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Anyone out there using an electric typewriter? I haven't since college, when I upgraded from my dad's old Smith-Corona Galaxie 12 to some slick electric number (manufacturer forgotten) with such unthinkably amazing features as auto-erase and same-line text correction. I remember it seemed like a miracle that had fallen from some holy plateau at the time, but in my current fit of retro romantic notion, seems crass and inauthentic.
Have I ever linked to this page, a visual history of IBM's electric models over the years? I recently saw a cast-off IBM Selectric in my employer's basement "reclaim" warehouse (a long, industrial-looking hallway dungeon under one of the company's zillion parking garages, full of washed up office equipment thrown overboard during thousands of office moves). It sat there on a shelf, its electrical cord wrapped around it like a chastened tail, its useful life apparently expired. Unless...
I had to walk away. It must have weighed at least 20 pounds. Come on, people! A Selectric! What was I going to do with a Selectric?
reflections on Bond Day
7 hours ago
11 comments:
The main irritation of those old electrics is the constant buzz and hum they make. Anything with a "ball" that prints also makes about three sounds for every letter, which ups my already staggering typo count for some reason.
Ultimately, they're just not as sexy as an old manual typewriter.
For me, the Selectric falls right at the midpoint between manual machines and electric machines. They're a marvel of engineering. Really a manual machine, rethought, and with a motor to assist the action. No computer in there at all.
They are, as Monda says, noisy and that can be irritating. But among electrics, the Selectric is the one that I would (and do) own.
I was given two of the things. I'd posted an ad in Freecycle asking for a manual typewriter. Someone answered and said they had two for me. The Selectrics are still unused and I don't know what to do with them. I've considered getting more of the font balls and setting up a custom stationery business.
They are complex machines & not always easy to fix; most of the dozen machines I have in storage will end up serving as parts for the favorite green one I prefer using. But I almost never type on a Selectric anymore; it was, however, the "gateway" machine which got me interested & inevitably obsessed with all sorts of typewriters a few years back.
And IBM Selectrics make great paperweights.
Honestly, Selectrics seem to be about the only machines still used commercially; most typewriter repair techs ONLY work with Selectrics because that's most of what's left in the dwindling typewriter repair market. There are still a few Selectrics haunting some desks in the factory offices where I work.
-Bostian
I had one once. Wrote an inspired piece on it the day after I bought it, then just tinkered with the font balls and wasted a lot of time with it. Too loud, and didn't like the thought of buying cartridges so I eventually gave it away. But I have to admit, they can take a beating. I tried to break mine in typing class in high school but no matter how hard I smashed the keys down with the palms of my hands, they came back up and kept on typing.
An interesting note about the Selectric... I read a conspiracy theory once that claimed the keys sent out an electronic pulse that could be detected by surveillance units parked nearby to monitor keystrokes. Sounds like a load to me though... but then again, maybe that is why they are so loud. ;-)
Christian, that theory is intriguing... I see a bad industrial era spy novel somewhere in that detail.
The IBM Selectric typwriter does not generate any electronic pulses related to the letter printed. Each letter physicaly selects a combination of latches that in turn rotates the type ball to the proper position for the letter required.
When the Selectric typewriter was mounted on a computer as an I/O device the selection of letters was enabled from the computer by a series of relays that activated the required latches. When the operator entered information into the computer, each keystroke enabled a combination of electric contacts that identified the letter selected to the computer. Any electric noise generated by the keystroke would be drowned out by the normal electronic noise of the computer itself. Hacking into the computer itself would be much more efficent.
I recently picked up a couple free typewriters after an auction (two whole rows of box lots were left behind by the bidders). One is an early 1929 L.C. Smith & Corona and works quite smoothly besides needing a ribbon and a mildly stubborn "N." The other unfortunate beast is apparently a ca. 1944 IBM electric (executive?) The carriage was full of bits of wood and asphalt shingle and wood- looks like a shed fell on it. It was serviced in 1965 according to a sticker. After cleaning out much of the debris, it will now run- sort of. About half the keys strike, half stick, and a random number will start uncontrollably whacking the page like a dog scratching itself. I need to find a repairman who's been at it since 44- or at least 65, lol
When I began my newspaper reporting career in 1975, Selectric IIIs were used as the industry was transitioning from Linotype to computer typesetting.
Special type balls with a font that was recognizable by an optical character-recognition machine half the size of a refrigerator were used, along with copy paper with strict margins overprinted in pink ink, and double-spacing. Words could be struck out manually and the correction inserted in the space above the line, and sometimes the OCR would even read it.
The OCR then produced a punched tape that was readable by a Compugraphic typesetter that was the size of a full refrigerator. (Punched tape was also produced by the AP and UPI teletype machines that were constantly clacking away.) The Compugraphics used negative film font strips which were projected onto photo-sensitive paper that had to be developed prior to paste-up for the final offset printing.
I always thought the Selectric was the best-designed keyboard ever made, and I'm sure my typing speed exceeded 100 words per minute when doing original writing and not being a touch-typist.
Some of you find the hum annoying--I find it soothing, a reminder that my little Selectric is waiting, patiently, for me to consider my words. I have four Correcting IIs: two that work perfectly, and two for parts/tinkering.
I've used two manual typewriters: a Lettera 22, which I found to be a pain in the butt, and an Underwood No. 5, which I also did not cotton to. In addition to my Selectrics, I have a Smith-Corona WordSmith and a Xerox Memorywriter: they really shouldn't count as typewriters; they're impact printers with keyboards attached. The Selectric is a completely different animal.
Selectrics have a personality all their own, as does every machine. Though not appropriate for all uses, neither are manual portables or office machines. I own 35 machines, with samples of all. As a typewriter nut for 45 years, I get a real kick out of typewriter newbies who can be such snobs! It's like, Oh, I just can't create with a buzz around me!!! Bosh-look at the great writers who've used electrics. Just pretentious-
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