Typewriters - Getting Them Back To Work

I must admit to having a deep seated love of typewriters, their design, the noise they make and all of the books they have been responsible for putting onto paper intrigues me. 

In recent years I have had the pleasure of bringing several of these useful machines back to life, many of which came to me in an inoperable condition, often coated in years of dirt and of course tippex, that wonderful correction fluid which unfortunately gets absolutely everywhere. 

Finding the correct cleaning materials, adjusting and getting the machines working is an ongoing learning process, especially when you consider just how many different manufacturers there were, all with their own little design quirks. Having said that there are also many obvious similarities between standard typewriters, although there are a few exceptions like index typewriters, one of which is pictured below and was sold to an enthusiast a few years ago.

Really part of the joy of working on these marvellous machines is that people still want to have them, whether to use or display, although I like to feel that the urge to type would be too much for anyone to just leave a typewriter on the shelf.

All of the models we sell are in working order and have a new ribbon installed so they are ready to type. We are always happy to answer questions and offer advice, point you in the direction of the correct ribbon supplier, or if you prefer to supply them for you. We also try and keep prices at an affordable, reasonable level, mainly I suppose because the idea of them being used again is all part of the appeal of refurbishing them in the first place. 

Without doubt there are some beautifully prepared machines available which are well worth the investment, some of which I would love to own myself, supplied by enthusiasts and in some cases former typewriter engineers. While we do ship internationally it is quite often more economical to purchase within your home country, not always, and if this is the case I will happily supply details of any reputable dealers that I know in your area.

A few of the machines currently undergoing preparation are shown below.

Andy

Things You Find In Books - Hurricanes and Destruction

The county directories issued by White's and Kelly's are a great source of information for anyone wishing to study local history in the nineteenth century, so I was pleased recently when a couple of 1960's facsimile copies turned  up in a large batch of books.

Both counties are local to me, which made them particularly interesting, and as always the content was fantastic to read. However as these are large and heavy books they also had plenty of little cuttings stored within the pages, along with the normal pressed flowers.

One article in particular provoked a few memories as it was a local newspaper report on the great storm of 1987 and the destruction that it caused to the local forest.

Undoubtedly the storm is most famous for the unfortunate comment from the weather forecaster who declared that a hurricane was not on its way, which as we all found out the following morning was somewhat inaccurate. However in my locality the destruction of Rendlesham Forest is the event that most of us remember. Certainly there was plenty of other damage to property and huge disruption on the roads, but the forest was something else entirely.

I remember standing on the roadside and being amazed at the change in landscape as it was now possible to see clear across an area which had previously been thick with trees. The article describes 'hundreds of thousands of trees' being blown over and while I am not sure how accurate this estimate was, the destruction was terrible to see.

However in the years following this example of the force of nature the Forestry Commission has put a tremendous amount of work into the area, clearing dead trees and planting new ones. The extent of this transformation is as dramatic as the damage caused by the storm, it did take slightly longer obviously, but unless you were to see pictures such as the one above, it would never enter your mind that twenty eight years ago the forest had practically been destroyed.

Andy

Things You Find In Books, Continued.

I may well make this into a regular post as there seems to be a never ending supply of interesting pieces of documentation that turn up within the books that I purchase. Often it is just an old piece of correspondence, or maybe a picture, but this week something particularly interesting turned up.

It may be creased, marked and have plenty of splits, but I really do like this as it is a genuine piece of Second World War history. 

When I was young, so long ago, a friend of mine actually still had an air raid shelter in their garden. I have no idea why it was still there in the seventies, perhaps they were not aware that hostilities had been concluded, but that seems unlikely as Suffolk is a bit more mainstream than some tiny island in the Pacific.

