and Sauces from Around the World by Mark C. Stevens [2017]
added to Zotero 2026-09-11
via u/Anxious_Increase_219 at https://old.reddit.com/r/CookbookLovers/comments/1wc9gyb/spice_blend_book/
They also recommend:
Also about spices and cooking with spices:
Culinary Herbs and Spices by Ben-Erik von Wyk [2013]
Beginner's Guide to Cooking with Spices by Joseph Veebe [2019]
Herb & Spice Companion - The Complete Guide to Over 100 Herbs & Spices by Lindsey Herman [2015]
Herbs & Spices, The Cooks' Reference by Jill Norman [2015]
Spice - Understand the Science of Spice Create Exciting New Blends and Revolutionize by Dr Stuart Farrimond [2018]
The Encyclopedia of Herbs, Spices, & Flavorings by Elisabeth Lambert Ortiz [1992]
Jeff Lowell Dead: 'John Tucker Must Die' Writer & 'The Crew' Creator<br /> by [[Nellie Andreeva]]<br /> accessed on 2026-09-11T09:06:23
via rememberances at https://www.reddit.com/r/Screenwriting/comments/1wc86n8/rip_jeff_lowell/
Locked in a Basement<br /> song and lyrics by Heernt, Neal Persiani, Mark Guiliana<br /> accessed on 2026-09-11T09:03:32
Opinion: Civil Libertarians Knew This Would Happen. We Should Have Listened<br /> by [[Radley Balko]] in The New York Times Opinion<br /> accessed on 2026-09-10T11:38:03
the only category of federal employees to be prosecuted consistently for their crimes since Sept. 11 has been whistle-blowers who have drawn attention to government abuses.
In the years after Sept. 11, 2001, national security hawks were fond of the phrase “the Constitution is not a suicide pact.” That warning was always a canard. History teems with great states destroyed by autocrats and dictators. The threat to free societies has never been too much freedom. It has always been authoritarianism — and always will be.
An attorney from that office, John Yoo, infamously suggested that executive branch employees could have the power to crush a child’s testicles if doing so could extract national security intelligence from the child’s parent. The Justice Department later found that Mr. Yoo had committed “intentional professional misconduct,” but the courts granted him and other policymakers broad protection from civil liability.
After Watergate, Congress exposed how the F.B.I. had surveilled, blackmailed and intimidated activists, celebrities and politicians. To prevent such abuse, President Gerald Ford’s administration prohibited the agency from opening investigations without reasonable suspicion of a crime. In 2008, Attorney General Michael Mukasey and his Justice Department worked around that reform by creating a new category of F.B.I. investigations called “assessments.” Under the new policy, agents could use physical surveillance and interview acquaintances, as well as informants, to gather information, even in the absence of a demonstrably high level of suspicion.
The “sneak and peek” provision was used more sporadically at first — just 23 times in 2002. It soared in the years that followed and was used 5,601 times in 2012 alone. Almost eight in 10 of those were for drug investigations. Just 34, or 0.6 percent, were related to terrorism.
As the economic historian Robert Higgs has documented, however, new powers often become permanent, broadly applied and unmoored from the crises used to justify them.
War, financial crises and traumatic events such as the Sept. 11 attacks tend to create a ratchet effect on civil liberties in the United States.
Arrests Made in Maple Syrup Theft From Quebec Warehouse<br /> by [[Ian Austen]] for The New York Times<br /> accessed on 2026-09-10T10:55:27
Great Canadian Maple Syrup Heist<br /> Wikipedia<br /> accessed on 2026-09-10T10:54:41
The 7 Best Pens of 2026<br /> by [[Melanie Pinola]] for New York Times Reviews by Wirecutter<br /> accessed on 2026-09-10T10:49:16
The 5 Best Maple Syrups You Can Find at the Grocery Store in 2026<br /> by [[Michael Sullivan]] for New York Times | Reviews by Wirecutter accessed on 2026-09-10T10:45:52
Lorraine Hansberry and one BIG typewriter!<br /> by [[Robert Messenger]] oz.Typewriter <br /> accessed on 2026-09-09T19:45:55
Olympia SG3 Olympia SG3 (English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Dutch, Swedish, Danish, Serbo-Croatian) Olympia SG3N Olympia SG3 and SG3N brochures Olympia SG3 Deluxe brochure
https://www.reddit.com/r/typewriters/comments/1wbn7x7/chrome_1967_ibm_selectric_72/
Apparently the IBM Selectrics through III were cast zinc, so they can be stripped and chromed.
