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26-4-2020 16:28:23  #11


Re: Interesting keyboard layout

Whenever you have a multilingual keyboard there are always compromises. I don't know what process is used to decide which characters are included or omitted, but I'm sure there's some logic behind it. As you pointed out, the eszett character is easily replaced with a double ss. The umlaut a (ä) is equally easy to replace with ae. On QWERTY keyboards I sometimes use the quotation mark (") when I need an umlaut. There are always ways to get around missing characters.

I own an Erika 5 Tab. and really like the machine. Mine is in worse cosmetic shape than yours, and I decided to leave the terrible paint as it is; the typewriter looks like it has been through a war, because it had been through a war, and I don't want to ruin that hard-earned character. For me it tells a story. I was lucky in that I know the entire history of this Erika, when and where it was bought, the person who bought it, and what he it used for. It's machines like these that I will sell last when it comes time to part with my collection.

 


The pronoun has always been capitalized in the English language for more than 700 years.
 

27-4-2020 10:40:56  #12


Re: Interesting keyboard layout

I am glad you have preserved the Erica 5 Tab the way it is. In this case 'restoring' would be the same as erasing the typewriters history.

     Thread Starter
 

27-4-2020 12:37:31  #13


Re: Interesting keyboard layout

That's the great part about typewriters. You can restore its performance to near new, including platen rubber, without disturbing its historical patina. 


The pronoun has always been capitalized in the English language for more than 700 years.
 

27-4-2020 15:43:29  #14


Re: Interesting keyboard layout

So, behind the aged, battered look lies a completely functional typewriter? Nice!

     Thread Starter
 

27-4-2020 16:06:12  #15


Re: Interesting keyboard layout




This Erika has the more traditional German keyboard. I particularly like the section sign (or paragraph mark §); I know it's dirt common in Europe, but it's something that I've yet to see on a North American typewriter.

I realize that the majority of your keyboards are probably Dutch, but on this side of the ocean they are difficult to find. I might have two or three of them, and this one that immediately comes to mind. I thought it was a little neat because it has three currency symbols on it...


The pronoun has always been capitalized in the English language for more than 700 years.
 

27-4-2020 16:35:28  #16


Re: Interesting keyboard layout

Laurenz van Gaalen wrote:

  .... snip ....



Note: the / on the 6-key and Florin-key are the same.
.... snip ....

Note: the slant line on the shift-6 is not the same as the slant line on the shift-florin and I'll bet that they print differently, too---different degree of slant. One is a slash or stroke and the other is a virgule or solidus. I leave it as an exercise to determine which is which and how they are used. One more example of the many fascinating bits to be exposed by typewriters. There is really so much more to life than we realize. Have Fun!

 

27-4-2020 17:50:40  #17


Re: Interesting keyboard layout

I just spent some time looking up all of those terms and got a headache for my efforts.

Some sources equate a slash with a virgule, others don't. And their uses can either be identical or different. Ugh. All I can say is: type sample! 

Okay, Lau did post a type sample, albeit in a different thread, so I hope he won't mind that I posted here as well:


What do you think, Michael? It looks like the same character on each slug to me, but I lack your expertise on the subject.


The pronoun has always been capitalized in the English language for more than 700 years.
 

27-4-2020 20:38:28  #18


Re: Interesting keyboard layout

Well, I lost that bet. They sure look the same for operational purposes, though you can see a tiny difference in their height within the two same-size boxes. Angles are the same.


Now I really can't explain it. 

But there is discussion of reworking the slugs on this typewriter and I suppose that maybe in order to get the Florin, the repair guy had to take the slash it came with, rather than wait for something else to turn up.

EDIT: Repaired broken image link (Uwe)

Last edited by Uwe (28-4-2020 12:32:51)

 

28-4-2020 06:15:45  #19


Re: Interesting keyboard layout

I thought it was a little neat because it has three currency symbols on it...

I think that is because the Dutch do a lot of trade. Your keyboard also seems to have a currency symbol on it, one I did not know: the German gold mark. How cool is that!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_gold_mark
 

     Thread Starter
 

28-4-2020 12:25:33  #20


Re: Interesting keyboard layout

Laurenz van Gaalen wrote:

Your keyboard also seems to have a currency symbol on it, one I did not know: the German gold mark.

I had assumed the symbol was just for the Mark. The machines I have from that period have either a RM (Reichsmark) or M (Mark) key, which I thought was just the regular currency of the time.
 


The pronoun has always been capitalized in the English language for more than 700 years.
 

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