My 13 year old was in awe. She said to me, "Mommy, look!' First of all those words are so precious to me. I am still her mommy after 13 years and the fact that she knows my heart for anything that has to do with writing makes me smile. She also wanted the typewriter. I had already seen the price before she got my attention, because the typewriter had already gotten my attention as soon as I saw it. I told her how much it was and that I just couldn't spend the money on it. I did joke with her that maybe the purchase of this typewriter would get me that best selling book I know I have in me.
A few days later I was talking to my mom that works at the antique market on occasion to help the owners on days they have doctors appointments and other things that keep them from being at the store. I asked her if she had seen the typewriter. She had not which is funny because it isn't something on her radar even though it was on an desk very near the front. I asked her to see if it worked while she was there. I also asked her to do some research for me to make sure if it worked I could get ribbons for it too. Not only does it work the owner came down $30 if I wanted to buy it.
I am not one to make frivolous purchases. The nostalgia of this type writer has my creative mojo dancing. A 19040's typewriter has been through a lot. My mom thought it might be pre WWII which is fun to think about.
Once I actually got the typewriter in my hot little hands I found out that was made in Jan 1948. Not pre WWII but still a great find. It is in great condition no rust and still has the portable case also in good condition. One key sticks but I have not taken the time to clean it up. I did get new ribbon which was interesting to change because the universal ribbon doesn't fit so you have to re-spool the ribbon onto the metal spools on the typewriter. Not hard thanks to Youtube. I am glad I did the research before I changed the ribbon. I replace with a half black/red ribbon because of setting you can change between the two colors. Having the choice is fun when you are just being creative.
When I was changing the ribbon I took pictures to see how the old one was placed and when I looked back at them I thought this one was kinda fun.
Since the purchase of the typewriter my oldest daughter wrote a poem and typed it for school. Her english teacher said she was "jealous" because we had a typewriter. This comment lead my daughter on a mission to get her teacher a typewriter. I found one cheap at an estate sale. We are going to clean it up, replace the ribbon and give it to her as a gift. I will blog about this beauty another day.
I told my husband I could see myself buying typewriters and cleaning them up just to save them from certain death. There is something beautiful to me about the simple machine and mechanics of it. A time when you didn't have to be connected to a wall and not worry about your battery dying. Although autocorrect is nice and correction tape is not needed with a computer.
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