James Wood, typewriter collector<br /> aka u/Wooden_Underpants<br /> https://www.youtube.com/@Woodys-corner<br /> match via https://www.reddit.com/r/typewriters/comments/1wbs1wq/day_in_the_life/
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Olavi_virta_levytukku.jpg<br /> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olavi_Virta
Based on the two-tone hood/body, the hood hole, the return arm, the screw locations in the back and what appear to be Magic Margins, Olavi Virta appears to be using a 1948/49 Henry Dreyfuss designed Royal Quiet De Luxe (or similar trim line).
https://typewriterdatabase.com/show.27283.typewriter
Royal Quiet De Luxe with blank plastic keytops
reply to u/InIt2WihnIt at https://reddit.com/r/typewriters/comments/1wba3iq/first_typewriterribbon_right/
Kudos!
Here's your manual: https://site.xavier.edu/polt/typewriters/SCMClassic12.pdf
Try to put your paper straight down from the start and place it flush with the adjustable paper guide as you roll it in with the platen knob. If it's still crooked, use the paper release lever to remove tension on the platen and rollers and then re-align it using either the line indicator, the paper bail, or the paper table. Then roll the paper back to where you need it to be to start writing.
See also: https://boffosocko.com/2025/08/17/the-uses-and-subtleties-of-the-line-indicator-on-a-typewriter/
https://auctions.posterauctions.com/lots/view/1-84GUYO/remington-1910
Original Leonetto Cappiello Remington poster sold for $31,250 on 2023-11-12
Building a community—The Start of the ‘Tappa Tappa’ Typewriter Meetup<br /> by [[Dave Grenier]]<br /> accessed on 2026-09-08T10:58:03
"There really wasn’t much typing getting done."
Ha!
Typewriter on a library card catalog table:
<br />
—via Suzanne Summers LaPierre, librarian at https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10235010364136282&set=p.10235010364136282&type=3
Ad poster for the Remington typewriters, made by Leonetto Cappiello (1875-1942), France, c. 1910
Possibly inspired by the preface to the novel Penguin Island (L’Île des Pingouins. Calmann-Lévy, 1908) by Nobel prize laureate Anatole France, in which a scholar is drowned by an avalanche of index cards which formed a gigantic whirlpool streaming out of his card index (Zettelkasten)!? (See: https://boffosocko.com/2022/10/24/death-by-zettelkasten/)
From what I read, the little bit of oil that can be used should only be on active machines. If it’s sitting for a long time it’s better to have them dry. Have you used oil? If so, any recommendations on brand?
reply to u/grenierdave at https://reddit.com/r/typewriters/comments/1w86wy5/first_typewriter/
I like this Sewing Parts oil because it's got a nice, long "zoom spout" for dispensing a drop at a time. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BV4G9R1Sypers.html
I also sometimes use Rem Oil in a spray can, but that can be overly aggressive, so I follow it up with my air compressor at 75-90psi to blow off the excess.
Using a toothpick, screwdriver with a long shank and flat blade, or a long q-tip saturated in oil, and doing a "drop" at a time on moving parts is an old-school trick as well. A 4 oz bottle of oil should last you nearly forever.
Another trick some will use is to do a 10:1 mixture of mineral spirits to oil on their last treatment of a machine. The mineral spirits will flash off fairly quickly and leave an incredibly thin coat of oil on all the parts that need it (with exception to the segment.)
