While we're on the subject of eccentric stuff, I was given this rather odd writing machine the other day. It's a toy, but I expect there were "proper" versions made as well. I appears to work, but the ribbon is dry, so it doesn't print very well.

I don't think I would want to do my Pittman's exam on that thing! It was hard enough on an old Imperial.

The three buttons remind me of the old card punch machines.

Paul, when you say "it's a toy", what exactly do you mean by that?
Is it made for children or is it a toy for you?
Have you managed to get it working yet?

Mark

It's a toy as in it was a plaything for children to use - this is what I believe it to be anyway. My reasoning behind this is that if it were a device for serious use, there would be better controls for things like carriage return (there is none), as well as margin stops and possibly tabs. The word "junior" in the name suggests this too. Also, it's listed as a toy in various antique auction sites. http://www.the-saleroom.com/en-gb/aucti ... t-18034916

I haven't managed to find reference to an adult variation of this machine. It would be interesting to see if such a thing existed - there were a lot of variations to the typewriter, so I expect that there is somewhere.

Mechanically, it's functional. That is to say that it works - possibly needs a little oil. What I don't have is spare typewriter ribbon. I may be able to re-ink what there is. There was a shop in Colchester that sold typewriter ribbons, but it's changed since I was last there in November, and they didn't seem to have any.

The rest of your arguments make sense, although Junior was often used to mean the smallest variant in a product line, with limited capabilities (E.g. the IBM PC Junior was a cheaper PC with less abilities aimed at home use, okay, it was a complete lemon!), not necessarily a toy.

The same for vacuum cleaners and other equipment, a Junior vacuum cleaner often had less capacity and a smaller motor at a cheaper price.

I have found this today

http://www.carters.com.au/index.cfm/ite ... ite-knobs/

And this

http://www.carters.com.au/index.cfm/ite ... used-in-i/

Both appear to be more serious versions of the machine I have, and they both seem to lack a carriage return. On the one I have, it's a fiddle. Press the space button down (this unlocks the carriage) and return the carriage to the start of the line, manually moving the paper up. Certainly not the elegance of a normal typewriter where the carriage return lever would do both jobs.