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Typewriters: Three Books and a Collection 

3/18/2016

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A Story of . . .
typewriters, books, collecting, writing, and author David McCullough

There's something about a typewriter (or a book about typewriters), that gets me every time. Today it was The Typewriter Revolution by Richard Polt. The book covers a good bit about the mechanics of a typewriter and a lot about the renewed popularity of the machine including the people and events that support it — have you heard of a type-in?
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The Typewriter Revolution was new to me. I have two other books about typewriters that are worth a look. The Typewriter by Janine Vangool, is a beautiful volume loaded with vintage advertisements and photographs.
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The other is Typewriter, by Tony Allan that features Richard Polt as consultant. This is a condensed volume chock full of interesting bits about the history of the machine, the typewriter in advertising, solving crimes, its impact on journalism, and today's type-in.
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In addition to the books, I have a collection of typewriters (that's one of them underneath the books), and a few vintage ribbon tins. The typewriters are great fun for writing letters and addressing envelopes.

It's no coincidence that these books have all been published in the last year. Typewriters are enjoying renewed popularity. Maybe it's a reaction to so much screen time, maybe the wonder of a simple machine. Hipsters and people of all ages are in.

Author David McCullough has used the same typewriter for over 50 years to write all of his books, despite offers from friends and family to switch to a more modern writing device, the computer. He talks about his typewriter in this interview with The Paris Review.

Last spring our local library held a makers fare that featured a typewriter repair session hosted by Tom Furrier of  Cambridge Typewriter. I'm hoping it will be part of this year's fair as well . . . I'm having trouble loading the ribbon on one of my machines. If you need repairs, contact Tom. He's friendly and generous in sharing his knowledge about typewriters.

Actor Tom Hanks collects typewriters and has developed an app that recreates the sound and look of typing on a typewriter (link below). Fun, but nothing beats the real thing.

Here are some links:
The Classic Typewriter Page - Richard Polt's site
The Typewriter - Janine Vangool's site about the typewriter
Typosphere all things typewriters
Hanx Writer - an app that recreates the sound and look of typing on a typewriter
The Anitkey Chop - a gallery of typewriters and people using typewriters
Cambridge Typewriter - Tom Furrier's shop and blog


Below is a page design I created that includes four of my typewriters along with two word puzzles. Post a comment with your answers . . . if you're stumped, let me know, and I'll post the answers.
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Measured Growth

3/9/2016

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This lovely gem came in the mail today! It's the first letter opener in my collection that has it own sleeve (and is brand new) from Izola. I've had my eye on it for a while, and mentioned it in the post for the L stamp in our ABCs of Letter Writing . . . a quick read and fun if you're an American history buff.

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A Puzzle of Quilt Patterns

1/29/2016

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Ever since listening to The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd, I’ve been drawn to quilts and quilt patterns. I’m not interested in sewing quilts, just the patterns. Not floral patterns, but geometric patterns. To satisfy my interest, I’ve borrowed lots of books from the library, and my favorite to date is the first one I selected: The Quilts of Gee’s Bend

The book chronicles the work of a community of African-American women in Gee’s Bend, Alabama, and their more than two-hundred year tradition of quilt making. It was the first quilting book I looked at after finishing The Invention of Wings and it inspired the drawing below.

When I pulled the image above from the archives for today’s post (Puzzle Day), I considered using it to represent the concept in two ways:

1) The arrangement. It was a bit of a puzzle to position the utensils as they are, and
2) Putting together a collection can be puzzling, what belongs, what doesn’t?
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Quilt Drawing (pencil and watercolor)
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This is a Calendar of Days post: National Puzzle Day
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Between a rock and . . . 

1/7/2016

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Today is Old Rock Day. If you've walked a trail or along the beach recently, you may have seen a stack of rocks*, a man-made pile of rocks, a cairn. Historically cairns have been used as trial markers and in ceremonial practices.

More recently, however, cairns made for personal and spiritual reasons have been popping up in natural settings all over the world leading some to say "stop the rock-stacking." And for good reason.

1) random cairns can potentially mislead people who might mistake one for a waymarker
2) they disrupt the natural beauty, imposing a man-made structure in a wilderness setting
3) moving rocks may lead to erosion
4) leave-no-trace policies could leave you between a rock and . . .

