From a Caligraph 2

I got it in my head to see if I could at a minimum get a type sample from my c.1886 Caligraph No.2, using carbon paper in the absence of a ribbon. While the typeface needs to be cleaned–and apparently several of the lowercase keytops have been switched around–I think the results are surprisingly good.

This is probably the first typing the Caligraph has done in a long, long time. I was mildly disappointed that the “Q” did not have the L-shaped tail that is depicted on the keytop.

Because the feed roller is pretty much shot, I taped the top edge of the paper and carbon paper together to keep them aligned, and then I taped the leading corners of the carbon paper to the platen. In my first attempt, the sheets tended to travel independently of one another.

I also had to type with one finger pressed against the right end of the carriage, as I was too chicken to attempt to tension the longitudinal carriage spring.

Perhaps I will eventually get it to the point where one could type a letter on it. Some typebars clash and need to be realigned. The lowercase keytops need to be unscrambled. The “(” key’s wooden keylever is broken and needs to be repaired. And of course the spring ought to be tensioned. For now, this baby step has me pretty darn happy.