When I moved away from home (Delaware to Maine, then back to Delaware, then off to New Mexico), I received a lot of handwritten notes from my Mom and Aunt Agnes. Mom wrote all hers – beautiful longhand. Aunt Agnes - always the secretary - would often type her letters. At the end of the letter, she’d write a few special notes, sometimes in Gregg Shorthand (she was testing me). I remember that she’d add little do-dad notes in the typed pages. An “oops!” with a smiley face where she miss-typed, or a “wow, wish you could have tasted this” when talking about Mom’s baked chicken, or a “we got three inches of snow!” Occasionally, she’d insert an obituary of someone who went to my high school (her note: did you know him?) or the NYT Crossword she’d completed. Reminiscing and the mind wanders at my age ...
I got to thinking about The Keyboard.
I had typing class for three years in high school (along with shorthand), and I got to thinking, “Why is the keyboard laid out the way it is?” Here are a couple of links that answer that very question.
I love this stroll down memory lane, Karen, and especially appreciate the two QWERTY keyboard links -- fascinating stuff to understand why the keyboard was designed the way it was and why it has stayed almost the same in all these decades.
I remember taking 'typing' in junior high and loved the sound of a classroom of 30 kids all typing in unison - I loved it.
I also remember getting a typewriter from my grandparents for my high school graduation and thought it was the greatest thing (1988 - so not quite as classic looking as some of the typewriters you pictured).
When I moved away from home (Delaware to Maine, then back to Delaware, then off to New Mexico), I received a lot of handwritten notes from my Mom and Aunt Agnes. Mom wrote all hers – beautiful longhand. Aunt Agnes - always the secretary - would often type her letters. At the end of the letter, she’d write a few special notes, sometimes in Gregg Shorthand (she was testing me). I remember that she’d add little do-dad notes in the typed pages. An “oops!” with a smiley face where she miss-typed, or a “wow, wish you could have tasted this” when talking about Mom’s baked chicken, or a “we got three inches of snow!” Occasionally, she’d insert an obituary of someone who went to my high school (her note: did you know him?) or the NYT Crossword she’d completed. Reminiscing and the mind wanders at my age ...
I got to thinking about The Keyboard.
I had typing class for three years in high school (along with shorthand), and I got to thinking, “Why is the keyboard laid out the way it is?” Here are a couple of links that answer that very question.
Qwerty keyboard via the Library of Congress https://blogs.loc.gov/inside_adams/2023/04/qwerty/
Qwerty keyboard via the Smithsonian https://www.smithsonianmag.com/.../fact-of-fiction-the.../
I love this stroll down memory lane, Karen, and especially appreciate the two QWERTY keyboard links -- fascinating stuff to understand why the keyboard was designed the way it was and why it has stayed almost the same in all these decades.
This was a fun walk down memory lane :-)
I remember taking 'typing' in junior high and loved the sound of a classroom of 30 kids all typing in unison - I loved it.
I also remember getting a typewriter from my grandparents for my high school graduation and thought it was the greatest thing (1988 - so not quite as classic looking as some of the typewriters you pictured).
Thanks, Kim! I had fun researching it and conjuring up my own typewriter memories.