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Chris Aldrich

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Musings of a Modern Day Cyberneticist

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I’ve been thinking about typewriter stationery and carbon copies lately, as has our friend Joe Van Cleave. Has anyone used or had NCR paper stationery made for themselves? I tried some half-sheet stationery at the International Printing Museum not long ago and that seemed like a lovely way to write and keep copies of typewritten … Continue reading

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oblique angle onto the front right corner of a Sears Newport typewriter there's a button on the corner of the hood that reads "COLOR". On the right side is a white indicator showing that the ribbon is on the black setting.
How could I not pick up his avocado beauty at Acts Thrift for $17.36?! A day’s worth of cleaning ought to bring this bad boy up to snuff. I’m most shocked at the fantastic design of its case. This is a re-branded Messa typewriter manufactured in Portugal with other known re-badgings as the ABC 3001 … Continue reading

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I really ought to get back to bookmarking things on my own site again…

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Typed 4 x 6" index card in the carriage of a grey typewriter with black/red ribbon. The card reads: "Little known fact: Typewriter manufacturers didnt put an explicit exclamation key on their machines because they felt that anything worth of the expression ought to be truly created de novo and hand crafted. Thus you're required to put the extra emphasis by typing out your period followed by the backspace and then an apostrophe! Of course if you take the widdershins philosophy, for added emphasis you can first type out the apostrophe followed by the backspace and finally the period. This method provides a little bit more finality and emphasis for when you really mean it!!!

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Clack! Analog Attitude for the Digital Age – Vol. 1 – Summer 2026

Issue No. 1 of Clack!, a colorful zine in red, yellow, and blue with a cartoon-like illustration of a Corona flattop typewriter on the cover sits on top of a 20 drawer library card catalog next to a black lacquer Royal KHM standard typewriter
Yesterday at the QWERTY Typewriter Festival in Carson, CA, Bryan Mahoney of The Typin’ Pint released Issue 01 of his new zine Clack!  I’ve just finished reading it this morning (from cover to cover, though I admit I haven’t finished the crossword yet) and it is truly fantastic! There’s so much to love inside its … Continue reading Clack! Analog Attitude for the Digital Age – Vol. 1 – Summer 2026

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Spring 2026 issue of Etcetera magazine on a library card catalog next to a Royal KHM and a gift bottle of scotch.
The Spring issue of Etcetera: Journal of the Typewriter Collectors’ Association arrived in the mail today! Just in time to celebrate National Typewriter Day tomorrow on June 23, 2026. 

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Close up of the front side of a Woodstock typewriter crate. It features the Woodstock stylized name over the words "The Typewriter" sandwiching an image of the typewriter itself.
I acquired this Woodstock Typewriter crate earlier this month to pair with my 1938 Woodstock No. 5 standard typewriter.  Usually it’s only portable typewriters that come with cases. But often unseen and unsaved are the “cases” that came with the larger standard typewriters. These are usually unseen because they were heavy wooden crates that standard … Continue reading

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Type-in at Typewriter Muse on June 13, 2026

Bernstein Writing Room at Typewriter Muse with

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Tonight, I noticed you can’t spell typewriter in German without IBM: SchreIBMaschinen. Surely that ran across someone’s mind before in an advertising campaign, right?

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A 1977 Olympia Report de Luxe electric typebar typewriter with an index card in the carriage that reads: "Now listen to this. The gentle and soothing lullaby of a piece of machinery so perfect--"

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Black Underwood SS standard typewriter sitting on a wooden desktop in front of a window with greenery outside. There is a typed index card in the carriage.

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Jose Siri gets Shohei Ohtani out while using an Index Card in an MLB Baseball Game

Close up of Siri wearing sunglasses and a white index card in his mouth. His right arm is swung across his chest after having just thrown a fly ball back to the infield.
Shohei Ohtani, a designated hitter and pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers, is one of the biggest superstars in baseball right now. If you’re Jose Siri on the Los Angeles Angels, you know that to get Ohtani out, you’re going to need some serious notes on an index card to score the out. The problem … Continue reading Jose Siri gets Shohei Ohtani out while using an Index Card in an MLB Baseball Game

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Last year’s event was fantastic, so I’m looking forward to all the things on “tap, tap, tap” for this year. Come and celebrate National Typewriter Day in Southern California.

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Typed index card in the carriage of a red 1964 Smith-Corona typewriter that reads: ""Let me buy you a present. You bought me one---a typewriter ribbon, and it brought me luck. "---Paul Varjak portrayed by George Peppard in Breakfast at Tiffany's (Paramount, 1961)"

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A pen-sized typewriter segment pick with a curved-shaped tip at the end of a thin metal shaft. It sits on top of a typewritten index card that reads: Last week I ordered a recreation of the Ames Supply Co. segment pick from Paul at Bremerton Typewriter Co. It arrived in the mail today and I'm excited to add it to my typewriter tool collection. Even better, I've recently gotten two new typewriters that will need full clean, oil, and adjusts. I can't wait to put it to good use.

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An orange covered 14th edition of The Chicago Manual of Style sits on a table in front of an Olympia SG1 typewriter with an oak card index filing cabinet beside it.
In a pre-web analog world, this is what a CMS really was. (Hint: there’s actually two in this photo.)

