People who own typewriters, what is your favorite use for it? - eviltoast

Is it a note-taking station? Is it a decoration only? Is it your regular journal? Is it a shopping list maker? Is it on display or tucked away?

I use mine to quickly write down ideas, so that I don’t get distracted by other things on a computer or have to wait for a computer to boot up. Other than that it’s a conversation piece and a decoration.

Edit, I forgot to include, I have a Royal like the one below. It was the cheapest one at the antique store, and it has worked perfectly for the 10+ years I’ve owned it.

  • Punkie@lemmy.world
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    11 months ago

    I have my mom’s old Smith Corona electric typewriter, possibly from the 1960s, but I haven’t researched it deeply yet. It comes with a hard suitcase with a 3-digit combination lock, and a novelty dust cover that says “Typewriter!” in a bold font. My mom died in 1987, and I just took it. Last used in 1998 when my mother in law borrowed it, and it caused a fight because she died unexpectedly and her estate executor wanted to sell it, not believing it to be mine. He was under the impression it was an antique he could get good money for, but I stole it back. Last appraisal was mid 2000s, and in new working condition, I could MAYBE sell it for $30. But it’s one of the few scant possessions I have of my moms, so I keep it.

      • Punkie@lemmy.world
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        11 months ago

        I’m still alive, though. I used it a lot as a teen to write some of my first works of fiction, school reports, and so on. But yeah, that did occur to me. My mother died from suicide and my mother in law from medical malpractice, so they aren’t related. Still… superstitions are the worst stitions.

        • SpaceNoodle@lemmy.world
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          11 months ago

          No, they’re super!

          If you give the typewriter to someone else, either they’ll die or you will …

          Wait, how much did you use that typewriter before your mother passed?

          • Punkie@lemmy.world
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            11 months ago

            She switched to some “Sharp” (the brand) model that had a single-line LCD screen that you typed and when done, it would print the entire line at once. This made it easy to “backspace” typos before it was on paper. So she loaned me the Smith Corona. I think I used it for 2-3 years before she died.