I would like to introduce you all to my new "baby."

[Heidi]

She's a 1957(ish) German-made, Keller and Knappich manual, portable typewriter. Uncle Oedi approves. :)

Isn't she grand? :loveya:

[CaliforniaPeggy]

1. My dear Heidi!

Wow, what a beauty!

Ah...a Princess for our Princess...;)


Wait...are you actually going to "use" it? I mean, her?

Manual? :scared:

Ah, go for it!

She's gorgeous!

:loveya:

[Heidi]

2. Of course, I use "it"!

She has a brand new ribbon (not an easy feat, but our office supply place is very accommodating) and works like a dream. Someone has taken very good care of this not-so-young lady. :)

I learned to touch type on an IBM Selectric and I used to own a 1930s Royal manual portable when I lived in the US. I'm a huge fan of manual typewriters, especially the portables.

Hi, Peggy! :hug: :loveya:

[flvegan]

3. Is she housetrained?

[Heidi]

4. Har!

Paper-trained, in fact. :D

Hi, flvegan! :hi:

[flvegan]

5. Har back!

That was a most brilliant response!!!!

:rofl:

[crim son]

6. I am... surprised.

Yet I congratulate you on the new addition. :hug:

[Heidi]

9. Dah-ling!!!

:* :hug: <-- Have missed you!

Why are you surprised? :shrug:

[crim son]

12. Surprised, Sweetpea, because it's a typewriter.

See, I don't know you so well. Wish I did!

[texanwitch]

7. I learn to type on a manual type writer.

I am much better on a computer.

[Heidi]

10. Hi, texanwitch!

I'm faster on a computer keyboard, too, but there's a special joy for me in using a manual typewriter. It's kinda like the special joy I get from using a Polaroid camera with pack film. :)

:hug:

[texanwitch]

13. I am terrible on a manual.

I passed typing class with a C.

You got a nice baby there.

[1]

8. but where i the monitor? i can't see the screen...

[Heidi]

14. Oh, sorry!

Here's a photo of the Princess 300 with "monitor." :hi:

[1]

16. i love it!

and i just googled it.

8 1/2 x 11 is the most popular screen size ever.

well done...

[AllenVanAllen]

11. Princess 300!

Have fun with your new baby! :hi:

[Heidi]

15. We have a bit of a rivalry in our house.

Call Me Wesley thinks his manual typewriter is cooler than mine. :(

His 1969 Olivetti Valentine:

[texanwitch]

17. It is red.

How hard is it to find ribbon.

I don't miss putting in a ribbon.

[Heidi]

18. Pretty easy to find ribbons for European portables here.

I don't mind putting in a ribbon -- but I do mind the fact that the new ribbon for the Princess 300 is nylon, not silk. :(

[texanwitch]

19. I always had inky fingers.

How heavy is you new baby.

[Heidi]

20. She weighs about 14 pounds.

Not too bad -- and a heck of a lot easier to take out onto the patio since I don't have to unplug her or worry about a battery running down. :D

Here are a couple of interesting websites about old German and Bulgarian portables. :hi:

http://www.geocities.com/wbd641/germany3.html

http://www.geocities.com/wbd641/bulgaria.html

[texanwitch]

21. That not to bad.

The ones we learned on in school must have weighted 80 lbs.

Have fun with it.

[Lethe]

22. woah, very nice!

man, i need to get a manual typewriter.

and, in the general spirit of typewriters, i bestow unto thee the holy grail of songs written about the typewriter:

http://www.ikhor.com/Typewriter.mp3

[Heidi]

23. Hi, Lethe!

Check ebay or Craigslist. Very good prices in the US on American-made typewriters. Harder to find a Princess 300, I suspect. :hi:

LOVE the song. Thanks! :rofl:

[DeadEyeDyck]

24. She has your i's

[Heidi]

25. !

:rofl:

:spray:

Touché, DeadEyeDyck. :thumbsup:

[uncle ray]

26. your qwerty is a qwert-z.

what's up with that?

[Heidi]

27. It's a German keyboard, so the z and y are opposite of qwerty keyboards.

I'm used to it; my laptop also has a German keyboard. :hi:

[uncle ray]

28. thanks, interesting.

i did a quick search and found nothing.

didn't HST use a princess for a while? seems i read that he did.