However I am digressing from the subject in hand, which as you can see is an Air Raid Precaution document giving directions on how to build an air raid shelter. It is the sort of interesting piece which would look nice in a frame, a good talking point no doubt, but part of me hopes that it will eventually go to someone who decides to follow the instructions and actually construct their own shelter, I mean you never know when it will come in handy, which is probably the answer to why my friend's parents had one in their garden.

Andy

One of Our Submarines - Commander Teddy Young

In common with a lot of people I have an attachment to old Penguin Books. The covers and contents strike a cord with many of us who have read and enjoyed them over the years, so I was pleased to recently unearth a battered copy of book number 1000, One Of Our Submarines by Edward Young, Commander, D.S.O., D.S.C., R.N.V. (S.) R.

To the rear of the book is an advertisement for book 100, which is described as follows. 'In 1937 Penguin 100 was published and like Penguin 1000 it was also a magnificent story of human endeavour'. I mention this only to show the importance of the book, although this is not to take anything away from the autobiographical work itself.

Inside the book I discovered a newspaper clipping which is an obituary of the author from 2003, which includes a mention of the book and the fact that Commander Teddy Young was the first RNVR officer to command a submarine during the war. His wartime exploits included surviving a sinking and considerable service in the Far East, certainly he was a successful and brave military man, which his DSO and DSC show.

However one other interesting mention in the article was his part in designing the first covers for Penguin Books. A quick bit of research revealed that he was not only responsible for the three band design of the covers, but was also sent to London Zoo, to sketch the Penguins for the cover picture.

So it would appear that Penguin Book 1000 was special for several reasons, including the amazing life of the author and his close links with the brand.

Andy

Great French Passenger Ships by William H. Miller.

The great liners which crossed the Atlantic have always held an interest for me, quite possibly since I first heard the story of the Titanic in my youth. In recent years the history of many of these ships have come to my notice during my studies in nineteenth and twentieth century transport, including their part in the two World Wars. However the majority of those I was familiar with were owned by Cunard and White Star Lines,  so I was interested to have a look at this book which concentrates on the vessels operated by the great French shipping lines.

To be fair this the book is not just about the ships, although it is not short on specifications and descriptions, but also encompasses those who travelled on them, the decline of the transatlantic services with the increase in air travel and the move into cruise ships amongst other topics. It is also very well illustrated catching everything from the opulence of the ships, the heyday of the liners, (the sight of eight  lined up together in New York harbour in the late 1950's is unlikely to ever be seen again), to the burnt out hulks of some who finished their service abruptly.

The author opens with the Launch of the 'France' in 1912, just a few days after the sinking of the Titanic, through to the 1970's ending with the last of the great French liners, aptly also called The France which was launched in 1962. Every vessel mentioned has a history to accompany it, all of which are interesting and many quite dramatic, certainly I was stunned to find out just how many French liners caught fire over the years.

Personal recollections are used within the pages, which add a great touch of reality to the operation of the ships, I particularly enjoyed the mentions of matching sets of Louis Vuitton luggage and hefty trunks, items which are sought after to this day. War time service is also covered, with many of the liners of this period being used as troop ships it is an important part of their history, particularly as many were sunk and never returned to the shipping lines.

It is a thoughly interesting book on any level and would make a great introduction to the world of the great liners which plyed their trade during the twentieth century. What is made very clear by this informative study is that many, if not all, of the ships mentioned probably deserve a book of their own. As I mentioned earier the Titanic is undoubtably the most written about vessel in history for obvious reasons, however many of these ships led equally facinating and much longer lives.

This is an interesting and informative book, but even more importantly it is a good read. Certainly if you have an interest in the travel, society and ships of this period you will enjoy it, but even if these are not your normal requirements in a book it still has plenty going for it. If I have any complaint, apart from a few harmless proof reading errors, it is that the book is not much, much thicker and even more comprehensive, as I could certainly read more about all of these ships and their lives.

Andy

Festival Of Britain 1951: The South Bank Exhibition

Quite often when digging through boxes of books, items which I was not expecting to come across surface, many of which are interesting enough to be added to my constantly expanding collection of 'stuff'. 

