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Friday 18 February 2011

The Weekend in Black and White


This is my father's old typewriter. I learned to type on this when I was fairly young. It once had a wooden case, but the woodworm took that many years ago.



In spite of it's weight, it's called a Remington Portable. Its type rack could be lowered to lie flat while being stored or carried.


I don't know how old it is, but it must date from the 1930s.

Many more black and white photos can be found through the Home Page. Come and see us.

36 comments:

Carver said...

I love the way you photographed it and it brings back memories. My father's old typewriter looked just like this.

Lui said...

What a trip down memory lane! I learned to type fast from our old typewriter! The kids were probably wondering what kind of PC it is! ;-)

Have a great weekend!

Lucy Corrander : Photos said...

I like the last one specially.

Lucy

Anonymous said...

Those lovely round keys look so inviting! I can't even begin to imagine how all works.

John said...

Great old machine - life before PC

Gemma Wiseman said...

I still remember the "clack clack" sound of the keys on these old portable typewriters! I used to have a secondhand Remington and then upgraded to a new Olympia! But that clacking sound carried on! The main difference was you didn't need to work so hard pressing the keys! Wonderful photos!

Koh-I-Noor said...

Great photos! I guess it is calles an antique typewriter today. I had typewrinting in school!!

James said...

What a great old typewriter. I really like these photos. Very nicely done.

Birgitta said...

Great shots of this old typewriter!
Those were the days...

Dimple said...

Very nice old machine. I had a half year of typing when I was seventeen, but the typewriters in class were closer to modern keyboards than this one is: there was a key for "1" and the forward slash, and there were no keys for fractions.

Leovi said...

Gorgeous photos of a real relic. very interesting.

David said...

Beautiful series. I especially like that second one.
My brother and I found one of these in my grandfather's attic and loved to type on it. Those days are gone, but my brother had the foresight to keep the old typewriter and to this day it is safely on a shelf in his home office.
David/ Houston :-)

genie said...

These awesome shots just reminded me I have one of these on the floor of my one closet in this old farmhouse. I am going to have to pull it up and out ~ it is sososo heavy ~ and shoot it. Never will my work compare to yours. For a gal my age, this is a very thought and memory provoking post.

YTSL said...

Does it still work?

And would you believe that as late as 1996, I was still using a manual typewriter? It was in Tanzania... and I have to say that typing on a manual typewriter can put callouses onto one's fingertips!! :O

lina@home sweet home said...

I really love your shots!
This old typewriter is priceless...

Barbara said...

Great shots of it, love the perspective on the third.

anemonen said...

I have one to an old Remington. It was my father´s Lovely

Laura said...

what a great choice to photograph! Really fascinating shadows and light here.

Margaret Gosden said...

In the late 40s I learned to touch-type on something like this to the tune of Greig's Hall of the Mountain King! I reluctantly let go of my oldie in the 90s to
go straight to a PC keyboard. It was a weird transition
in terms of the difference of how to press the keys!
Now that I use an Apple with great ease, I see that
there are more challenges ahead with the invention
of the smaller smart phone keyboards. Your photo
compositions of this great old machine are wonderful!

Rejen said...

Wonderful pictures of the old typewriter...;-D

B i r g i t t a said...

Oh ... I thought it was so fun to write on a type writer like this when I was a little child :D
Lovely to see it here!

http://fotochip.blogspot.com/2011/02/design-manier-hungary.html

TheChieftess said...

This was the type of typewriter that my family had when I was in school! (I'm not THAT old...my family just didn't get one of the newer typewriters) So I typed many a paper on one like this...my mother made me take typing...which I absolutely didn't want to do lest I become relegated to being a Secretary rather than an executive somewhere!!! I have since been forever greatful to my mom for making me...I don't think she had any foresight into the future of computers, but she knew that typing would come in handy some day!!!

TheChieftess said...

Did I forget to mention that I love your photos of this wonderful old relic???

Anonymous said...

Portable if you're a weight lifter ;-)

I love the close-up of the keys, the details in the font are very nice.

Brilliant idea for monochrome!

Johnny Nutcase said...

great one! i'm a fan of the old typewriters- my dad has a couple really old ones, pretty cool!

Anonymous said...

Lovely serie :)
I did my first work on typewriter like this... I still remember the sound...
Thank you so much for your visit and yours kind comment :)
Regards Halina

Francisca said...

My husband worked on one of these, and no it was NOT in the '30s. :-D I refused to learn to type when given the option in high school, with the logic that I would never be anyone's secretary. Not anticipating PCs, it was not one of my brighter decisions. Lovely b+w series; my favorite is the last.

Unknown said...

I am hunting for this kind of typewriter to photograph for a long time. excellent work!

TheChieftess said...

Francisca...I tried hard to not take typing but my mom was a tough task master and made me...I took 1 semester, just enough to get the basics!!! One of the best things she ever made me do!!!

Walk in New York said...

Superbe cette vieille machine à ecrire, j'adore

Remember, Every Friday, The Challenge "Walk In The Street Photography"

magiceye said...

thank you for the trip down memory lane!! had it too!!

Serline said...

Wow, haven't seen one of those in ages...it must be a treasured keepsake!

Welshcakes Limoncello said...

What a beautiful machine.

Pranavam Ravikumar said...

Really Nice!

S. Fann said...

sweet piece of work :) liking the vintage vibe, looking good in mono.

Barbara (Xerraire) said...

Love the third photo best! Great angle!

Barb