chrisaldrich
chrisaldrich
Acquisition: 1949 Royal Quiet De Luxe Portable Typewriter Front view down onto a gray crinkle painted Royal Quiet De Luxe with black glass keys and a wide black space bar which overlays the metal frame of the front of the machine. The typewriter sits on a polished wooden table which provides a stark natural contrast to the industrial nature of the typewriter's esthetic.Serial number A-1927573 stamped into black metal recessed into the gray frame of the typewriter. boffosocko.com
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bradenslen
bradenslen

@chrisaldrich Congratulations Chris that Royal is a winner. Of course I'm a sucker for those squared off, Post-War Royals. For some reason I like the typeface on them and that they take universal ribbons. It's nice to see machines built before modern plastics (Bakelite doesn't count) all those chromed metal parts giving it a feel of workmanship.

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chrisaldrich
chrisaldrich

@bradenslen Bakelite for the win. Universal ribbons are certainly nicer to use. One of my primary strikes against Remington is the time it takes to spool ribbon onto those cores...

I just came across One Typed Page today. I'm curious if you've submitted there before?

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bradenslen
bradenslen

@chrisaldrich This is the first time learning about One Typed Page, so thank you. I certainly put it in the queue to be added to the directory!

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In reply to
adders
adders

@chrisaldrich When I was a tiny child, my father worked for a company called BXL: Bakelite Xylonite Limited. I haven’t though about Bakelite for years, until I saw this conversation.

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odd
odd

@adders The house my father grew up in, (built in 1946), had bakelite light switches. That’s my entire experience with it. Now, of course, I have many things that have a backlite.

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chrisaldrich
chrisaldrich

@adders Did you have lots of it around the house the way I had a variety of roller bearings (my father's work) to play with? I wish I had kept more of the old Bakelite items I had as a kid. Alas...

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bradenslen
bradenslen

@chrisaldrich @adders @odd My grandparents, both sides, had a lot of Bakelight things around their homes. I seem to remember ashtrays which were 1940's style. And the light switches in the basement were all Bakelite. IMHO Bakelite was/is quite a good material and feels better in the hand than modern plastics.

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odd
odd

@bradenslen Yes, I wonder if it is underused because it’s an old material(?) I forgot the toilet seat at my uncle’s, I think that might have been bakelite, but that was a early 1960s model.

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JohnPhilpin
JohnPhilpin

@odd and 'cold'

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JohnPhilpin
JohnPhilpin

@odd from bakelite to backlight

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bradenslen
bradenslen

@odd I think Bakelite being considered "old fashioned" is part of it. I think we thought newer plastics were an improvement, being lighter, colorful and flexible. On the other hand, I think I read somewhere Bakelite has less negative environmental impact than modern plastics.

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bradenslen
bradenslen

@odd @JohnPhilpin And let's hear it for Micro.blog. What other social network has a discussion about Bakelite?

waves cane

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odd
odd

@bradenslen Yes, I imagined it would have, (just a hunch though), so maybe it should be considered again.

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odd
odd

@bradenslen Haha, yes, I love it! The youngsters today should get off our lawn and start making some bakelite!

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JohnPhilpin
JohnPhilpin

@bradenslen 👋👋 🦯🦯

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