*The cairn above is one I built on a table at home from rocks I collected on the beach, it stands a mere 2-1/2" high.
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Are you a rockhound? Share you enthusiasm with others, or get started by talking to someone who is. Here's a list of rock clubs by state, find one near you!

If you are a collector or rock artist, we'd love to know more, get in touch and tell us about it!
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Collector Cars and The Collecting Issue

8/10/2015

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Today is Lazy Day - What's Your Pleasure?

Summer is when the collector cars come out for display . . .
these are some of the license plates we saw at a car show last summer.

Get more ideas and inspiration all month long with our Calendar of Days.
Today we're putting the finishing touches on new ordering pages for Pursuits, getting ready for our launch later this week.

In focus groups and through feedback we've received, we came up with a tagline that conveys what Pursuits is all about: an activity book for grownups!

We've been told Pursuits is smart (a comment I just love!), good looking, and fun.

We look forward to hearing your comments when the issue is released. Stay tuned!
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Sewing Kits - In a Pinch

5/12/2015

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Popped a button? Drooping hemline? These little kits provide the essentials when you need to stitch yourself back together — provided of course you know how to thread a needle and run a few stitches.
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COLLECTING [Three for Thursday]: Keys

11/6/2014

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Unlocking a Bit of History
It was a blustery Saturday that sent us inside a local  craft fair where we found not only new crafts for sale, but tables stacked with second-hand goods.

On one table we found two small boxes holding about 100 keys. The keys, we were told, were from the "Mother House," a former convent located on the grounds where the crafts fair was being held.

The Mother House? Well of course we wanted to know more.

The woman behind the table pointed us across the room to Sister Maria.

Sister Maria not only knew what the keys were for, she had at one time, lived in the convent. The keys, she said, were from the living quarters and lockers, and a few (like the pointed key second from left) were for clocks in the building.

No longer home to the nuns, the convent is being sold along with the keys, and with it goes a bit of history. Knowing where the keys came from makes this collection a bit more valuable because we have provenance: the history of ownership.

Do you have a collection with an interesting story of provenance?

We'd love to hear it, make a comment and tell us about it!
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COLLECTING [Three for Thursday]: Tea Cups

10/30/2014

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What is the critical number to start a collection?

Three seems like the magic number. One of course, is one. Two speaks to a pair. But three looks like the beginning of a collection.

I have six tea cups with saucers, a modest collection for sure, but a collection still the same. They are beautifully delicate and were handed down and gifted to me at different times.

Very often that's how it starts. You receive or purchase something and then people start giving you more.

The fortune-telling tea cup on the top of the stack to the left was a gift. Drop loose tea into the cup, pour hot water over and steep. Drink your tea then swirl and dump the remains onto the saucer. Your fortune is revealed in the images where the loose tea remaining in your cup gathers and clings.

In other cultures and countries, coffee grounds and wine sediment are also used in fortune telling.

Do you have a collection? Have you had your tea leaves read? Tell us about it, post a comment.
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COLLECTING [Three for Thursday]: Vintage Packaging

10/21/2014

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Rummaging through the tool bench looking for small nails to tack down the linoleum floor that tucks under the dishwasher, these three packages caught my eye.

I can't remember if we bought them, or, more likely, they were included in a bundle of hand-me-down tools and supplies.

A bit tattered around the edges, each package has something that makes it stand out: the Atlas globe with piercing nail; custom lettering on the Superior brand name; and Arrow's target marketing for women . . . apparently well-manicured nails are a must when stapling!

It's a small collection, but a collection worth documenting. If you are interested, Forbes' Eight Ways To Make Collecting Pay Off covers some interesting aspects of collecting including value, what to avoid and what to look for . . . and some crazy expensive violins.

What do you collect? Tell us about it.
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A License To Talk

8/4/2014

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Summer Car Shows
When the weather is good, car shows pop up in grassy fields and empty lots all over the state—raised hoods and gleaming chrome beckoning passersby.

In the past few years I've walked the aisles of three shows: the Macworth Island Show & Shine (where I spotted the AAHHHHH plate), the WSCH6 Auto Show that runs with the Sidewalk Art Festival, and another in Fort Fairfield a few years back. Pull over, and like us, you'll find yourself choosing what you judge "Best in Show." It's hard not to.
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