san francisco – The Humble Fabulist

San Francisco is… Bullitt!

August 21, 2018August 21, 2018 The Humble FabulistLeave a comment

We watched Bullitt in preparation of the trip, just a few days before departure, so I was very excited to have spotted one of the filming locations very close to Alamo Square where we were staying. A brief 35 minute walk via Divisadero St. and its rather wonderful mansions, or 1.6 miles according to my web map. What could be easier? Well, walking 35 minutes uptown hilly Manhattan, that’s what. For I still had to get to grips with the steepest streets I had ever encountered in a city, the very same that sent the cars flying in ”one of the most exciting car chases in film history” (skip to 3:15 and buckle up).

We did make it, with a few extra huffs and puffs, to the gorgeous mansion atop the hill, where police detective Lieutenant Frank Bullitt (Steve McQueen) meets District Attorney Walter Chalmers (Robert Vaughn) at a reception at Chalmer’s residence.

A break for some extra cheesy pizza to treat ourselves, because what comes up must come down… and then all the way up again.

Walking towards the mansion in the corner of Divisadero St. & Vallejo St., down to Lombard St. at Cow Hollow for a pizza and then back to Alamo Square Park to watch the 4th of July fireworks.

July 4th, 2017

San Francisco is… postcard-perfect

August 20, 2018August 20, 2018 The Humble Fabulist2 Comments

First port of call was Alamo Square with its incredibly charming, perfectly aligned pastel Painted Ladies; so perfectly pastel and aligned, I thought I had walked into a Wes Anderson film. Beyond them, San Francisco Downtown was beckoning. Excited as we were to discover it, it would have to wait because the Painted Ladies were only the start. For street after street, mansion after mansion, this entire district of San Francisco seemed to be a giant postcard.

It was a cool day with low clouds coming up from the East. Partly cloudy and grey but not dull at all. My eyes had yet to adjust to the light – so much different than in New York: similarly bright, but the dominant hues were blue, instead of the orange-yellow ones my eyes have been accustomed to. And, instead of being reflected on glass buildings, here the light was generously diffused, making objects seem sharper, colours brighter and the grass greener. Even on a cloudy day.

I would also have to adjust to the temperature, surprisingly cool – and I mean sweater and a light jacket cool – even in July. One tends to dream of sunshine and hot days on the beach when thinking of California, not this cool-summer-continental, one has learned to expect in Northern Europe.

Walking from Alamo Square to the Pacific Heights, via Divisadero St. and its environs

July 4th, 2017

“Cabin crew, please take your seats for landing”

August 19, 2018August 19, 2018 The Humble Fabulist2 Comments

Ladies & Gentlemen, welcome to San Francisco!

You know you’re in the right place when -on touch down- you’re greeted with a display of some of the most iconic antique typewriters ever produced. Japanese Typewriters

Chinese and Japanese script are logographic and utilize characters that represent elements of words or meanings. Chinese is one of the most ancient forms of active writing, with over 80.000 characters identified throughout different eras and regions of China. Modern Chinese is simplified. Around 3.500 characters are defined in the List of Frequently Used Characters in Chinese, with approximately 2.500 in Common-use Character lists published by the Chinese government.

In 1915, Japanese printer and inventor Kyota Sugimoto (1882-1972) patented a typewriter that printed in both Chinese and Japanese. Manufactured by the Nippon Typewriter Company, the machine featured a large, sliding tray to room for 2.450 individual type-slugs.

The Chinese typewriter

Typing in Chinese or Japanese on a flatbed typewriter is a complex procedure. Operators of these machines must familiarize themselves with the location of more than 2.000 type-slugs, and most early typists averaged twenty to thirty characters per minute. Typing speed substantially increased with the arrangement of type-beds by operators to suit their individual needs. In the early 1950s, the New Typing Method introduced ”radiating compound” organization to Chinese typists. Depending on subject matter, associated characters were arranged around central, primary characters in radiating patterns. Typists were responsible for their own layouts, and organization differed dramatically. For instance, a layout for a government office would be quite different than for a factory, with names of officials substituted for company names and technical terms.

Throughout the 1950s, most Chinese language typewriters were manufactured in Japan. The Chinese government restructured typewriter production under the new communist regime and in 1964, the Shanghai Chinese Typewriter Manufacturers Association introduced a flatbed typewriter. Based on the Japanese typewriter produced by Nippon Typewriter Co. in Tokyo, the revitalized machine was branded the Double Pigeon DHY and made by Shanghai Calculator & Typewriter. Available with either ribbon-or roller-inking mechanisms, the DHY was the iconic typewriting machine of the People’s Republic of China and was manufactured until 1992.

Olivetti Design

The Valentine is perhaps the most iconic Olivetti typewriter, envisioned by designer Ettore Sottsass (1917-2007) as an inexpensive and simple-yet-stylish portable.

Royal Quiet De Luxe with carrying case, 1949
Royal Typewriter Company, Inc. Hartfort, Connecticut

Bar-Lock No. 6, 1895
Columbia Typewriter Company, New York

Double Keyboards

Modern typewriters use a shift-key mechanism to select upper- and lower-case characters. Many models introduced during early typewriter production utilized a double-keyboard arrangement, with two banks of keys organized by upper and lower cases. Initially, makers of double-keyboard machines promoted their potential speed and efficiency. The Smith Premier was the best-selling typewriter of this group and advertised ”a key for every character”. Like the Sholes & Glidden Type Writer and early Remington models, the Smith Premier was an upstroke machine and did not print within the user’s view – its carriage had to be lifted to reveal the paper and printed text.

Williams No. 1, 1895
The Williams Typewriter Company, New York