A drop of oil on your carriage rails every couple of weeks is also useful for ongoing maintenance.
See also:<br /> - https://boffosocko.com/2024/08/09/on-colloquial-advice-for-degreasing-cleaning-and-oiling-manual-typewriters/ - https://boffosocko.com/2025/06/06/typewriter-use-and-maintenance-for-beginning-to-intermediate-typists/
reply to James Grooms at https://typewriterdatabase.com/show.21794.typewriter
Notes on differentiating the Underwood SS/Rhythm Touch, SX-50, SX-100, and SX-150
How was it that you identified your model here as an SX-50? Are there ads/photos/manuals for an SX-50?
The SX-100 ads you show seem to have a similar 5 stripes of chrome on the side which is similar to the previous SS/Rhythm Touch Models, but this chrome detailing seems to be missing from your SX-50 as well as the SX-150 advertisement.
Your SX-50 exemplar and the SX-150 advertisements also seem to have/show vertical touch adjustment and ribbon selector switches while the SS/Rhythm Touch and the ad for the SX-100 have horizontal sliders for the touch adjustment and a vertical ribbon selector.
The main page of the database mentions an SX-50 and an SX-150 in July of 1953, but doesn't have a corresponding mention of an SX-100. It reads: "Oct. 1953: Model SX 150, SX 50 started (7500000)"
Polt's site has an explicit manual for the SX-150 which may help to differentiate on both form and functionality: https://site.xavier.edu/polt/typewriters/Underwood150.pdf though there are no corresponding manuals for a 50 or a 100.
This Tumbr identifies Sean Connery's machine in Finding Forrester as an SX-100: https://www.tumblr.com/typewriterspotting/16181699692/spotted-in-finding-forrester-2000-forrester-and <br /> Here's an extended clip from the film: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=juko0sAndsA <br /> and some still photos of it from Robert Messenger's site: https://oztypewriter.blogspot.com/search?q=finding+forrester <br /> Given the appearance in the film, it might actually be an SS/Rhythm Touch, but it's difficult to distinguish this as well without a clear view of the front.
The database still seems to have empty landing pages for the:<br /> - SX-50: https://typewriterdatabase.com/Underwood.SX-50.4.bmys <br /> - SX-50 11\": https://typewriterdatabase.com/Underwood.SX-50+11%22.4.bmys - SX-100: https://typewriterdatabase.com/Underwood.SX-100.4.bmys <br /> - SX-150: https://typewriterdatabase.com/Underwood.SX-150.4.bmys <br /> Presumably they existed previously, but without clear delineations of features/changes over time and were concatenated into the SX page?
Additionally, I'm noticing that some of the SX exemplars at the bottom of the page at https://typewriterdatabase.com/Underwood.SX.4.bmys are really badged as Underwood Golden Touches!
Matching typewriter purchases identify u/Proud_Illustrator266 with Kathy Tetlak
https://www.reddit.com/r/typewriters/comments/1w7b12q/thrift_store_find/<br /> https://www.facebook.com/groups/705152958470148/posts/1363217359330368/
Russellville native finds niche in typewriter repair business |<br /> by [[Jack Dobbs]] for Bowling Green Daily News<br /> accessed on 2026-09-04T08:59:30
Royal Royalite/Parade/Signet Full Tear Down for Service Walkthrough Tutorial<br /> by [[Hot Rod Typewriter]]<br /> accessed on 2026-09-03T21:56:07
Much classier that "nicotine beige" haha.
via u/Wooden_Underpants at https://www.reddit.com/r/typewriters/comments/1w69ulq/comment/p7n66y2/?context=1&screen_view_count=1&ext-referrer=DIRECT
On receipt of orders from designated person in authority, destroy typewriters as completely as time, means, and personnel permit. Priority will be given to the obliteration or destruction of all unit identification lettering or markings, all serial numbers, and all manufacturer's nameplates. Smash typewriters and components with a sledge or other heavy instrument ; burn with kerosene, gasoline, fuel oil, flame thrower, or incendiary bomb; detonate with firearms, grenades, TNT, or other explosives. In the absence of other means, bury, sink, or scatter parts and components.
