Typewriter masterclass with the Jedi Master
* Typos- "1847 1874 Sholes & Glidden..."; "'Sixth Sense' who says..."; "can't compare standards..."; "not trying to sound erudite..."
* Since it is Olympics season, you might want to re-view Eric Moussambani's epic swim at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.(:
19 comments:
Wow! Jealous much, and I've been to Switzerland! Can't wait to read more.
Jealousy here as well, and I am in Switzerland!
Hell, even here just off-center from the typocenter as I am, I am always jealous when I hear of random typospherians getting together to share knowledge.
That must have been a wonderful day for you...but why is it that we freeze up and can't type when someone we admire is nearby?
Back in the early 70s, I took a typing methods course from one of the most incredible typists I've ever known (and the author of several books about typing), Wilmert E. "Bill" Perkins. Every time he came near me, my hands would feel disconnected from my body.
You would have loved to watch this guy type. He had it down to such a science that he could type any speed on command, right on the money. I still remember how in awe I was of him.
@Peter, @Florian, @Mike, why, thanks, you jealous lot from various localities. ( :
@Dana, very interesting! In my case, I couldn't focus because I was surrounded by such an astonishing number and variety of typewriters, it was quite overwhelming. I mean, the guy has more than 260 machines in his collection!
Ah, what a beautiful shiny typewriter and shiny head ...
It was great to have you here, Ton. I enjoyed the day very much.
My "Húrmeez" pronunciation need not be imitated! But, psssst, the S&G was 1874 and not 1847.
Wow, fantastic! I bet you really enjoyed the visit; and that S&G is a dream! I include myself in the envious lot from all over the world. XD
I had glut-induced typists block at Georg's so I get that Ton.
@Richard, grateful I am that the Jedi Master has given me leave to pronounce as I please. Error corrected. Rats, now I won't get an 'A!'
@Miguel, gracias, I'm glad someone took note of the Sholes & Glidden! It's not as if we'd stumble upon one on ebay or a thrift store. It already got me just for its historical value; it's a dream in every way.
@Peter, glad you could relate. Would you believe I blanked out so much that I couldn't even remember what a "paper release" is called? Hilarious!
My wife and I are great admirers of Richard, but we say "ehrr-mezz also. And on a side note, we were corrected by an Italian friend that the Olivetti Lettera is pronounced "Let-TER-ra" with the stress on the middle syllable.
Looking forward to seeing more of Richard's collection!
Ping
Unless it's the fine leather goods brand, my brain pronounces Hermes like the greek god. Good to know I was right! :-) It's amazing to see a typewriter from 1874.
@Ping, good to catch you here, welcome. Richard never really suggested anything, I was just ribbing him. ( : Besides, all these names were Anglicized when the typewriters were marketed here in the U.S. I did wonder about Le-TTE-ra though, thanks for the Italian validation.
@Lauren, the god's name in the original Greek would then be "ehrr-mees," which is a combo of the two. My rule is this: whatever. Oh yes, that 1874 typewriter is magical!
There was quite a discussion on one of the forums not so long ago about how to pronounce Hermes. I'm like Richard, Hurmeez.
I am also one of the jealous ones. It must be a great pleasure to visit Richard.
I really enjoyed reading your post!! The S&G is awesome.
Did you also have a chance to see first-hand the famous purple torpedo?
Way cool Ton! looks like hes met 2 typewriting-loving flips in 2 consecutive weeks: who's next?
what a treat to go to Richard's office and you got to write on his red ICO??? i try not to be jealous but damn! thats freaking awesome!
i got to get my blog post up from my time with Richard... ive been way slacking.
As for the Eric Moussambani vid - while it was significantly courageous, i was laughing my ass off! his legs totally stopped working and i got to say, if it was the 200m, he would likely have drowned! hahaha thanks for sharing the vid!
@Bill, we had a great time indeed.
@Uriel, mil gracias, muy amable. Glad to hear you enjoyed the post!
@Miguel, yes I did, it looks even more groovy in person!
@Michael, great, I was wondering why you had been so quiet about it. Richard already shared the back story of the gold Olympia; that was quite a steal. Eric Moussambani, the legend!
Looks like a wonderful time. I don't even know that I could bring myself to touch a machine such as that S&G. Simply, purely, astounding. And, as Richard noted, it is indeed as shiny as his head. Pretty damn good for near 150 years old!
@Ken, yeah, it's surreal to come into contact with such an amazing piece of history.
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