Tuesday, 16 February 2021

The manual typewriter (Singapore)

I like machines.  Always have.  Maybe it’s to do with my being a tomboy.


When I was about 7 or 8 years old, my mother’s brother (who was living with us) bought a manual typewriter.  It was an Olivetti or a Remington. 


I loved playing on it, learning the right fingering of the keys like one would with a piano, then typing out my name in full.  


The day arrived for the demonstration.  The whole family gathered round the table to watch me type out my name — with my eyes closed!  I didn’t know it then, but that was touch-typing!  


I was so little I had to stand on a stool so that my arms could drop down (rather than raised, crooked), to make it easier to type smoothly and comfortably. 


(Singapore, early 1960s)

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