I’m actually going to start this with some non-typewritten text because I sort of hope this one is more easily found given that it raises some questions.

Also, because I couldn’t figure out how to properly encapsulate the topic in the title. I was leafing through a reprint of the old user’s manual and discovered a recommendation that surprised me a little bit. It also demonstrated, without question, how little I actually know about the usage of these machines even though not that much time has passed since they fell out of common usage.

I find knowledge loss, even something kind of inconsequential, to be a little alarming.

So, as promised, this is the link to the Olivetti Lettera 22 Typewriter Repair Bible. I picked up a copy of that and this more general version, and they’ve already proven useful in filling in some gaps in what I knew about typewriters. Like, for instance, giving me insight into how the double whitespacing issue I’ve been dealing with (evidenced above in a few spots) is a case of user error and the way to fix it is to get good.

I also have a few machines sitting around that are in line for some restoration and I didn’t want to wade into that battle without equipping myself appropriately.

I wasn’t particularly satisfied with how I worded some of the stuff above, on the actual page, but learning to live with that has been doing wonders for just getting the work published. I have noticed that I’m making fewer errors as I write but I’m not really sacrificing any speed. That’s been an exciting process.