Type Specimen Book - Western Typesetting

I love this cover graphic.  As found on the shelf, the book has no words or graphics on the spine.  It's just pure black.

Gingercat and I stopped by our favorite used bookstore, Prosperos, and found this great Type Specimen Book.  It was published by the Western Typesetting Company.  There is no copyright or other date information and the price lists are missing from the inside cover sleeve.  The one clue to the date is a 6 digit alphanumeric telephone number that would have been phased out in the 1950s.

The address is in what is now the Quality Hill neighborhood in downtown Kansas City.

 A Google search turns up nothing other than the apparent fact that I got a really good deal on this book.  Any information about the book or the manufacturer would be appreciated.

I also own an American Type Founders specimen book from the 1940s.  I actually prefer the layout and organization of the Western book.

The cowboy theme continues throughout the book.  It's pretty fun! I've posted a few samples.  The Script selection is amazing.

I want the Italic Swash type on a typewriter.

One of gingercat's friends was very happy to receive s sample of this typeface.

I am still a little obsessed with the blackletter fonts.

The reliable old Epson 3170 scanner is happy to be on the job.  I rescanned the cover and I can tell you that is is a vast improvement over the combination HP scan/print thing that shall not be named.  The next scans are also from the Epson.

I would be remiss in not showing the typewriter simulation samples from this book.

Thanks for reading.  Until next time, yee, haw, pardner!

Everest K2 with a Serif Allergy

Serifs are seriously overrated in certain alternative universes.  This typeface is a total mystery.  Any ideas from the Typosphere?  Side note:  I had to photograph this because when a HP all-in-one printer/scanner runs out of black ink, it won't even let you run the scanner.  I am reminded of why printers are so cheap.  Our HP 4400 deserves a generic replacement cartridge in repayment.

The Everest K2 has a classic shape.  I purchased less for the color than the typeface.

The body shell is all aluminum as are a number of components such as the key bar guide.

So, what does the number 20 stand for in Everest land?  I looked through most of the sans serif examples in the Munk's NOMDA guide and couldn't find an exact match.  We love the egregiously long "f"!  I suppose you could make a simpler lower case "d", but there wouldn't be a whole lot left.  The "h" is very fashion forward.

The color and style this De Luxe logo remind me of early 1950s Chevy sedans.

Maybe Everest had a dislike for serifs in general.  Alright, that is a bad theory given the identical machine in Robert Messenger's possession and Adwoa's shiny, black K2.

I like the odd little details.  I can easily imagine that lever inside one of the little Fiats now cruising around American cities. 

Does anyone have a controls diagram for this machine that they can scan?

I observed in the typecast that this typewriter still has a few issues.  I can't help comparing this to my German machines including the Olympia SM3s and the freakishly smooth Torpedo 18.  I had to do a lot of filing and bending to get parts to work on this machine due to alignment problems in the key bar slots.  That gave me a chance to get to know the mechanical bits well, with some problem yet to be discovered that is keeping the carriage from moving consistently.

My general opinion is that they tried hard, but there are just some basic design and finish issues that get in the way.  It isn't as slushy as the Royal Futura 800.  The cast aluminum frame is well done.  They didn't skimp on key tension springs.  With all that going for it, various alignment issues appear to have kept this machine from having been used very much.  The type slugs were already pretty clean when I got it.

Assuming I get the carriage draw tweaked, I think it will be a decent typer for short works.  The type face is really cool and joins the unique SM3 italic iterations and the Royal script in the household typing pool.  Guess I need to buy some new ribbons!

Mousiest Royal Futura - Except for the Awesome Font

Early morning sun brings out the best in this color combination.

The subject today is the world's mousiest looking Royal Futura 800,  We're not talking a little bit mousy - we're looking at full gray on gray.  I suppose at some point it must have been a cool combination since this seems to be the most common.

You push the logo to pop the hood.  Pretty neat and not at all gray.

 Um, yeah.  Even with the cool red logo button action, this is still one of the most boring looking typewriters in the world.

That is until you find out what is lurking under the hood.

Mmmm, tasty.

Pretty spiffy, huh?  This is Royal's version of cursive.  It is looser and more informal looking than the Hermes variation.  It is perhaps a little closer to my casual writing, but much more legible.

Funny:  Just now the gingercat (Claire) just looked over my shoulder and noted that the type slug caption sounded like something a key chopper would say.  I prefer to think of is as the sound of a type face connoisseur.

But perhaps we should let the Royal do a proper introduction:

As much as we love the Royal Futura, it doesn't have the precision of an Olympia.  The fit and finish are to a noticeably lower standard.  However, it's still a nice typing machine and is just generally more laid back.  It is almost quiet enough for night typing unlike the staccato Olympia SM3s.  The Futura is more beach bum than jet set executive.

The Futura has a whole different look.  At the moment, they are not particularly popular.  Hard telling whether that will change or not given the myriad options for used typewriters.  I've heard Futuras have shown up on TV.  I wouldn't know since we watch the Olympics, Presidential addresses and weather alerts and that's about it.

Gray to awesome, or leave it as is?

We're thinking about maybe doing a little repainting action.  So what do you think?  Leave it as is or go crazy with some hammertone?  There are so many luscious colors at Home Depot...

The Other Olympia SM3 - In Italic!

A painfully boring looking machine made better with gentle cleaning.

Glittery paint - I recommend deep cleaning to bring out the best in otherwise dull Olympia grey.

Clean, informal italic.

When seen in macro, the keys have some glittery stuff imbedded in the plastic.  Was it inert or intentional?

Greetings from the Noisy Ghost

Olympia!!! SM3 - New Ribbon and Professional Elite Typecast

CLICK to see larger.  Back to photographing the typecast.  The scanner is not very subtle.

In the backyard studio.  We had to take advantage of the Fall weather.  The snow will blow soon enough.

 The above photo is probably the most accurate white balance and overall color.  We did not need another green typewriter.  Olympia's green is somewhere between the shade of the Hermes and that of the Oliver.  I like the color, but not as much as I like the typeface.  The whole family loves this typewriter.

Wait until they hear me banging away on it at midnight  ;-)

Olympia!!!!  All exclamation, all the time.  We may need to meter her espresso intake.

 The extreme shallow depth-of-field is courtesy of the Sigma 50mm f2.8 macro mounted on the Canon 60D.  The saturation and contrast on this lens is really nice.  My walk around is the Canon 50mm f1.4 because I like doing low light, but the Sigma is pretty special.

I may eventually grow to love crinkle finish.  I should have done a before cleaning photo, but yuck.

 I'm getting good at washing Olympia machines.  Fortunately, removing the mechanical system from the housing is easy and each is washed separately.  I have two fans ready to blow the moisture out quickly and spray lube at the ready.  Washing activities will most likely cease mid-winter when the garage is cold in spite of a quartz heater.  We're used to soldering and robot building with gloves on.

Gratuitous Detail.  I love Olympia typewriter's trademark turned metal bits.

Lovely type slugs.  So peppy!  Olympia is not a vary creative name for an Olympia branded typewriter, but in this case it fits the type personality.  Hmm, looks like I need to clean the slugs with mineral spirits and a toothbrush.

 As noted in the typecast, this typeface is known as Professional Elite #41.  I thought it was italic based on the ebay auction photos.  Having seen a sample each, I like this typeface better than the pure italic version.  Thanks to the Munk for making all things typeface available at:

http://munk.org/typecast/2011/04/23/1964-nomda-blue-book-olympia-font-styles/

German engineering at its finest.

Welcome to the House Full of Nerds, Olympia.