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So after a week of COVID isolation, I tested negative just in time for the Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade. Since I was not at home in the U.S. to hit the streets for a protest, I went to Christopher Street Day in Freiburg instead. We also went to a massive flea market (and I bought three new typewriters) and on Sunday we went to to see the Marriage of Figaro at the Stadttheater Freiburg. Lots of escapism!
So I was in Montmartre yesterday and I was thinking that I should head out to one of Paris’s famous flea markets to do a little typewriter hunting. On my way to the metro, I popped into an antique shop and saw a pretty beat up Remington Portable, made in the USA for the German market with a QWERTZ keyboard, dating from the 1920s or 1930s. I think it’s a Portable #2, but I’m not sure yet because I haven’t located the serial number. In any event, I spoke to the proprietor in Spanish and it was clear he had no idea how the thing worked. (Paris tip: NEVER speak in English when you want to bargain for anything. The French are much nicer if you start in another language and then come to English as a third common language. They are very sensitive about English linguistic imperialism, and I really don’t blame them. All over Paris I hear Brits and Americans speaking loudly in English and just expecting locals to understand it.)
Anyway, I bargained for this lovely machine in Spanish, and the proprietor gave me a reasonable price for a machine in this condition. I am looking forward to restoring it and addition it to my growing collection.
I've been typing away these days, using my electric Smith Corona because my wrists have been acting up again. I love the sound of the carriage return on this machine, because it punctuates the fact that I have written another line of text. The return key on a keyboard just isn't as satisfying....
