About typewriters

The typewriter is an amazing invention. I could stop saying here because it´s more than enough. However I will add some more letters, just to highlight its magic.

Imagine a device which you can use to write, one of the most important things for an human being, in a simple, elegant and fast way. Well, that device is not being produced anymore. Factories are using a huge amount of resources to manufacture weapons, ice cream machines or all imaginable stuff for prepare cakes and even a pool ball which predicts the future. No machines for writing. Of course there are computers and printers, but that´s another story. Also people don´t look very interested on use them nowadays. Fortunately the typewriters were produced and used in mass during the last decades. There were several in each office in the world and in most of the houses. Those machines didn´t disappear from one day to another, there are still in somewhere, maybe inside a drawer, in a penthouse, etc. Due to the lack of interest today and the high number of produced machines the price of a typewriter is almost ridiculous, I could say almost zero (or negative in some cases).

When using a typewriter the fingers touch physically the keys and you produce the letters with your own energy. This is a golden feeling. The speed of writing is directly linked to the speed of thinking, creating an unique dance where ideas are transforming into words with harmony. Sound and smell help to create that great atmosphere. Real letters appear in front of you, with real ink. Ink on paper means it´s forever (or at least one or several lifetimes, depends on you). You get nothing of these when using a computer which creates just fake illusions and temporally ones and zeros somewhere inside a digital support. For touching screens better don´t talk. No batteries, no updates, no unexpected errors, no corrupted files, no hackers and no vanish information. Of course a computer has many other advantages, but far away for the pleasure of writing.

Look the beauty of the mechanism. Simple, design based on endurance, full of quality. Times before programmed obsolescence entered into industrial design.

I used typewriters during my childhood. However I stop using them until quite recently, when I rediscover their potential. Suddenly I saw clear the power of typewriters and I went into them in a flicker. While living in Germany I found the keyword : “Schreibmaschine“. As easy as write that in eBay and hundreds of all machines are shown. Germany has been one of the best producer and there are a lot of top brands. The prices now are worthless. I realized that when I visited a flea market in Munich and a man kept a typewriter between a certain quantity of jewel-rubbish items. I just asked the price for curiosity and he replied “5€”. 5€ even before bargain! He insisted and took it with his hands offering it to me. I had the feeling he just wanted to throw it away or even pay to someone for take it. Well, I didn´t take that, but I started to buy some other models.

Smith Corona from 1936. It came with a church smell. What a design! Classic piano style with round crystal keys. Almost 80 years and it´s like new. I like to play the game to imagine its past or its former owners. I guess it´s not weird this machine were used by nazis in the WWII or maybe later someone wrote a love letter using it.

The case was not in best condition, but with a little of patience I got this amazing result. Magic!

 
 

Olympia SM-3

I bought this for 1€ in eBay (plus 5,95€ shipping). ONE EURO! One of the best deals I´ve ever done. Tank design, unbreakable. A similar model is used by Woody Allen, who says he is using the same machine during decades. He mentions some worth words here.

It was just dirty, but after a typewriter jacuzzy and some lubricant its bright came. Full and perfect working.

Being too curious about the mechanism forced me to practice full disassembly part by part. I could say I almost got it. A great learning lesson and enjoyable time.

Then I got this Erika 5, which came with additional gifts. All you see in the photo for 10€.

In that case I used a chemical product from the supermarket to avoid corrosion. Surprisingly that product caused a lot of corrosion suddenly! What a paradox... Don´t see the next photo if you are typewriter sensitive. Disaster. After many hours and days dedicated to clean I managed to reach this result. Thanks, WD-40! See before and after:

  
  
I have to say the touch of Erika 5 is superb. Fine design.

Olivetti Lettera 32. Big expectations created by opinions I read about it and a little disappointed when I had it in my hands. Its supposed design was not anything shocked to my eyes and I miss check the typo before buying it, a kindergarden mistake. Techno typography is not my favorite. At least it has Spanish keyboard. However, after start using it I was invaded by its magic. Great fine touch! So fast and a pleasure to use. Now I love it and I guess it could be perfect if the typo is a classic one.

It also had a relaxing bath and it became full cleaning and working.

I decided stop buying more German typewriters since flying with them is difficult. I already flew with four of them, with a peak flight where I carried with me two at the same time (19,5 kg of the total weight).

The perfect studio

Here while work in progress. Now I just need to do it in reality. Some day.

About bookbinding: Additional information about sewing

In a previous post I explained how to do you own notebook. Detail about the way of sewing was missing there and it's shown here:

Bound pages after sewing.

