...well, almost mint. Here's a second booklet hand-made by the cherubim in Typewriter Heaven along with the Antares Parva manual. This one is about a basket-shift tabulator from an outpost of Imperial's empire on England's East Coast*.
*Try saying that with a mouthful of Rice Crispies.
Disclaimer: publication not intended as a user guide or maintenance manual.
Wow! Great job, Rob. And it rewards very careful reading. Love it.
ReplyDelete!!!!! -- Outstanding! An intelligent and also hilarious guide, beautifully produced (with such good choice of fonts, too...).
ReplyDeleteI had no idea that this model was basket-shifted and had other goodies like key-set tabulator and tension control. I have an early Good Companion and a model 4, but see that I must upgrade to a model 6.
The connections to Torpedo are interesting. I knew that the original GC was based on a carriage-shifted Torpedo design. This model 6 was apparently based on their basket-shift design, which is widely recognized as excellent. The carriage return lever is just the same shape that Torpedo used on these machines, way back in the early '30s.
Silly me, I meant model 5, of course.
ReplyDeleteI'm giving the 5 away to my sister as late birthday present and thought a little instruction might be useful - hence booklet.
ReplyDeleteMichael: cheers!
Richard: Thanks for the lovely comment.The old carriage shift 1940s Good Companion I have looks pretty similar to models up to, but not including the 5. The basket shift on the 5 is so smooth it feels like there's some hydraulics in the works somewhere. I wonder if Imperial borrowed the return lever from Torpedo via contemporary Imperial desktops like the 66? Must check. The fiddly flip-up levers of previous Good Companions don't compare.
Compare the return lever to the one on Alan Seaver's 1933 "Deutsche Remington" basket-shifted Torpedo portable. Not identical, but a similar concept.
ReplyDeleteTop of the tops!
ReplyDelete