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Yeah--I generally HATE it when people try to get cute and write things in English with Cyrillic letters... and then there I go, doing the very thing I despise. Foul on me. Two minutes in the penalty box!
I think the V is indeed just a capital V, my guess is that it is for writing Roman numerals, since all of the other major letters are there. And the Г is indeed just a Cyrillic "G," with something of an upturn based on the type of font.
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But there's already another Cyrillic G, without the little upturn. Guess I need to learn a little more about Ukrainian!
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Indeed there is! In Ukrainian, the Russian/Cyrillic G (Г) is usually pronounced more like an H. So Горбачёв comes out as Horbachyov (or even Horbashow) in Ukraine. Apparently the G/H distinction was an important marker in the recent war in Donbas, as to whether one is in allegiance with Ukraine or Russia.
What I did not know so well, is that apparently Ukrainian does have a hard ghe character (the upturned G: Ґ), but it was rarely used and was ultimately purged from the language by the Soviets in 1933. Wikipedia tells us: "However, ‹ґ› continued to be used by Ukrainians in Galicia (part of Poland until 1939) and in the Ukrainian diaspora worldwide." Which I guess would explain why it is on a Ukrainian-diaspora keyboard from the late '30s!
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Oh, that's good stuff! Very informative. (I hope this hasn't driven the others away screaming!)
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Bought this off of Goodwill's sight... I believe it was damaged in shipping... but i'm not sure....
1935 Remington Noiseless model 10 with celluliode keys and ten decimal tabulator. After fiddling I got the carriage to move, but with a piece of paper it wont move without help.
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Recent acquisitions:
Olivetti Lettera 32 (x2) - one was a quick last minute "make offer" that I said why not? If I'm honest, I didn't expect to have my offer accepted.
Olivetti Studio 44 (still unopened)
Olympia SM3 Deluxe (en route)
The 1st Lettera looked pristine (except the platen) from the photos. The platen looked whitish and chalky, probably just needs cleaning. And when I opened the package, I was not disappointed. It looked brand new, including the case. However...the carriage sticks. like something is holding it back.
The 2nd Lettera (which actually was the first to arrive, came from within state, city actually) was looking a little rough from the photos. Looked like it needed a good cleaning, and even though it seems to work fairly smoothly (more so than the pristine one) the bottom is quite rusted. I contacted the seller and she gave me a significant partial refund with a sincere apology. She did't even look at the bottom. I essentially got the machine for $15 (plus shipping). Worse case scenario - spare parts machine, but hopefully not.
We'll see how the Studio 44 is, photos indicated it was at least fairly clean. Maybe today or the weekend I'll get around to opening it up from the package. I have a lot going on this week and last, so it was low priority to even open it up.
What have gotten myself into
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Recent acquisition: 1920 Oliver 9.
*Some assembly required.
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You are a better man than I, Gunga Din. Keep us updated!
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Markmotown, I greatly appreciate your nerve!
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While the machine is apart it is time to decide if you want to repaint the frame or not.
You will need this