Certainly the guide book to the South Bank Exhibition, which was the centerpiece of the 1951 Festival of Britain,  made it onto a nearby shelf where it was left until recently when I decided a little bit of research was in order.

In truth I am somewhat more familiar with the Great Exhibition of 1851, and as the dates suggest one of the reasons behind the 1951 exhibition was to mark its centenary. However that contained far more in the way of global exhibits as it was staged during the height of the British Empire. The Festival of Britain had its focus firmly set on British achievements, which the guide describes as telling 'the story of British contributions to world civilisation in the arts of peace'.

The theme of the exhibition was driven in a large part by the idea of promoting the recovery of the country after the hardships suffered during the war and as such promoted everything from farming to technology. Even the site itself could be seen as a sign of recovery as the pavilions and other buildings were built on a 27 acre bombed out site, which had been left untouched since the war.

The site was separated into themes with the seven upstream pavilions promoting 'The Land', which included mechanised farming, present day industries and transport. The 'Dome of Discovery' concentrated on British exploration and discovery, with subject matter such as weather forecasting, polar exploration and astronomy.  Seven downstream pavilions were used as a circuit called 'The People', containing exhibits for homes, sport, health and the seaside, amongst others. 

The festival also included the 'Telecinema', a 400 seat cinema which showed British documentary films, the 'Shot Tower' and the Royal Festival Hall, which is the only building now remaining and will continue to as it is Grade 1 listed.

I am not going to run through all the facts and figures for the exhibition, but if you are interested the National Archive has some interest film coverage available on line.

One last thing I should mention is the vast amount of advertising in the guide book, always great fun to look at and interesting to see which companies still exist, I have put together a few examples below which hopefully you will enjoy.

Andy

With The Flag To Pretoria

Earlier in the week I collected a large number of volumes covering the First World War. Most of these sets were originally issued weekly or fortnightly in a paper format, before being issued again as single books. They vary between eleven and twenty two volumes to a set and weigh in at over thirty kilos, so I actually got a free workout in the process of moving them.

I am not sure how many of these sets were originally produced, a lot I imagine, but they are getting harder to find, particularly in good condition. One of the reasons for this is that large, heavy books suffer more damage to their spines in use, purely because of the weight put on them when open. Also the sets tend to be come seperated over the years, meaning that although seperate, or bundles of volumes are often available, full sets are somewhat harder to come by.

However I did receive a pleasant surprise when unpacked the books as also included were a set of four volumes from the Second Boer War, 1899-1902. Like the First World War sets these are a great historical source as they were written at the time of the conflict. They are also a bit more unusual and extremely interesting.

While I am not going to try and run through the history of the Boer War, there are several points which seem worth mentioning. In many ways it was a modern war, rifles were more powerful for a start which led to a review of tactics used, open ground being much more difficult to attack across with the increase accuracy of the weapons being used. Armoured trains also saw some action and Kahki uniforms were introduced in this period.

Concentration camps were used by the British, which were extremely unpleasant and badly organised until constant lobbying forced the government to make changes. A 'scorched earth' policy was also in place during the later 'Guerilla' phase of the war, as the British forces tried to restrict the movement of the Boer fighters. Figures including Winston Churchill, Earl Kitchener, Arthur Conan Doyle (physician), John McCrae, Jan Smuts, Robert Baden Powell, Mohandas Ghandi (raised ambulance force), amongst others were all involved in one way or another.

Nevertheless despite the war being a major military undertaking, it seems to have passed from modern memory on the whole. A rapid survey of my older children, all at senior school and studying history revealed a distinct lack of knowledge about the conflict, although the eldest, who has just started a History A level, was aware of a few general facts. I suppose that it should not really be a surprise to me, taking into account the two World Wars that took place afterwards, but it seems a shame that it is not taught in greater depth.

Andy