asdf ;lkj
and
The Clamour of Typewriters
and
The Clamour of Typewriters
The Clamour of Typewriters
&
ASDF ;lkj
During the late 1950's and early 1960's 'Typewriting' was considered as a subject that any student at St. Anthony's High School, Monte de Guirim, Bardez, Goa, could appear in the Secondary School Certificate Examinations.
Although the minimum number of subjects required was seven, one could appear in additional subjects as well. Many students took 'Typewriting' to increase the passing average marks, while others did it to opt out of Hindi or Math as a subject for SSCE.
The typing classroom was located behind the Laboratory, next to the Headmaster's Office. A well-thought out timing was arranged to meet with this additional facility for students. It would be very disturbing if the type-writing classes were held during regular class hours. So the typing classes were held during the afternoon lunch break as 10 to 12 students who went on practicing, created a clamour, a loud clatter that could be heard some distance away, as if each one was trying to outdo the other student.
The typing classroom was located behind the Laboratory, next to the Headmaster's Office. A well-thought out timing was arranged to meet with this additional facility for students. It would be very disturbing if the type-writing classes were held during regular class hours. So the typing classes were held during the afternoon lunch break as 10 to 12 students who went on practicing, created a clamour, a loud clatter that could be heard some distance away, as if each one was trying to outdo the other student.
The vintage typewriters of the era were manual and quite unique in their appearance than the later electric models. It was a wonderful and innovative machine of its time. The most popular brands were the 'Remington' and 'Underwood' which were provided by the school. A mechanic also visited the school to repair the typewriters that sometimes broke down. One could also use one's personal or private typewriter to learn or practice.
Among the various keys of the Underwood typewriter that I remember, the most remarkable keys that were larger than the all the others were the 'shift' keys on the both ends of the keyboard. These keys needed little more pressure to hold down by 'pinkie' fingers.
Typewriter ribbons came wound on metal or plastic spools. The eyelets on either end of the ribbons, automatically reversed the ribbon. They were available in black or dual red/black split combinations. Almost all manual typewriters used half-inch-wide ribbons. 'Black only' ribbons were not discarded when the ink got lighter as they could be re-inked and re-used. Every typewriter had one main ribbon and one take-up spool. New ribbons were available in stationery shops like Bhobe's in Mapusa town.
In the March 1964 batch of students taking Typewriting as a subject in SSCE Exams, Poona Board, carried the typewriters on their laps in the transport provided by the school to St. Britto’s High School, which was the Examination Center for North Goa, chosen by the Board.
An average typing speed is between 38 and 40 words per minute or roughly between 190 and 200 characters per minute. However, professional typists type a lot faster on average - upwards of 65 to 75 WPM.
For starters, the first letters that one typed were: asdf;lkj and then proceeding to the upper and lower keys, as prescribed in the course, by maintaining the starter keys asdf;lkj as the home keys at all times. The timeless phrase "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog" was one of the first sentences used in practice as it contains all of the letters of the alphabet.
In the March 1964 batch of students taking Typewriting as a subject in SSCE Exams, Poona Board, carried the typewriters on their laps in the transport provided by the school to St. Britto’s High School, which was the Examination Center for North Goa, chosen by the Board.
An average typing speed is between 38 and 40 words per minute or roughly between 190 and 200 characters per minute. However, professional typists type a lot faster on average - upwards of 65 to 75 WPM.
For starters, the first letters that one typed were: asdf;lkj and then proceeding to the upper and lower keys, as prescribed in the course, by maintaining the starter keys asdf;lkj as the home keys at all times. The timeless phrase "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog" was one of the first sentences used in practice as it contains all of the letters of the alphabet.
