Whatzit?
Howdy. This wound up in my car on a recent trip, I know I should know, but I know you all know. What is it?:
KeyboardFront_7152.jpg
KeyboardBack_7153.jpg
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ETAOIN SHRDLU should give you a hint!
Going a little deeper- https://vimeo.com/127605643
Maybe its a linotype practice keyboard.
Isn’t it just a machine keyboard, minus the machine?
The Arm: thank you sir for that link, what a great historical video. I need to visit.
DickG: thank you as well, the older, gentleman-printer said it was a practice keyboard.
TG
I didn’t know they made practice keyboards till about 10 years ago, someone gave me one, that made me want a complete machine in the worst way. My first job as a linotype operator in a small comp shop south of Boston where they had a Russian keyboard, you removed the whole keyboard and stuck the other one in its place, this practice keyboard I believe can’t be put on a machine, but I swaped the spaceband key from my practice one to the lino I have now.
dadofguads,
If you’re interested in selling this, please let me know. I’ve been doodling a project this week, and this would be a perfect fit for it…
I’m assuming it’s made out of wood, not cast iron like a “real” Linotype keyboard…
Keelan, they are made exactly like the real thing.
Keelan, it has a wood base and the keyboard box itself is made of sheet metal … weighs about 5 lbs, 16x12x6.
dadofguads, does yours have a cover that fits over the whole thing
no sir, topless all the way
looks very similar to a linotype key board. the large key/bar on the left would be the space bar I think. Been a long time since I was around one, but ran one in the early 1960s.