Typewriter Love

I have a thing for typewriters.

If you visit my Pinterest board called "Typewriter Love," you will see that I love pictures of typewriters, pictures of authors working at their typewriters, mixed media art featuring typewriters, font created by typewriters, jewelry that includes typewriters, rubber stamps that create images of typewriters, keys that come from typewriters...

You get the idea. 

When I was in high school, my mom would help me out by typing up some of my school papers at her work table in the kitchen.  Somewhere around tenth or eleventh grade, I typed a few of my own, and well remember the perils of typing too soon over an error I had covered in Wite-Out.  By my senior year--gasp!--I had my very own MacIntosh Classic, complete with totally unsatisfactory dot matrix printing on tractor feed paper.  Was that a step forward?  I'm just not sure!  Nothing quite compares to a good old-fashioned typewriter.

For a long time now, I've been wanting a typewriter of my own, but didn't know exactly what I was looking for.  Enter The Snail Mailer!

I met Becky (known by her mail art moniker, The Snail Mailer) online through our mutual interest in mail art, and met up with her face-to-face at the Allentown Paper Show back in 2013.  (You can see a photo of us in that post!)  We have stayed in touch, and she was willing to sell me one of the typewriters from her collection.  I picked it up on Saturday morning on my way to this year's paper show, and I couldn't be happier.

How cute is this?

It is a Smith-Corona Skyriter--an adorable lightweight portable typewriter that sits right in its carrying case.  Becky got it all conditioned and ribbon-ed for me, and it even has its original owner's manual and Touch Typewriting Chart, which fit in the pouch inside the lid of the case. 

For someone who really doesn't have a lot of room for more tools and supplies, its small size and portability are a dream. 

Right away, my six-year-old gave it a try, and she and I took turns trying to get used to the force required to strike the keys to paper. 

As Becky told me by email, "It makes you appreciate how strong those ladies typing 75 words per minute were doing it!"  Indeed, it does!

Aside from a little practice, I've only done one small project with my new typewriter so far.

I got the idea somewhere to collect small portions of sand from the different beaches I visit, so I started with sand from Waikiki and Kailua Beaches from my family trip to Oahu last year.  It has been sitting in an unattractive plastic spice bottle for over a year now, but today, I was able to transfer it to this nice glass bottle, and use my Skyriter to create a specimen label for it.  I'm headed to Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, this summer, so I'll be able to add another bottle to my collection.

And by then, I'll have mastered my Smith-Corona Skyriter for all my typing needs!