Golden Era Things You've Revived Or Repaired For Use

[Auld Edwardian]

I have a small collection of wind up phonographs, four of which are in the front room of our 1895 Victorian home. They are a lot of fun to play for quests that come to visit, and they are often amazed at how good they sound considering that the sound reproduction is done acoustically and not electrically. I have done repairs on several of them to put them back in proper running order when I got them, and it is rewarding to have them running like new again. They are fun to listen to and the recordings are "frozen moments" in time since I am listening to them in the same manner my Grandparents and Great Grandparents would. They are also handsome pieces of furniture that compliment our early 1900's sofa and matching chairs that we have had restored in correct period style tapestry. (That was a small pile of money in itself!) And who knows, I might have saved them from the slow death of being reconfigured as a stereo cabinet or liquor cabinet!

 

[LizzieMaine]

Something I've tried very hard to revive in every way possible is *sincerity.* I don't enjoy aspects of the Era thru some sort of smirking ironic lens, I enjoy them honestly, for their own merits, and I encourage others to do the same. There is far, far too much ironic detachment among the moderns, and it's produced a very unhealthy society. Bring back sincerity. And I mean that sincerely.

 

[Vornholt]

Living or "reviving" any of these things as just a shadow of themselves, or as some sort of momentary curiousity (not that we do that here) would be rather pointless. If they were worth doing back when, then they're worth doing again, in the here and now. A worthwhile habit, a pleasant custom, social graces long dismissed as irrelevant, didn't suddenly become evil or comedic. Carry them out now as they had been. Adapt them, as need be (my visiting cards carry my email address, but serve that same social contact function from decades ago), but show that they're relevant in the 21st century, too.

 

[Shangas]

I wouldn't bother reviving something if I didn't see it as having a purpose or point or reason to it. It'd be a waste of time if there wasn't.

Straight or safety-shaving is proven to give better, smoother, more comfortable shaves. And it saves money. That's why I do it. And that's why the other men on the forum do it.

I write with a fountain pen because it's more comfortable and produces less friction than a ballpoint. So I can write for longer at higher speed.

I type on a typewriter because I like the immediacy of access. I don't have to worry: Is the printer going to jam? Am I gonna have a power-cut? Is the connection-cable plugged in? The only thing I have to worry about with a typewriter is whether the paper fits in the carriage.

I sew with a manual sewing-machine because doing it by hand gives me a greater degree of control over the speed of the machine, which I wouldn't always have with an electronic one. For a novice like me, greater control is very important.

 

[Vornholt]

I wasn't insulting anyone's choices or reasoning; I put it that way because I see a great many people, presumably not from here, adopt some psuedo-trendy "vintage" thing, only to drop it a month later in favor of something else.

Personally, I do everything you mentioned there, barring the sewing, for precisely the same reasons you've cited. Seen the cost of razor cartridges lately?:eeek:

I also have a relatively local shop where I can indulge my preference for fountain pens and real ink and simultaneously support a local merchant.

Do you also find that using a typewriter forces you to slow down and think more about what you're writing? I've found that to be so, even when typing up from a longhand original.

 

[this one guy]

Old technology isn't necessarily bad technology. It got us where we are, and didn't become less capable just because of new ways of doing things.
Over the years, much engineering has gone into making things more convenient, rather than better.

One example involves cassette tapes (themselves now obsolete). They didn't equal the sound quality of reel to reel tape decks, but they didn't require you to thread a tape leader over levers, rollers, record and playback heads, capstan, and terminating in that little slot in the take-up reel.

Last time I bought a car (1998), Consumer Reports data showed that manual transmissions were more efficient than autos. Very unpopular in the USA because who wants to have to drive them given their mandatory requirement to use both hands and feet in a coordinated way?

Using a typewriter does force you to slow down and think, and also be more careful. The same can be said about using my twin lens reflex camera vs. the new technology - more burden on the user to get it right.
But both are capable of excellent results if the effort is taken.

Sometimes the modern trend of placing the "smarts" in the device instead of requiring it from users gives me a creepy feeling, making me wonder if we will someday become helpless relative to our devices, as in some kind of science fiction plot.

 

[Baron Kurtz]

Ah, but what about when they stop supplying ribbon? The last typewriter to be made in the UK just came off the production line. I suspect ribbon will not be far behind.

