Thursday, February 17, 2011

The Ups and Downs of ITAM

20110217 typecast

Typed on unnamed Lettera 32, though I'm contemplating the name "Threepio" ... for I am a nerd
Olivetti Lettera 32

12 comments:

Richard P said...

You gotta love a typewriter that has a ¥ key! I think it's a good ITAM score.

Adwoa said...

The Lettera sounds like a pretty solid ITAM find!

As for the collection of typewriter miscellany left behind: sometimes I like just having seen the items, not necessarily bringing them home. There is the same feeling of euphoria after having made a great discovery, but without the soul-crushing worry when you realize you don't have the space/time/resources/know-how to properly store/maintain the items. Which is why I take lots of pictures for the blog; helps keep me sane. I try not to worry too much about the eventual fate of my finds - hopefully they'll go to others with deeper pockets.

Elizabeth H. said...

It makes good ¢¢ that a guy like you would pick up a typewriter capable of making symbol puns...

Nice find!

Machines of Loving Grace said...

Many years from now, after never finding another SG3 again, Clemens will spend his days rocking on the nursing home porch, yelling "Damn you, Olivander!" to random passerby.

Anonymous said...

It's cool that you found a nice 32 with international symbols, yet still with a QWERTY layout. Good find.

mpclemens said...

@Olivander: after I sent the "on second thought, no" note to the SG3 seller, I felt good, so I know it was the right choice. I much preferred talking with Peter about his father's business in the end: the stories were worth far more than the machine.

deek said...

That Lettera is a sweet find...its an ITAM miralce, I tell you!

Strikethru said...

I was kind of surprised to see how many typewriters you have overall, what is it, thirty something? As we native Californians say, duuude.

rino breebaart said...

Olivetti - the preferred choice of 'droids?

Art said...

Dude, mike, am jealous. Lacking the accent marks makes typing in Spanish a hassle.

mpclemens said...

@Strikethru: I'm kind of surprised, too, seeing them all laid out like that. Not all are in my care anymore, which I should indicate. Six have gone on to other homes, I owe my niece a machine, and I'm thinking of passing on my script Lettera now that I have this more useful-to-me model. Still: damn.

@Art: It lacks a tilde key though (~) so pure Spanish is out of its ken. Luckily, I took French in school. :-)

Duffy Moon said...

Thought I was the only one who went through the Craigslist-Olivander-Back-to-Craigslist cycle. It's sort of like keeping a Field Guide to Typewriters in your hip pocket.

Which reminds me - I had a bizarre dream last night in which I was riding in some type of aerial vehicle, piloted by Olivander (it was either an extraordinarily maneuverable balloon or a completely silent helicopter) over some temple on the Lake Superior Coast. No more pre-bedtime sausage for me.