Photos of Typewriters for the Typewriter Database

In addition to the ton of resources (serial numbers, manuals, repair manuals, manufacturing data, typefaces, patents, etc.) provided by TypewriterDatabase.com, one of the primary features provided are the wonderful photos users upload of their typewriters.

These photos have lots of uses from basic identification to showing historical conditions of machines or highlighting immaculate restoration work. They also allow tracking changes in manufacturing methods and materials over time as well as documenting machines which may eventually become so rare as to eventually fade from memory beyond their archiving on the site.

One of the difficult parts of documenting your own models on the site seems to be getting a good “hero” or primary photo of your machine to represent it in various locations within the database. (The database labels them “Main front-face Typewriter” in the user interface.) This primary photo is usually the first one you upload and it is used in the “Most Recently Edited Typewriter Galleries” on the front page which shows thumbnail photographs, in individual model galleries, in the various “Grid View” (GRD), “Typewriter Porn View” (TPV), and the “Serious Research Views” (SRV) provided by the database. This primary photo is the one that represents each machine in almost all of the main areas of the database and is usually the one that draws viewers and researchers into its individual gallery to find out more detail about it.

Sadly, most of these primary photos seem to be taken and thrown up onto the database and the manner in which they’re presented is far from ideal. They’re often off-center, appear to be close up shots of random typewriter parts, or just plain unidentifiable. Even the so-called TPV or “Typewriter Porn View” photos are far from their descriptor; many would turn you off of a model altogether regardless of whether it’s a stunning Sholes and Glidden, a well-tuned Hermes, or a truly dreadful We R Memory Keepers plastic doorstop.

Which of these photos is not like the others?

So the question is, how can we easily make these primary photos into the “hero” or typewriter porn photos they’re really meant to be? The secret lies in how the photo is laid out originally so that when it’s uploaded, all of these views are immediately accommodated. The Typewriter Database automatically crops photos down in a simple grid format to generate all of the thumbnails and custom views. Knowing exactly what it’s doing will allow you to take a simple, straightforward photo and upload it so that everything looks perfect without needing to modify or edit anything at all. (This also makes it simpler for lots of photos to be uploaded more quickly.)

For the Main front-face Typewriter photo, the database is expecting a landscape photo roughly broken up into imaginary thirds both horizontally and vertically splitting the image into nine rectangles. If you imagine a tic-tac-toe grid imposed on your photo as you take it, you’ve got the right idea. These days, most cameras and smartphones actually have software settings that will superimpose imaginary grids just like this onto your screen which makes doing this even easier. The diagram below will give you an idea of what I mean.

With this 3 x 3 grid imagined on your picture, center your typewriter exactly in the middle square. This center square is exactly what the database will display as the square thumbnail or “grid view” photo.

Next for the same picture consider only the three rectangles horizontally across the center of the picture. These three will become the TPV or “Typewriter Porn View” photo that’s displayed in the various galleries.

After you’ve taken the photo you’re going to feel as if there’s a lot of wasted space. When you look at it, it’s going to feel like the typewriter almost isn’t there. Why is it so small and lonely in the picture? But things will improve dramatically when you upload it and look at it in all the database views. Your sexy typewriter is going to shine online like it never would have before. Because you’ve done a little bit of planning, all those custom views are going to automatically look as lovely as you intended them to.

When uploaded, this photo

becomes this thumbnail grid photo

and this TPV photo

Would you rather see this:

Or this:

Pro TWdB tip: If you’ve got an account and you’re logged in, you’ll see indicators of which galleries have been recently commented on and how many comments they’ve got. This is where some of the smartest people in the typosphere can often be found hiding in plain sight. The database doesn’t have a notification system, but this is as close as it gets.

Other photos to consider

Once you’ve figured out your hero photo, you may ask yourself what other sorts of photos you might want to include in your gallery. Naturally having front, sides, back, top and some oblique angle views are excellent ideas. It’s often useful to include other photos researchers might appreciate or have specific uses for. These additional gallery photos are all displayed full-sized as you’ve uploaded them, so you don’t have to worry as much about any cropping worries or issues when you’re taking them. Just focus on getting great photos.

Does the typewriter have a special font? If it does, definitely include a close up photo or two of the type slugs so that people can see the small foundry markings between the two (or more) characters on each slug. This may help to better identify typefaces in the future.

This close up allows one to see the “V” on the typeface indicating that it’s an uncommon Royal Vogue machine.

Does the typewriter have special features? If so, get close up photos of them.

Does the typewriter have a custom paint job? Show it off with lots of photos and close ups. Most of my liked photo galleries on the database are machines with lush custom paint jobs.

Did you clean and service the typewriter yourself? Take photos of the process as well as close ups of pieces that needed extra attention or had tricky configurations. These can help guide people to know what regular configuration and morphology ought to look like on their models when compared with the broken versions they may have in front of them. These photos can be useful to other users for diagnosing problems they may have. While you’re at it, take a photo or two of the bottom of the machine.

The threading of the Magic Margin spring on a Royal QDL

Maybe you took a “naked” photo of the machine while it had the shell, platen, and keys off for cleaning? These can be useful for dating changes in internal configuration and features over time as much as changes in design features on the shells themselves.

Where is the typewriter’s serial number? Often people can’t identify their particular model, but can take guesses. If your gallery includes a photo of the serial number along with some context about where you found it on the machine, it might help them find theirs so they can better date their year of manufacture. (A close up of a number that doesn’t show were it was on the machine doesn’t help much.) Who knows, it may even help you later when you can’t remember where you found it yourself? Changes in serial number location within series can also be a useful indicator of factory retooling or factory moves over time.

Cases, cases, cases. Did your portable or ultra portable come with a case? Don’t forget to take photos of those as well. Cases definitely changed over time and having photos of the original case and its condition can be helpful for those attempting to replace theirs. They can also be helpful when damaged ones need repair or restoration work. What does the connecting hardware look like inside them? Did they come with manuals, or additional tools? Add those in too! Did you restore your case? Leave before and after photos.

Ribbon threading photos! Where are those?! While we have a wide variety of typewriter manuals available, it can be illustrative to have a close up photo of how your machine’s ribbon was properly threaded. Users of forums everywhere can more quickly and easily answer ribbon questions of others in the community if you’ve added good photos of the spools and how the ribbon was threaded.

Having trouble threading your 5 Series Smith-Corona? Here’s what it ought to look like for the Clipper, Sterling, Silent, and Silent Supers.

Have you done research on the machine in its natural environment? Maybe you’ve researched newspaper or magazine advertisements from when the typewriter was released which tout its features and have original sales prices listed? Why not include photos of these important historical data points?

What other photos are we missing or forgetting that would be nice to have in the database? Drop a note in the comments.