Department of the Army. 1955. TM 10 601 Dept of the Army Technical Manual: Underwood Typewriter Maintenance and Repair. http://archive.org/details/TM10601.
I have a weird affection for ”reciept/cheap bible” paper, and I don’t intend to type on both sides, so I’m actually pleasantly surprised that such a giant is actually surprisingly gentle with the paper! I have a Hermes 2000 that is the opposite; I call her the ”Swiss Machine Gun” because she punches ”bullet holes” in so many papers if you are not careful haha 😅
reply to u/240snusit at https://reddit.com/r/typewriters/comments/1w55sxd/dream_machine_aquired_1959_olympia_sg1_with_two/p7ciyaz/
I'll never understand how people love their typewriters so much, but refuse to take care of them. It's like driving around a nice Ferrari, but with bald tires.
Go ahead and spend the money to recover your brick hard platen and then get a proper ring and cylinder adjustment. It'll keep your machine from punching holes in your paper, your ribbon will last a lot longer, and your machine will love you for it.
https://sites.google.com/site/downeyprinterrepair/<br /> Cameron Skill <br /> I have 42 years experience as a typewriter technician.(as of August 2026).
See listings on Craigslist at https://www.craigslist.org/search/area/losangeles?cat=sss&query=zzyzx#search=2~gallery~0
Olivetti used regular M3 thumb nuts.
via Otto Koponen at https://www.reddit.com/r/typewriters/comments/1w4cy0o/spool_nuts_for_olivetti_lettera_32/
Let's start with ending the absolute myth of the "perfect study method". This is something app developers and influencers want you to believe so they can sell you something.
Tom Hanks' Unusual Hobby -Friday Night With Jonathan Ross
Likely Season 14, Episode 1 from Sun 13 Jan 2008
Hanks has a collection of "about 80 typewriters" circa 2008.
Friday Night with Jonathan Ross, Series 14, Episode 1<br /> by BBC One<br /> accessed on 2026-08-31T10:06:21
I know the gray fives like the back of my hand.
Typewriter repair people colloquially called the Underwood Touchmaster 5 the "gray fives".
via Jim Tuxbury on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/groups/705152958470148/posts/1355024096816361
I am an old typewriter repairman. I worked at the underwood assembly plant in Hartford Connecticut for two years and became a typewriter service man for 20 years in St. Louis. I don’t own any typewriter’s I know the gray fives like the back of my hand. As well as the scriptors and forums. Still interested in those fabulous machines that I made a living off.
via Jim Tuxbury on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/groups/705152958470148/posts/1355024096816361
I know of nothing that softens platens. Just appearance. Maybe grip, by lightly sanding. Or trick put simple green on the platen, pull paper release lever. Wipe it on let it dry. Resdue helps grip if slipping.
via Mitch Fixit, a typewriter repairman at https://www.facebook.com/groups/705152958470148/posts/1358201939831910
Full page photo:
In the Sunday, March 8, 1964 edition of The Plain Dealer Heloise Cruse suggest putting several drops of pure glycerin onto one's dried out typewriter ribbon as a means of rejuvenating them. She recommends letting them soak for at least three days.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/TypewriterCollectors/posts/10163177170344678/
Productivity Planner® Cards - Be More Productive<br /> by [[Intelligent Change]]<br /> accessed on 2026-08-28T10:25:07
Productivity cards with inspirational quotes...