I type on a typewriter because I like the immediacy of access. I don't have to worry: Is the printer going to jam? Am I gonna have a power-cut? Is the connection-cable plugged in? The only thing I have to worry about with a typewriter is whether the paper fits in the carriage.

Sew by hand! No need for machines.

I sew with a manual sewing-machine because doing it by hand gives me a greater degree of control over the speed of the machine, which I wouldn't always have with an electronic one. For a novice like me, greater control is very important.

 

[sheeplady]

Ah, but what about when they stop supplying ribbon? The last typewriter to be made in the UK just came off the production line. I suspect ribbon will not be far behind.

You can re-ink a ribbon. It's messy (I've never done it) but I've known people who have and used to have to do it. You can buy the ink and everything else you'd need in an arts supply store (it has other uses by artists who do printing, but it will work).

 

[LizzieMaine]

Ribbons can be re-inked. It's a messy job, but doable. Plus there are still plenty of printing calculators that use the same type of ribbons as typewriters, and these can be respooled.

Mark well these words: when the last I-tablet computer handheld futuristic information processor is a pile of cadmium waste, civilization's epitaph will be pecked out by the Last Survivor on an old Royal Model 10.

 

[sheeplady]

Ribbons can be re-inked. It's a messy job, but doable. Plus there are still plenty of printing calculators that use the same type of ribbons as typewriters, and these can be respooled.

Yeah, it's basically going to be the disappearance of the spools that is the limiting factor... ribbon is still used in a lot of applications, but the spools aren't. For instance, it's going to be a long time before banks give up their check writing machines for things like bank checks and money orders. You also have the teletypes which are still being used in a lot of niche industries and as well as (less commonly) for the deaf to make telephone calls.

 

[St. Louis]

I had no trouble getting ribbons for my Smith Corona Silent Portable, circa 1941, from Amazon. A company called EBS Hard to Find Office Supplies uses Amazon to sell its products. I contacted the company directly to double check that the ribbon would fit my machine, and found their customer service person to be very friendly and pleasant. The ribbons cost about $8 each.

 

[KY Gentleman]

I am a store manager for an office supply store and over the last 10 years our ribbon section has shrunk from 16 feet to four. But the Smith Corona and the Brother typewriter ribbons still sell fairly well.

 

[Shangas]

I re-ink my typewriter ribbons with a bottle of stamp-pad ink. So long as you don't tear the ribbon, and it doesn't disintergrate from age, you can use it indefinitely.

A bottle of said ink is like $5.00. And it will last for ages. You only need 3-4 good dabbles.

And I have a big stationer's shop in town which sells typewriter ribbons on a regular basis. So I buy them from there when I need them.

To be honest, I don't type any slower on a typewriter than I do on a computer. The only thing that stops me is the bell at the end of the line, and the pause to return the carriage and drive back the platen for the next line.

What I like about the typewriter is the immediacy. I don't have to worry about printing or paper-jams or printer-cartridges running out of ink (and those cartridges are EXPENSIVE!!).

Shaving-cartridges are also expensive. $15 or $20 for a pack! Ouch!! My straight razor cost me $5.00 at the flea-market, top-quality Solingen-made German steel. Cheapest razor I ever bought, and so long as it's kept dry, sharp and smooth, it'll work until doomsday.

...And Doomsday was on the 21st, and it's still working.

See? I told you it was good..

 

[PrettySquareGal]

Something I've tried very hard to revive in every way possible is *sincerity.* I don't enjoy aspects of the Era thru some sort of smirking ironic lens, I enjoy them honestly, for their own merits, and I encourage others to do the same. There is far, far too much ironic detachment among the moderns, and it's produced a very unhealthy society. Bring back sincerity. And I mean that sincerely.

I have a blog that is sincere and I often feel like I am a kook because it lacks irony.

I smile in most of my photos. I don't make duck faces or try to look strange or surly. Seems like "smile for the camera" was discarded as too staged, yet I think many of the poses and posturing we now see are far worse.

I send "thank you" cards.

 

[Gregg Axley]

I'm glad to see a few of us still send Thank You cards.
In lieu of sending a card at work (if I'm out), I send an e-mail, but a nice one mentioning what the person did for me.