Remember that practicing and singing improve the result.

List of my top 5+ favorite books. Update

There are books and divine books. The ingredients which make a book belong to this list are not only the quality of the text or the theme but also the book itself, its style, shape and manufacturing quality. All of them show feeling to your eyes/brain and also to the touch. 

Here is the updated list for this year:

1. Don Quijote de la Mancha. Not too many things to add in this amazing book. It´s THE BOOK. Cervantes passes through all the key points in human life along the pages. Some people think El Quijote is a boring book and difficult to read, however from my point of view it´s the funniest book and with a huge humor sense. The edition by RAE because of the IV Centenary is a must.

 

2. I Ching. The book about everything. The Oriental view written down on paper. Mystical and wise.

 

3. Almanach Hachette. A compilation of information decorated with amazing illustrations made in France. Exquisite pickings from the XIX century. Fine touch.

 

4. Codex Seraphinianus. A completely new world created by Luigi Serafini´s mind. Superb pencil drawings with endless creativity. Unfortunately this edition doesn´t show the quality his artwork deserves.

 

5. Completed Illustrated works of Lewis Carroll. Not only tales but also Maths exercises, music scores and more.

 

Extra I: I should mention one more book even when it´s not a book itself but a mix of photos about Peter Bear´s work complied in a book. Full inspirational and obsessive dedication by this master of notebooking.

 

Extra II: The Orange Manuscript (El Manuscrito Naranja). How to miss it in this list! A mix of notes, hilarious ideas, sketches, travels, calligraphy and “flights of fancy” by José Naranja. No tech used, all handwritten in pocket notebook. An useful recipe included in the pages.
 

About the notebook evolution

When I started to write on board of Transiberian Train the handwriting became horrible because of the train moves. I decided to stop. I was naive and my mistakes were the typical from a beginner. The evolution in the art of notebooking was teaching me step by step and at the right time every small detail which does a notebook worth. In those days missed the not straight lines kept the train essence itself and also I didn´t know the reality was the key to transfer the feeling of Transiberian experiences, in live and with fresh emotions. Since my first explorations abroad I was doing travel journals. A huge change happened when I got a book from the public library named “Travel Notebooks”. Among the authors in that book one of them kept my eye: Peter Beard. His aesthetic and obsession about notebooks showed me the way to another level and I understood the art of notebooking was an entire area to be mastered. One month later, in Summer 2007, I started a round the world trip for 9 months, my first travel using Moleskine. I had already used a couple of them in the previous months as private notes and agenda.  One thing was clear for me: It was the perfect container to store information and document a travel. Another mistake: Keeping different notebooks. I learnt later the notebook should be only one, wider than just a commonplatebook and it should be able to eat everything. A life notebook, a total notebook.

All was growing very fast and each notebook was much better than the previous one. That encouraged me to push ahead. I also learnt to improve every tiny detail from the calligraphy of letter “r”  to the final shape in the block of pages. I discovered new inks and verge paper, a milestone. Unlimited hours in my studio located in Donauwörth during Winter helped to the obsessive develop in the first Moleskine bound by myself with high quality paper. Since then I used Moleskine only for the covers. Ten years after the first Moleskine I did my own leather covers too and the notebook was 100% homemade, mandatory in order to establish a direct connection with them. The notebooks became more and more personal and also mystical. The possibilities were multiplied. Sometimes I felt admiration by Leonardo work, also about Codex Seraphinianus. If I tried to get some ideas from them, suddenly that new stuff was diluted into the aesthetic of my pages like a drop in a river. I had create my own style. Notebooks had been my teachers and they guided my along a new way. I was following that way filling the pages with extreme care and passion, more or less one notebook per year.

The pages accumulate ideas, experiences, hilarious inventions and any kind of notes. However one day someone asked me while holding one of my notebooks in his hands: “But, what´s the utility of this?”  I was not able to reply. Time later I thought if people use to buy cooking books because of their utility and among my pages there is a recipe to prepare beans, I could conclude my notebooks are useful, no doubt about it.

Filled notebooks

It uses to take me about one year to fill each notebook. Now I feel the need to find a good name for them.

About bookbinding

You don’t need to be a professional in bookbinding to make a great quality notebook.

Maybe the first test doesn’t reach a perfect result but you will be surprised how easy the improvement goes and how fast the mistakes are solved. After two or three notebooks done there is not room for bad quality. Excellence is the goal, not perfection. Perfection is impossible and it’s not welcome in a handmade artwork.