Life-Nectarine-4337
https://www.reddit.com/r/typewriters/comments/1vywh68/comment/p629ss4/?context=1
Is u/Life-Nectarine-4337 the Reddit account of Just My Typewriter?
uncommonly large typewriter spools
Throckmorton sign, also known as John Thomas sign, refers to when the penis points in the direction of unilateral disease, typically of the pelvis or hip. Throckmorton sign is a slang term used humorously by medical students and residents.According to the first serious study of the sign published in 1988, the sign is less accurate than tossing a coin 2. This finding was supported by another subsequent study and also a meta-analysis 5,7.
https://radiopaedia.org/articles/throckmorton-sign-pelvis?lang=us
Slopbait<br /> by [[Richard Polt]]<br /> accessed on 2026-08-28T08:25:18
The purse on Erasmus’s lap may be included in order to illustrate his generosity. Erasmus and Gillis made a point of informing More that they had split the cost of this gift because they wanted it to be a present from them both.
Compare this suggestion of the purse as an attribute suggesting generosity to Jardine's (1996) suggestion that its meant to place Erasmus in the merchant class.
(Of course it could be doing both.)
The books on the shelf behind the scholar have inscriptions relating to his recently published works: Novum Testament[um] and Hieronymus refer to Erasmus’s editions of the New Testament and St Jerome; Lovkianos refers to Erasmus’s and More’s collaboration in translating Lucian’s Dialogues; and Hor, which originally read Mor and must have been altered during an early restoration, spells the first letters of the Englishman’s name and refers to the ‘Praise of Folly’ (Encomium Moriae), a satirical essay written whilst Erasmus stayed with More in Bucklersbury in London in 1509. The words on the paper are a paraphrase of St Paul’s Epistle to the Romans, the handwriting is a close imitation of Erasmus’s own hand, and the reed pen was Erasmus’s favourite writing tool.
https://www.rct.uk/collection/405759/desiderius-erasmus-1466-1536
One ought to notice the shears hanging on a nail or hook on the bookshelf in the background. Presumably these would have been a primary tool for Erasmus' ars excerpendi practice.
Cross reference Lisa Jardine (1996) who calls out the purse on Erasmus' chest which identifies him as part of the merchant class.
Also cross reference Hans Holbein's portraits of Erasmus.
Coke contains phosphoric acid, which chemically breaks down iron oxide (rust) into iron phosphate. And Diet Coke isn’t sticky like Coke. And aluminum loses electrons and oxidizes, while the iron oxide (rust) gains electrons. This chemical reduction fundamentally changes the rust back into a form that easily breaks away from the base metal.
Craig French recommends soaking rusty typewriter springs in Diet Coke and then wiping them with aluminum foil to remove rust.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/705152958470148/posts/1354433773542060
https://www.facebook.com/groups/705152958470148/posts/1355607023424735
The Corona Zephyr and Smith-Corona Skyriter typewriter cases used to have two strips of leather sewn over a metal internal strip on their case handles.
Most of these vintage metal cases are missing the leather straps leaving only an uncomfortable metal strip.
I worked in the SCM plant in Groton NY back in the 60's. This is one of the machines that we built there. Plastic was never ment to last over 50 years.
via Greg Hubert
I would be more than happy to help you fix it, or if you are just done with it, I have a large number of machines for sale. I have everything from the 1920's to the 1980s, Manual, electric, electronic. I have portables and ultra portables. I also sell mine for about 1/3 of normal shops because I do this for the fun of it, not for income. I have a large number of Royal Quiet Deluxe and can even custom paint one if you want. Depending on your location, I'd even take that one in trade.
via Milton Solomon at https://www.facebook.com/groups/705152958470148/posts/1354754280176676/
Dolly Parton, Country Music Superstar Whose Songs Spoke to Millions, Dies at 80<br /> by [[Bill Friskics-Warren]] in The New York Times<br /> accessed on 2026-08-25T14:50:12
Success is a lagging indicator from hard work done earlier.<br /> —Jimmy Carr "Laughs Funny" Tour 2026 #
—via 
