Mini Magic Margin Project- Twenty-Two Ten Year-Olds and Five Typewriters

The circa 1947 Royal Quiet De Luxe.

The circa 1928 Royal Portable

The circa 1958 Groma Kolibri

Here I am showing them the mainspring on the Groma Kolibri. Trust me to pick the typewriter that had the smallest one. I ended up showing them the one on the Lettera 32, since it was larger.



The 1982 Olivetti Lettera 32.

And, once I was finished talking, out came the sheets of paper and away they went. The circa 1938 Remington Remette got a good going over.

So did the Groma.

And, of course, the 1920s Royal was a favourite. Maybe it was the red paint-job.

I noticed how careful these kids were when using these machines. If anything, they sometimes didn't hit the keys hard enough to leave an impression on the page. But then, a quick tap on the backspace key and another tap on the letter keys and on they went.
All in all, it was a nice way to show them how much things have changed in terms of how we used to write in the past compared to how we write now. Sure, they could have found pictures of these typewriters on the internet, but maybe having sat down to use these for a brief moment, they may have come away with an appreciation, however large or small, for these machines that kept the 20th Century chugging along nicely.

I'd like to give special thanks to the kids in Class 3/4H and to Miss H for allowing me to bring these typewriters in to show them.

Keep writing, kids!

Thanks for reading!


P.S.- For privacy reasons, I have blurred these photos where necessary.