Liv2BTru2u wrote:

Sorry Hohne. I was using the terminology as it is stated in the Ames Manual.

Oh, I didn't mean to scold, John. It's just that it's very useful to be able to refer to distinct typefaces and "pica" and "elite" don't do it, as you'll see as you get deeper into this fascinating subject. The idea that pica and elite refer to specific designs is a common misapprehension so I try to clarify it early on.

Similarly, referring to 10-point and 12-point type is meaningless in the typewriter world (It applies in typesetting.) but it sometimes gets confused with 10 and 12 characters per inch. "Points" (The modern point is 1/72 inch.) refers to the height of the characters and even then the reference varies by typeface so that it is useful within a font family and isn't very useful for comparing between fonts, for example, between Caslon and Times and Palatino. Typewriters are almost all 6 vertical lines per inch. (I don't know what the spec is for the metric system; can anyone tell me?)

I know all this because designing with type is my profession. I design books. And I have in the past retailed typewriters. Welcome to the fascinating world of details. I would like to see the reference in Ames but I don't have a copy.

Well, after some serious contemplation, I am going to wait. I have a vision of me typing on that bubble gum pink Royal Quiet Deluxe. It is a color that I was taught to hate by a life where I had to prove I was masculine enough to my father and others. As I write about the expectations that are often placed on boys, growing into men, I really want to break the cycle and use the typewriter that I have been envisioning. So, I will wait until either (a) I can find one that is cheap enough for me to afford, or (b) I can save up enough to afford something that is being over priced due to a crazed market of buyers on eBay or Etsy.

If any reader has such a gem, please let me know. Thanks.