Ruminations on Red - and its Variants

Not really red, but close enough. 

The copper-hued Erika, as found.

A closer look at the Swiss-French keyboard and hammertone (or perhaps just aged) paint finish.

 Fine little case, too!

And here's that ABC I mentioned - beautiful color, well preserved, clever logo... but I have sworn off ABCs.

Oh, and speaking of rare sightings - it is a virtual winter wonderland in Geneva, what with all the snow we've been having (first major storm of the season, if you can believe it). Sidewalks that I used yesterday on an ambitious little jog - when the sky was clear and everything perfectly dry - are now buried, perhaps not to be seen until March. Oh, well. We had it coming, I think, it's been snowing everywhere else for months now. Some pictures:

This week, most schools are closed for the traditional February skiing vacation (only in Switzerland, eh?) and the kids who did not get to go off to ski resorts took full advantage of today's weather: skis, snowboards and sleds zoomed past me as I shuffled slowly uphill, trying to reacquaint myself with walking in snow. Still, I am not bothered - this is winter's last hurrah, and it will surely pass. Now to concentrate on staying warm... and upright!

On penmanship and script typewriters

 

 

Catching up with ITAM, and a few intriguing sightings

Speaking of catching up, I haven't exactly been hunting for new finds, but as you know in Geneva the sightings are virtually unstoppable. Here are a few of the more interesting ones recently:

J was excited to discover this Lettera 22 yesterday in our local Salvation Army. With crude paper stickers on the keys, he thought at first this was a QWERTY keyboard (yay!), until we removed the scotch tape and discovered it was AZERTY (boo). Still, no big loss - I have my pretty pink Lettera 22, after all, and it's enough for me.

Another Olivetti that popped up in the same location a few months ago - an absolutely mouthwatering bright red Dora (here branded Underwood 319). Just luscious, but I restrained myself to just taking pictures.

Not exactly a typewriter, but - an original Dictaphone popped up in our flea market last month. How exciting! It still counts because it is typewriter-related... after all, when this was in use, it would certainly have been by a secretary with a typewriter, as seen in this photo from Wikipedia:

Here is a closer look at the Dictaphone:

How extraordinary that it should be so well-preserved! I hope it found a good home; it is certainly a special find.

How are you observing ITAM this year? I am now off to catch up with all the posts in my RSS reader... happy typing, everyone!