Monday, September 05, 2016

Olivetti 35

I found an Olivetti 35i on eBay which the seller claimed was brand new, never been out of the box. He opened the box to lake a picture of its contents. But the machine, he claimed, had never been used. I took a chance and bought it, and indeed it turned out to be as the seller described it: brand spanking new. It still had the plastic inserts placed there by the manufacturer in order to prevent the carriage from moving during transportation and delivery. It in fact had never been used. There was still ink in the ribbon (black and red). The only thing I needed to do was place a drop of sewing machine oil on the ribbon lifter (or whatever that thing that lifts the ribbon is called) and it was good to go. I haven’t had any problems with it so far and consider myself the happy owner of a new Olivetti typewriter. For someone who’s tired of buying other people’s junk, this has been pure serendipity.

My Writing Process - the Planning Stages

Using manual processes to write in this digital age might appear odd or anachronistic — perhaps even an affectation. But I don’t care. I us...