When I was a kid I had a toy Simplex typewriter like this one, albeit a few years newer. It was a great rainy day diversion and held me in good stead when I graduated to my first real typewriter a few years later.
Alas, the typewriter is going the way of the buggy whip and on the very rare occasions that I hear its “tap, tap, tap” it stops me dead in my tracks.
Richard Polt offers A Phenomenology of Early Typewriters, a delightfully informative diversion on this nail-biting primary day. Enjoy.