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| IBM Selectric |
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| Underwood Finger-Flite Champion |
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| Royal Safari |
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| Don Draper's choice: Olympia SM3 |
The 60's-style existential angst.
The political incorrectness.
The stunning mod interiors. The typewriters.
The carousel that is...
MAD MEN
Season 5 premiere on March 25!
*Typecast via Olivetti Studio 44
24 comments:
An appropriate post for those of us interested in typewriters.
I enjoyed "Mad Men" for the first two seasons, but it seems to have lost a lot of momentum recently.
I wish the creators paid as much attention to the dialogue as they do to the sets. I sincerely do not think that the phrase "It's all about..." was used so extensively in the 1960s.
Also, the response "I do", "I have" or "I will" to questions seems like much more of a late 20th Century - early 21st century phenomenon.
ANYWAY! I digress. Seeing typewriters on Mad Men is truly a highlight. No slip-ups there, right?
Mad Men looks interesting. Wee have never seen the show, but then aren't big TV viewers, either. The typewriter images in context are a lot of fun. One of our SM3s is a twin to the one pictured above.
I saw the two headed lamp shown with the Royal Safari at an antique store recently. So nice.
I've never seen the show - we don't get that channel. These stills are great, though - thanks for sharing them. How's their typing technique?
What a great post! Thank you.
We don't watch it here, but these pics are wonderful! I'd be interested in what the actors think about them. Did any become typospherians as a result? ;-)
There's crossover, philosophically, between Mr Draper's observations on the Kodak Carousel and Kittler's continuing exposition via Mr Polt and, tangentially, on what I believe is the premise of Mad Men (though I have never seen it). Narrative brokered through technology where the latter leaves an indelible sort of watermark on the former.
I like how many writing machines are featured on the show, but dislike how unhappy everyone on the show looks when they're using them. Plus I never really got over the fact that the main protagonist of the show is such a...tool.
Cool comments, much appreciated. It's funny that I found myself hooked on Mad Men several months after the end of it's last run; I watched the episodes on video since I don't even own a TV (that's another story).
@Peter, I don't think I've seen anyone touch typing!
@Ledeaux, I tried to recruit the not-bad-looking Christina Hendricks (Joan Harris) to the typosphere and she says she'll give it serious thought. ( :
@Rob, good take, I think you may be right. The carousel sequence, most especially. And then there's a scene where Draper uses a movie camera; it becomes his third eye and it reveals to him some things that were previously external to his field of vision.
@Mike, you are right, but I think to the writers' credit, they didn't create a paper cut-out of the Draper character. He is a moral contradiction standing on two legs; sensitive and caring one moment, ruthless and manipulative in the next. Contradictions make a character interesting... and human.
@Mike, yep, he's "a tool." Lol!
I've totally typed on the top typewriter! My great-grandma has one and I used to play "secretary" with it all the time. She's got one of those phones, too.
I've seen every episode of Mad Men thus far, so I'll probably watch this season, too. I lost a bit of interest halfway through the last season, but I picked it up again when it showed up on Netflix. I hope this is going to be a good season!
Thanks for these images. I see the decor is starting to become a bit psychedelic. The TV looks much like my childhood TV.
On "tool"-hood: that's why I stopped watching the show ... the men all just seemed like such misogynists, it got depressing.
Although most literary pieces that are setting-driven rely to some extent on stereotypes, Mad Men isn't terribly unrealistic. I worked in an office in the late 60s and early 70s, and men openly made sexual/chauvinistic comments we consider inappropriate today. The culture was so paternalistic that women didn't have much recourse. As a newlywed in Texas in the late 60s, I didn't have the right to contract on my own...no loans, no credit cards in my name. Don Draper may be a tool by today's standards, but the character is a fairly accurate depiction of some male attitudes of the time. Thank goodness I grew up with more forward-thinking men.
That said, I enjoy Mad Men. Great post!
Thanks for putting this post together, Ton, love seeing these images all in one place as I haven't seen the show myself. I had heard of their use of a Selectric and SM-3, but this is the first I'm seeing of the Underwood Finger-Flite. Time those machines got some media recognition, too! Beautiful design (although this color is a tad dull) and fine, snappy action.
Well spotted!
Excellent! I saw them all. Thanks for this great display.
Very nice post! Thanks for all the fine images. I have never watched Mad Men. I seldom have time for TV, Movies or Books. I do not miss the TV, but I do miss books.
Great post! I just love Mad Man... And "they" are responsible for my typewriter fever. I was watching the show one they and started "googling" about typewriters trying to identify Peggy's typewriter while she was Draper's secretary. And one thing lead to the other and now I'm collecting them :)
PS: Don's etymology of "nostalgia" is invented. Nostos means homecoming, so it means homecoming-pain -- the pain of wanting to go back home again.
Very interesting discussion going here, thanks to all!
@Lauren, I'm also hoping this season will be great considering that the creators had more than a year to conceptualize.
@Richard, I agree, but what was key to me was that the misogyny in the show did not remain unquestioned, it was always matched by the feminine art of resistance. The women characters consciously make the men think they've got all the power even when they don't, i.e., the Joan Harris character; there's a real brain over that décolletage and she knows how to use it to her advantage despite the sexism. And you're right about the Greek etymology, that was definitely "licentia vatum." Well what did you expect, this is Madison Avenue! ( :
@Dana, thanks for sharing your firsthand experience, I also thought the misogyny was a convincing representation of that period.
@Adwoa, makes me wonder if the Finger-Flite has the same typing action as it's more handsome brother, the Quiet-Tab.
@Fernando, wow, that is interesting. I had a similar experience although not as direct as yours. I watched Mad Men when I was already collecting typewriters but the show definitely fueled my energy, not just for typewriters, but for vintage design in general.
@Florian, @Georg, @Bill, glad you enjoyed it!
p.s. Richard, come to think of it, the Greek etymology may not have been accurate but if you read the succeeding explanation, there is in fact a dynamic equivalence of meaning that ultimately amounts to the literal Greek sense of homecoming. Yeah, I know, I'm playing the Mad Men apologist. Lol
ps2, Richard, I forgot to mention, the slides Draper was showing were his own family pictures- his wedding, playing with his kids, etc. Pictures of "home." Watch this clip.
Great post, Ton! And, to some extent, I agree with the comments about Don Draper, but I do think that he's the best of a bad bunch. Although he is a lousy husband and father. But then he's defined by his work and since his profession is all about convincing people to buy stuff, it's only natural that he could justify any and all of his bad behaviour to himself.
Can't wait for season five.
Mad Men is so good!
@Elizabeth, yup, it really is. Welcome here!
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