[Heidi]

29. For much of his career, HST used

an IBM Selectric (red), but I don't know what he used earlier in his career.

I believe Adler made a typewriter called the Princess 300, but I've never seen one. I only know this because ribbons are sold for it. :hi:

[denbot]

30. Sweet machine Heidi

Manual typing is a labor of love. I've done papers in school with and later without manual typewriters.
I miss the clickitty-clack of progress, but oh-my-god, making revisions was so time consuming.

Enjoy your sleek little machine.

[Heidi]

31. Hi, you!

I love the clickety-clack, but I totally agree about revisions: :scared: Thus, I don't use the Princess 300 for anything "important." :rofl:

:hug: to you and Ally! :hug:

[Bunny]

32. Awesome!!!

:thumbsup:

:hi: Heidi!

[Heidi]

33. !!!!!

:*

Are you a fool for manual typewriters, like me? Here's my next acquisition. :drool:

[Bunny]

38. I can't say that I'm a fool for them, but I can definitely admire their

awesomeness. Your next acquisition is gorgeous!

[auntAgonist]

34. she looks (almost) brand new. What a great find and

adoption :)


:hi:
:hug:
aA
kesha

[Heidi]

35. Kesha!!!!

Yes, she's in very, very good shape. I checked around with some collectors in Germany before I bought the Princess 300 and was told that while they're not terribly rare in this part of Europe especially, it's rare to find one that has been well maintained. She types like a dream, too, and has several settings for "touch." Lotsa beels and whistles for such an old typewriter. :)

Great to see you! :hug:

[busybl]

36. that's so cool

[Heidi]

37. Good morning, busybl!

Thank you. I feel very lucky to be able to give this great old machine a good home. :hi:

[Richardo]

39. How sweet is that?

I'm sending waves of joy ~~~~~

Nice find, Heidi! :hi: :pals: :patriot:

[Heidi]

41. Well, mornin', Richardo!

Thank you for the waves of joy! :hug:

[Bucky]

40. How big is the screen?

And where in the hell are the function keys?

[Heidi]

42. The screen is DIN A4,

smartypants. :rofl:

Mornin', Bucky! :hi:

[NJmaverick]

43. I think it has your I

:P

[Heidi]

44. Mornin', NJmaverick!

Her I's are a lot prettier than mine! :rofl:

[Crabby Appleton]

45. since you showed me yours, I'll show you mine

it's about 50 years older than yours (these were made between 1908 and 1920) it still works - very heavy

[Tuesday Afternoon]

49. nice

my grandmother had one of those.

[Heidi]

50. Dang.

:swoon:

[Arugula Latte]

46. Well, I thought it was gonna be a kitty ...

but that is cool, too. :)

[Heidi]

52. The Wiley and Excellent Boy Cat Named Ginger has laid down the law:

"Manual typewriters: okay. Additional felines: forget about it." :hi:

[Wapsie B]

47. Was it full term or a preemie?

[Heidi]

51. Full term,

but she looks like a preemie. :hi:

[Orsino]

48. Looks kinda big, if all it can do is texting. n/t

[Heidi]

53. It can also thrill me.

So there's that. :hi:

[marzipanni]

54. If your and CMW's babies sound anything like this

http://knobster.org/plugins/en/keywriter.html
(esp. Audio Example #3: Typewriter Madness) T. W. & E. B. C. N. Ginger might have to be admitted to the Kitty Asylum.

[Heidi]

55. I _lovelovelove_ that link!

Thank you, maripanni! :hug:

:yourock:

P.S. The Wiley and Excellent Boy Cat Named Ginger pretty much ignores us when we're typing. He knows we'll stop to indulge his every whim. We're well trained. :rofl:

[EFerrari]

56. Very pretty!

I thought I let all of my machines go but found this one at my mother's house. I think it's ca. 1957, a Royal Quiet Deluxe. No way could I get rid of that color. lol

[Heidi]

57. What a BEAUTIFUL machine!

Do you use it? You should!

P.S. :hug: <-- I miss bumpin' into you in GD.

[EFerrari]

58. It's good to see you.

:hug: