Posted on 09/11/2004 2:41:47 PM PDT by airedale
Someone else mentioned a website that is dedicated tot the IBM Selectric Composer. The link above will take you to that website. Besides being around four times more expensive to purchase than a regular IBM Selectric the website had a bit of information about the IBM Selectric Composer that hasn't been mentioned in anything I've seen so far. It seems you have to type everything twice perfectly when you use the Composer. Here is that section from the ibmcomposer.org website: click here
"The first IBM Composer was the IBM "Selectric" Composer announced in 1966. It was a hybrid "Selectric" typewriter that was modified to have proportional spaced fonts. It is 100% mechanical and has no digital electronics. Since it has no memory, the user was required to type everything twice. While typing the text the first time, the machine would measure the length of the line and count the number of spaces. When the user finished typing a line of text, they would record special measurements into the right margin of the paper. Once the entire column of text was typed and measured, it would then be retyped, however before typing each line, the operator would set the special justification dial (on the right side) to the proper settings, then type the line. The machine would automatically insert the appropriate amount of space between words so that all of the text would be justified."
Now the guy who supposedly prepared this documents per his son didn't type. Who in the world that isn't an expert typist and didn't have a specific reason in document production is going to type ordinary documents twice? The only reason I can think of is that either your in advertising and you need it for an ad or your publishing a book.
LOL
That's GREAT!!!
Yuppers I remember it well. I had one of these lovely typewriters while working as the secretary for VP of a company. I hated the thing. By the way, we still used shorthand back then too. (g)
The IBM Executive Typewriter did have proportional spacing but couldn't produce subscript or superscript. It used a regular moveable platon (sp?) that moved side to side while each key raised up to strike the page.
The IBM Selectric Typewriter sold for about $400-$450 for a plain vanilla machine. The US Government received a discount. The Element or 'golf ball' could be ordered with specialized symbols like superscript or subscript but each symbol added cost and the Govt. rarely ordered extra bells and whistles.
Somebody else already has, and the result is...
Typewriter Expert can't duplicate Guard memos using IBM Composer
Thanks for the link. I hadn't seen that.
Yeah but guess what, I didn't see it. I don't spend all of free time FReeping off so cut us some slack.
yeah but then they'd have to turn up with the originals. photo copies won't match.
Sorry, no. It's been tried, yes. But was it tried with the correct font ball? We don't know if there WAS one or not. The author of the piece picked (perhaps) what he thought was closest, but there's no evidence his supply of fonts (they were VERY expensive) was comprehensive. The fact it didn't work with one particular ball does not show that it COULD not work with a different one. And an additional ball could have had the special "th" character. I'm not saying I believe it could be done. I'm saying we don't know with certainty yet. The chances, though, are well above "nada". But again, it doesn't MATTER. Even if it COULD be done - what possible story is there for HOW it came to be? This office just HAPPENED to have the equipment to produce something that Word does automatically? And if they DID - they never used it for anything ELSE? We have DOZENS of documents from that command and should be able to get hundreds more (plenty with Killian's signature on them indicating they were at least prepared FOR him if not BY him). Will ANY of them share the indications on these memos? And this completely leaves off all of the dozen-plus errors that make it unlikely to have been prepared by a military secretary of the time.
Look, my criticism is directed at the creator of this thread and those who would create other vanity threads with the latest little tidbit they've heard. Feel free to discuss once the damage is done.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1213319/posts
Absolutely, if you can show kerning, it ain't a typewritten document.
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