Corona Coronet typewriter
Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons
Are the days of pen and ink numbered? Are children no longer seduced by the smell of ink and have they been released from the impossibility of avoiding smudges and inky fingers?
This short tale refers to a time when typewriters were becoming popular, and electric machines in particular were hailed as indispensable.
Ink Blot
Ink Blot stared, appalled, at the new-fangled machine on the table next to him. He had seen the man tapping on it and creating words on paper that curled magically as he worked, so he knew the thing must have ink, but where? Ink Blot himself had been created from a bottle of ink that the man had dropped. He had cursed mightily but Ink Blot was happy. Being a permanent mark on the wall seemed more important and certainly more immediately noticeable than words on a page.
He looked again at the machine. Coronet – was the man expecting ennoblement? Ink Blot could read but he didn’t understand the context of the words unless they were read out. The man frequently read aloud what he had produced and sometimes he smiled. More often he swore and crumpled the paper and threw it across the room. The floor was littered with cast-off pages.
Ink Blot didn’t like the machine. He disliked the awkward tapping and displeasing lack of rhythm of the keys. The gentle sound of a pen nib scratching was soothing and the man didn’t have to use so much energy, either in the writing or the scrunching of the paper. The machine clung on to the pages so that they had to be wrenched forcefully from its grasp with a snatching sound.
Ink Blot noticed that the man had attached the machine to the wall with a lead. Was that because it would wander away if it wasn’t fastened? Might it be dangerous if it were allowed its freedom? Ink Blot didn’t know but he was glad that it had been made to stay in one place. He didn’t like the way it hummed, either. Still, he was content. He had made his mark. He felt he would be here long after the machine had had its day. He smiled.
The man had gone away. He had been gone for a long time and Ink Blot was relieved when he saw him return. He wondered what the man was carrying. What did it say?
P A I N T
Ink Blot didn’t know what that meant. The machine whined maliciously. Ink Blot glared and then there was oblivion.
I remember going to a commercial Typing School during my university's summer holidays in the late 1960s. There were no computers then, but we all had typewriters in order to submit essays in each course.
ReplyDeleteWho knew that touch typing skills were going to be so very desirable in the computer world?
Dictation is taking over . . . How much longer will our typing skills be required?
DeleteOh poor Ink Blot, gone forever. I thought maybe you were going to write about those crazy ink blot tests given by psychiatrists.
ReplyDeleteI never learned to type, our highschool was divided in its options, a secretarial stream or a general stream, I opted for the general stream, because I never wanted to be a secretary or work in an office. I certainly didn't want to have to memorise all those shorthand squiggles.
I had Saturday morning classes for shorthand and typing as my parents thought it would be good for me to acquire those skills. Well, I learnt to type, but shorthand had me foxed and I couldn't be bothered to persist with it. Sometimes I wish I had persisted.
DeleteSad in a way.
ReplyDeleteI wasn't good on a typewriter. For some reason I struggled punching the keys that required use of my little finger(s). I found it much easier to type using a word processor. I also never learned to type in school and was self-taught.
The old sit-up-and beg typewriters were clunky machines. Modern keyboards are so much easier.
DeleteIt’s sad that an entire generation of people wouldn’t understand a word you posted today. But I did and I think it was clever. P.S. I owned a Royal typewriter.
ReplyDeleteI had an Olivetti.
DeleteOld technology is interesting, so perhaps some will look into it. I gather that Tom Hanks collects old typewriters.
A delightful flight of fancy recalling a bygone age.
ReplyDeleteSome authors still write in ink, others with typewriters, but I should think the majority use more modern methods.
DeleteI am learning about Ink Blot from your post
ReplyDelete😁
DeleteMore memories.. of refilling my fountain pen at the inkwell to changing messy pen cartridges, then the wonder of biros.
ReplyDeleteI did blot my copybook more than once.
Didn't we all?
DeleteSomeone estimated that a generation from now few will be able to read cursive writing. All those old letters lurking in lofts will be a foreign language when they next see the light of day.
ReplyDeleteHow many of us today can read Tudor manuscripts?
DeleteStudents will have to take special courses to enable them to read our cursive script. Having said that, my nine-year-old grandson was very proud to receive his 'pen licence' a year ago.
I enjoyed that. We had an electronic machine in the 90s to write and edit what you had written before printing it. I don't know if it was called a word processor. It did feel very advanced.
ReplyDeleteI think word processors were popular before computer ownership became widespread.
DeleteWhat a nice story ! I reached the point now, that handwriting is difficult for me because I write one sentence in a year by hand ! I always try to use computer or smartphone. I remember when I learned typewriting int was on an old mechanical machine, and it was so hard to type. The electric once were a real relieve ! My first one was with a ball and I typed too quick so that the ball jumped out and my colleagues ran behind it and asked me to slow down !
ReplyDeleteI can just see you typing away like mad and bits flying off your machine! 🤣
ReplyDeleteSome days I feel like Ink Blot, outdated. I miss fountain ink pens and non-electric type writers. But I admit, typing on my PC keyboard is fast and efficient! I might still be able to do 120 words a minute.
ReplyDeleteI don't think I ever reached that speed. Well done!
DeleteYou personified Ink Blot very well and made me feel a sense of loss. I am not sure when I might have last heard a nib scratching, but you make me recall my earliest days with pen and ink when we would dip the nib in the inkwell. It was a treat to switch to cartridges. I speak of my early school days in the fifties although it is possible that I used cartridges a bit in the sixties. I only used the refillable ink pens very few times, I think.
ReplyDeleteBiros took over, I fear, to the detriment of our handwriting!
DeleteYou have a clever mind and a good imagination. Your story was very cute.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you enjoyed it.😀
DeletePoor Ink Blot! What a fun and creative story!
ReplyDeleteInk blot just didn't see it coming!
ReplyDeleteOh dear, poor ink blot, he is no more! What a very clever story.
ReplyDeleteHe thought he would last forever. What a shock.
DeleteWhat a nostalgic and charming tale! It captures the essence of a time when ink, typewriters, and handwritten words held so much magic. Ink Blot’s perspective on the newfangled typewriter is both humorous and poignant—he clearly values the timeless beauty of ink and pen over the mechanical clatter of the machine. It’s so easy to imagine him looking at this new device with a mix of confusion and disdain! Your story really evokes the shift from the tactile pleasure of writing by hand to the more sterile, yet efficient, world of typewriters.
ReplyDeleteWe’re almost at the weekend—how has your week been so far? I just posted a new blog!
I fear that Ink Blot was something of a Luddite, poor chap.
DeleteI enjoyed this.
ReplyDeleteMy very first pen was an Osmiroid ... I really enjoyed writing with it as I can remember the class was learning italic writing!
Goodness - don't memories take you back :)
All the best Jan
I remember Osmiroid pens and Quink ink.
DeleteThat is fun.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed writing it.
DeleteI admire your creativity.
ReplyDeleteThank you. 😀
DeleteWhat a brilliant piece of writing, Janice! But oh, poor Ink Blot :-( xxx
ReplyDelete