Congratulations, tovarich! Small, ain't it? No color option for the ribbon besides black. Nice. And yeah, aren't those little platen rollers cute? So far, I occasionaly hit the key next to the one I'm aiming for, but that's a small price to pay. I called my green (circa)1958 model 'Ilsa'. Well, the kids named it. I told 'em it needed a German girl's name and they chose the name of the girl in "Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade". Enjoy it, Matt!
Thanks! This typewriter is definitely the smallest I have ever come across. But, there's the much fabled Gromina, which is smaller yet! And I'll defintiely enjoy it!
Yep, those Kolibris are nice and solid. I got to try one out that a local collector owns, but it had a Russian Cyrillic keyboard, so it was not exactly a useful test. It'd be nice to have one someday. Yours is very nice! (:
Hmmm.... 1956... er, I was two years old... and the Soviet Union's typewriters were all probably super-busy...
First... the huge apparatus of oppression using their machines to put together intelligence reports, dockets, and enemies lists.... politicians pleading for understanding from the West....
Then-- the opposition, the US and their allies, all banging out drafts of cables, letters home complaining of no progress in the talks, wishing for a cold Schlitz beer, asking for news of the family....
Finally, a third group: students, dissidents, artists, writers... clacking out manifestos, samizdat to be secretly copied, letters asking for asylum, folk tales set in the middle ages that were actually comments on the current political scene, barely disguised, poetry seeking to escape through the beauty of words...
all those machines, all those strokes for good and ill...
I'm thrilled you have a Groma Kolibri, now you can make your own Groma T-shirt and wear it with pride. The logo is available here if you need it. Meanwhile, I'll slip into a pool of jealousy - that's one machine on my wishlist!
PS, re: phillytyper's imagining of the machine's output... don't forget the Eastern Bloc's winning of the Space Race just a few years after. Wonder if Yuri Gagarin took a Groma into orbit?
Congratulations, tovarich! Small, ain't it? No color option for the ribbon besides black. Nice. And yeah, aren't those little platen rollers cute? So far, I occasionaly hit the key next to the one I'm aiming for, but that's a small price to pay. I called my green (circa)1958 model 'Ilsa'. Well, the kids named it. I told 'em it needed a German girl's name and they chose the name of the girl in "Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade".
ReplyDeleteEnjoy it, Matt!
Thanks! This typewriter is definitely the smallest I have ever come across. But, there's the much fabled Gromina, which is smaller yet! And I'll defintiely enjoy it!
ReplyDeleteYep, those Kolibris are nice and solid. I got to try one out that a local collector owns, but it had a Russian Cyrillic keyboard, so it was not exactly a useful test. It'd be nice to have one someday. Yours is very nice! (:
ReplyDeleteGlad you like it, and I must say it looks good on that very sophisticated marble desk.
ReplyDeleteHmmm.... 1956...
ReplyDeleteer, I was two years old... and the Soviet Union's typewriters were all probably super-busy...
First... the huge apparatus of oppression using their machines to put together intelligence reports, dockets, and enemies lists.... politicians pleading for understanding from the West....
Then-- the opposition, the US and their allies, all banging out drafts of cables, letters home complaining of no progress in the talks, wishing for a cold Schlitz beer, asking for news of the family....
Finally, a third group: students, dissidents, artists, writers... clacking out manifestos, samizdat to be secretly copied, letters asking for asylum, folk tales set in the middle ages that were actually comments on the current political scene, barely disguised, poetry seeking to escape through the beauty of words...
all those machines, all those strokes for good and ill...
What went through your Groma, Matt?
We may never know!
Auf Weidersehn!
A beautiful little typer, Matt. And you're right, the impressions are perfect. Amazing!
ReplyDeleteHello Nickolai!
ReplyDeleteMatt, you've added a whole new dimension to the words 'hey' and 'hello'. Laughed out loud.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on your latest 'writer! Very exotic and cool.
I'm thrilled you have a Groma Kolibri, now you can make your own Groma T-shirt and wear it with pride. The logo is available here if you need it. Meanwhile, I'll slip into a pool of jealousy - that's one machine on my wishlist!
ReplyDeletePS, re: phillytyper's imagining of the machine's output... don't forget the Eastern Bloc's winning of the Space Race just a few years after. Wonder if Yuri Gagarin took a Groma into orbit?
ReplyDeletePPS: Taking in typing like taking in laundry. I like your style! Add a page in blogger with some examples maybe?
ReplyDelete