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The Royal KMG Standard Typewriters of It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World

Tracy pointing across the room in the foreground as his secretary types on a standard Royal KMG.
The Stanley Kramer comedy classic film It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (United Artists, 1963) has a handful of Royal KMG typewriters featured in the office settings at police stations throughout the film. The KMG was Royal’s top-of-the-line office standard machine and was manufactured from 1949 to 1952 before being replaced by the Royal … Continue reading The Royal KMG Standard Typewriters of It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World

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The Lindy Effect and Typewriters

A typed index card in the platen of a typewriter which reads: "The Lindy Effect | The phenomenon by which the future life expectancy of a non-perishable thing is proportional to its current age. | Thus the longer a period something has survived to exist or be used in the present, the ;onger its remaining life expectancy. | This bodes incredibly well for the life of my typewriter."

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1977 Olympia Report de Luxe electric portable typewriter as seen from the front with the make and model delineated on the left side of the hood and a circular orange O-shaped Olympia logo on the right side.
Along with Ron Rosenbaum, Steven Levy, Patricia Highsmith, and the fictional Frank Navasky of You’ve Got Mail fame, I have joined the Quiet Cult of the Olympia Report de Luxe Electric Typewriter. I acquired this at thrift for $21.95 on 2026-10-10 for Mother’s Day in immaculate condition! It’s as if someone used it to type … Continue reading

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A black enamel standard typewriter with a silver Woodstock across the paper table sits on a black wooden bar next to an old fashioned glass and the several bottles of liquor.
My first ever Woodstock. Acquired via thrift for $50 on 2026-05-08. Possibly a bit more expensive than it might have otherwise been, but the key rings are in stunning shape, and the work to polish them is easily worth several hundred in labor! The decals are also in exceptional condition. Aside from some cosmetic damage … Continue reading

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FAQ: How do you use your typewriters?

A Fred Macey Company 20-drawer card index filing cabinet with the drawers and hardware removed. In their place we see four typewriters peeking out from each of four shelves inside and an additional typewriter on top. Next to the filing cabinet is a Gaylord library card catalog with a black typewriter on top along with some additional decorations.
The question “How do you use your typewriter(s)?” pops up for me fairly frequently. Often it’s collectors who love the machines and only think of using them for writing the “Great American Novel”. However there are a variety of tasks one could use them for besides conversation pieces or functional art in the home. Below … Continue reading FAQ: How do you use your typewriters?

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1947 Underwood SS "Rhythm Touch" standard typewriter in black crinkle paint with black keys sits on an oak library card catalog next to a rack of other typewriters
Acquired at Goodwill Southern California for $20.28 including tax on 2026-05-06. Needs a full clean, oil, and adjust, but not in generally bad shape. Two or three mechanical issues to sort out, but it’s got some new ink and a quick wipe down/dusting has helped immensely.  I’m in love with the Art Deco chrome styling. … Continue reading

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A glass bottle of Cuzcatlan brand cola champagne in a lovely orange color next to a glass of ice at a resturant
Had some Cuzcatlan brand Cola Champagne (aka kola shanpan) at a Salvadoran restaurant the other day. Is it me, or is this the same formulation as Scottish Irn-Bru? 

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Typed index card in the carriage of an Olympia SM7 that reads: TYPEWRITER COLLECTOR'S MANTRA | "I needed a backup."—Frank Navasky portrayed by Greg Kinnear in You've Got Mail (Warner Bros., 1998)

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4 x 6" wooden card index with dovetailed edges sitting on a library card catalog and in front of a Royal KMG typewriter.
Picked up at thrift for $2.39. What can I say? I’m a sucker for card index boxes… I can’t make out the smudged black-stamped bottom of the box to determine the manufacturer who used a sphere and a triangle in their logo. 

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A 1962 Olympia SM7 with a cream colored body with matching keys and moss green highlights sits on a library card catalog next to a pot of lushly arranged pink and peach flowers.
Acquired via thrift on April 10, 2026. It finally fills my itch to have an italic typeface for use in personal correspondence. It’s in spectacular starting condition though a bit gamey, but this should clean up nicely. It immediately needed a bit of forming on the carriage lock and a new ribbon, but it’s generally … Continue reading

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William F. Buckley in a white shirt with a sweater over it and wearing his signature glasses begins a new line of writing on a Hermes 3000 typewriter
I watched the fascinating documentary Best of Enemies: Buckley vs. Vidal (Magnolia Pictures, 2015) last night. An hour and thirteen into the picture, William F. Buckley Jr., who is known to have used a Royal HH and an Olivetti Lettera 32, can be seen abusing what appears to be a Hermes 3000 portable typewriter.

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A cleaned up oak modular library card catalog with 30 drawers sits in the sunshine on a driveway with a green lawn and bushes in the background.
I’ve expanded my index card database storage by 30 new drawers of 13 3/4″ of space each. This model appears to be a Gaylord Bros. card index, but is missing explicit badging. It has the appropriate size for the modular Gaylord system and seems to be missing a few pieces including some of the dovetail … Continue reading

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Typed index card on a dark grey 1952 Royal Quiet De Luxe written in blue ink which reads: My holy grail typewriter is always the next one.

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An Odell No. 4 index typewriter sitting on an oak library card catalog next to it's wooden box.
I’ve slowed way down on acquisitions in my typewriter collection, but when I saw this magnificent exemplar with Art Nouveau decoration pop up at thrift, I could not resist. For a near complete exemplar, it seemed to be better priced than most of the market that I looked at before purchasing. I suppose that perhaps … Continue reading