Tap, tap, plunk, plunk, tap...those of you that remember typing reports and letters on a manual type-writer, and using "white-out" to fix mistakes will remember the sounds, the smells and the tactile feelings of handling the inked ribbon, rolling the paper, throwing the carriage to begin the next line, and punching those often sticky keys with all the muscle your fingers can muster...and, of course, the need for patience. Just as many of us have lost the art of a handwritten letter, most of us have long abandoned the rudimentary skill of tapping out what we now consider to be a primitive word document, like driving a Model-A. Some of the keys leave a strong impression while others are irregular and faint...not so much a flaw as it is character, not so much imperfection as it is special. Each type-writer has its own signature, if you will. In the past, crimes were solved with the help of an identifying characteristic of a specific type-writer.

I'd been looking for some time for a small, manual type-writer...I finally came across one in an antique store, a Royal "Touch Control" neatly latched into its hard-shell travel case. I'm looking forward to giving the 'gift of type' once again....There was a young girl in Bend, about four years ago, who took her portable typewriter to public places, like a plaza or park, and would type out messages or notes for people as they passed by, just because she could. I read about some college girls, daughters of secretaries, who started their own typing pool using manual type-writers like their mother's used in their earliest days of office employment.

Perhaps this review will inspire you to rescue a languishing type-writer somewhere, so you can give the gift of type...I've found lots of internet sites to shop for retro-ribbons.