 

[Benny Holiday]

That's great JonnyO!

I'm with LizzieMaine regarding sincerity. What is the deal with everybody having to be cynical and a bunch of smart alecks cracking wise all the time? Everyone's an 'expert' these days - where's the humility and simple grace of being a pleasant human being gone to?

 

[Shangas]

Sincerity and its missus, Good Intentions, were kicked out of the house by their grandchildren. Namely, the "MINE MINE MINE Genaration', the 'Get Stuffed Generation', the 'Lack of Spine Generation', and the 'House of Cards Generation'.

 

[Edward]

For my part, not only do I use the restored vintage phones, fountain pens, and typewriters, but I now carry visiting cards for social occasions, receptions, and whatever sort of appropriate function requires one. I have cards for myself, separate cards for my lovely partner in crime in the event she needs them, and a joint couples card. All carried, of course, in one of a pair of vintage card cases. So far, it drew notice at a couple of events. I'm planning to continue.

I know there was a long thread on the subject some time ago. Anyone else doing this?

I've always had business cards for work. At a time I had my own cards for home, but I didn't like the lack of flexibility in having all my details on there. Now I use cards with only my name and email address; anything else is written on by hand as necessary. My cards are plain which with a decoesque script proclaiming the legend:

Edward Marlowe

Diseased Mind Productions

<email address>

This system works very well.

Fountain pens are my default norm for writing with. I refuse to use any technology or item for its own sake. Whatever I use, vintage or modern, I use because I like it and find it the best way of doing things. I'm not going to buy into anything new or old just because it's part of a lifestyle statement. I find this works well enough.

 

[St. Louis]

About sincerity versus irony: there's a big difference between cynical, dismissive, insolent irony and "cracking wise." 21st century irony is aimed at anything with a genuine emotional content, or at any serious ethical commitments. I'm not referring to religion, but to such beliefs as "it's good to be nice to other people," basic decency and kindness, and fundamental civility as mentioned in earlier posts. Celebrating holidays for their underlying values is often mocked as childish or gullible. (Please believe me, I am not making any kind of political or religious commentary-- I'm talking about general ideas, not specific belief systems.)

On the other hand, real wit pokes fun at modern foibles and acts as a gentle corrective. Cracking wise takes thought and mental quickness and tends to be funny & clever -- not destructive.

Irony mocks, wise-cracking refreshes. An excellent example comes from the 1939 film Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, where Susan Paine (Sen. Paine's stylish daughter) cynically uses her charms to keep Jeff Smith out of the Senate chamber while the Willet Dam bill was being discussed. Susan Paine is the very embodiment of fashionable irony. Jean Arthur, who cracks brilliantly wise throughout the movie, is her direct opposite. At one point she says (referring to a corrupt political machine headed up by a Mr. Taylor and Sen. Paine), "Your friend, Mr. Lincoln had his Taylors and Paines. So did every other man who ever tried to lift his thought up off the ground. Odds against them didn't stop those men. They were fools that way. All the good that ever came into this world came from fools with faith like that."

 

[LizzieMaine]

Irony mocks, wise-cracking refreshes. An excellent example comes from the 1939 film Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, where Susan Paine (Sen. Paine's stylish daughter) cynically uses her charms to keep Jeff Smith out of the Senate chamber while the Willet Dam bill was being discussed. Susan Paine is the very embodiment of fashionable irony. Jean Arthur, who cracks brilliantly wise throughout the movie, is her direct opposite. At one point she says (referring to a corrupt political machine headed up by a Mr. Taylor and Sen. Paine), "Your friend, Mr. Lincoln had his Taylors and Paines. So did every other man who ever tried to lift his thought up off the ground. Odds against them didn't stop those men. They were fools that way. All the good that ever came into this world came from fools with faith like that."

*Exactly.* If a Jefferson Smith were to come on the scene today, he'd immediately be attacked by know-it-all "snarky" bloggers, radio talk-show quacks, and cable-tv screamers. "OH COME ON," they'd insist, "MISTER BOY SCOUT, THRIFTY BRAVE AND REVERENT, HA HA HA. WHAT'S HE HIDING?" And this time, they'd completely destroy him, because the oh-so-wised-up American Public would be saying the same thing.