The  notebook made by yourself offers a higher level of satisfaction than any other. You add the passion and love for it, your favorite paper and details. You add a part of yourself in it. Unfortunately it’s not possible get that from the shops, where an industrial notebook is done by a bored worker, probably Chinese or robot, who is paid per hours and produces hundreds of them every day. Your dear and loved notebook is just one more. On top of that the quality standards in the notebooks paper used to be poor nowadays. Endless variety of brands and styles, more than ever, with poor quality. And expensive. Only about 15 sheets of paper are needed to fill a pocket notebook, which is less than 1 EUR even for high quality paper.

Bookbinding is an old technique and there are many methods. I’m showing here how to fill a Moleskine notebook with your favorite paper, that’s what I use in my last notebooks and was a clear milestone in my journals evolution. You can also make the cover in real leather, which is even easier. I will show that in a separated post.

Bookbinding is a relaxing task. Bookbinding is perfect for meditation.

1.) Materials:

-Moleskine cover.

-Good quality paper.

-Scissors.

-Cutter.

-Ruler.

-Thread and needle.

-Adhesive for bookbinding (elastic, neutral PH if possible)

-Cotton fabric for bookbinding (used over the spine)

-Papersand

2.) Folding the sheets. Cut the A4 sheets in A5 size. Only 15 sheets A4 from 100g/m2 paper are enough for a Moleskine pocket. Fold them and make groups of 3 sheets each. Press them properly.

3.) Binding. Perform 5 holes with a needle and a template. Sew applying the method you like.

The easy method I apply will be explained in a next post.

 

 4.) Paste the stack. Press the sheets in order to apply glue only on the edges. Set the cotton fabric and apply more glue. Release the stack and paste the wings of the fabrics to the paper. This will avoid tiny clearances between the sewn sheets.

Keep the stack under weight for a time while become dry to keep the paper full flat.

 

5.) Cutting the paper. Cut the edge of the stack to fix into Moleskine dimensions. Use the sandpaper to shape the corners.

6.) Remove the paper. Kill the Moleskine. Do not suffer or produce too much tears. Cut the paper from the second pasted pages (front and rear part of the notebook). Reuse the register tape and glue it in the new paper.

 

7.) Insert the new paper. Paste the stack made with the new paper into the cover. Apply glue only on a small area of the external sheets, not in the edge.

Voilá! New notebook is ready for all kind of inks.

8.) Extra. When the notebook is complete is good idea to add a few more details like a stylish paper in the first pages or an acid-free tissue paper pocket for better conservation when being stored.

Le Voyage du Mat

The journey of the fool (better say Mat) is the travel of everyone. It starts much earlier than our own existence and goes from an egg to other egg.

Tarot is an inexhaustible fountain for trained eyes.

Almanach Hachette

Marches aux puces in Paris bring always surprises. Last time I found a collection of almanacs with the tittle Almanach Hachette. Two seconds after having one of them in my hands I knew it was the book of the year. What an amazing discovery! They are not only almanac but also a encyclopedia and a useful guide for life. I bought two (1899 and 1935).

I could say it's one of the best books I've ever seen.

They talk about everything, from beards style to chances to be married depending of the age. Also sky maps or military ships in those days. The illustrations and aged paper add the perfect style for these jewels.

Take into consideration each illustration, each face and each detail was made manually with each own metal model in order to apply ink and print it.

My first idea was use the pages for scrapbooking but now I feel like a crime if I hand the scissors and destroy such an artwork.

By the way, one point is clear: The quality of these kind of things decreases with time. You can see how year after year the style, quality and dedication are a little less. Nowadays, when all is under the productive and profit way of do things, these books are lost. No time for passion, just fast and low quality productions for mass.

Response to an alien attack proposal

Fermi´s paradox offers an endless questions about alien existence, bla, bla… just philosophical entertainment. But the important point is: Are we ready for an alien attack? Probably they will fumigate us as insects. Our weapons have nothing to do. I propose a desperate and low chances of success solution: show them we are able to do great things. For example, create a planet size copy of Picasso´s painting "Las señoritas de Avignon". Each human should participate with a 190 m side square part, including babys and clumsy people. Even if aliens don´t perceive it, I guess some part of the mortal ray attack could be stopped by the painting (dense canvas preferred). Well, in the worst of the cases, if mankind is finally destroyed, we could be proud to create such a nonsense final artwork. Absurd and epic end, yeah!