Sunday, August 10, 2014

Saturday at the convention

Saturday started with a good swap meet, including rarities and common machines, art by L.A. Marler (who was here with her mom), and typewriters just brought for show and tell.



I sold this Standard Folding to a journalist who's looking forward to displaying it. Someone said that it would be neat if this typewriter could write in the same style as its logo. I agreed that that would be a cool American counterpart to the German Fraktur machines.
 ETCetera editor Ed Neuert holds the world's tiniest Oliver no. 5. (The summer issue of ETCetera should be ready in a couple of weeks.)



FUTURISTIC: George Jetson's favorite typewriter platen!


Gigi Clark gets started on her presentation about teaching typewriters of the 1930s and on: machines with color-coded keyboards, animal keyboards, blank keyboards, etc. In the foreground: two Oliver 7's with consecutive serial numbers.


Mike Campbell spoke on techniques for working with rubber and making new rubber feet.


Peter Kirwan, founder of Collexion, also introduced us to this new website for collectors.

Meanwhile, Professor Typewriter, AKA Herman Price, had devised a challenging quiz. For instance:

High Volume = ?
Slick Willie = ?
blocuiam = ?

All answers are names of typewriters.


The prize for whoever got the most quiz answers right: a one-of-two-kind Lego model of the Travis Typewriter, created by the Professor himself. The winner was a local collector who's been at it for just one month!


There was also a five-minute typing speed contest. Gabe Burbano lugged this Remington electric from New Jersey just so he could type the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners' names on certificates that he had designed himself ...


... and look at its 6-point typeface! Maybe it should be called ... Standard Folding.


As for the typing contest, it was won by this contestant on a KMM who managed to get into the second paragraph of expertly prepared drivel from 1924 quick enough to make up for his numerous typos ...





11 comments:

  1. Congratulations on winning the typing contest! Well, I guess some credit goes to the KMM... :)

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  2. What a fantastic typeface on that Remington!

    And congratulations on winning the speed contest. :D

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  3. A platen that feeds, aligns, writes and manifolds. That *is* futuristic!

    Glad to see everyone having a good time. I'd be interested to hear about Peter's technique for feet.

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  5. I'm telling you, Royal is where its at! (The typist is important, too, of course!)

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  6. Lettin' rip on the royal! Not even a Torpedo, hey? Nice work.

    Oh, and did you swap your S&G for that Sphinx you have always wanted?

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  7. I would have loved to hear the talk on making replacement rubber feet.

    Looks like a very fun and successful convention.

    Congratulations on winning the typing contest.

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  8. Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner! :D

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  9. Yay, congrats champ! Fantastic typeface on the Remington Electric.

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  10. The contest was a lot of fun! It was only 5 minutes long, with no "play-off" round, but there was a great deal of suspense anyway. The main problem, from my point of view, was that because we didn't learn who won until dinner later that night, I had no opportunity to pick up my SG-1 and throw it on the floor in disgust, a la Populaire. (I'm kidding: the SG-1 was the one that wanted to throw ME on the floor).

    I'll see you again in 14 years, Polt! And I'll be all Lizzie'd up! You watch your fingers!

    Micah

    PS: third place finisher used a Contessa portable, and had... ZERO typos. Now that's nice work. Good thing he didn't have the KMM or the SG-1.

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  11. I'm still jealous of you! Looks like a great event.

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