How to Use and Enjoy Your Brother

On the shelf of a charity shop last weekend I spotted a small case with a recognizable shape that had further been wrapped in a plastic bag. On the bag was a sticker with the handwritten text “Brother typewriter”. The case had a satisfying heft, suggesting the machine within had a metal body, and there were no worrying rattles when I moved it. On inquiring about the price I was told £10, a small enough number that I didn’t mind taking a chance on it.

Happily, the case contained a 1973 Brother Deluxe 1300 Tabulator typewriter in excellent condition. It’s a fairly small and basic machine, but I very much like its snappy typing action. It came complete with its original eight-page instruction leaflet: “How to Use and Enjoy Your Brother® Portable Typewriter”. At the back of the leaflet, some pointers on how to learn to touch-type, concluding with the following advice: “Do not let errors discourage you. Strive as you practice to lessen the errors. The real question is: are you improving day by day? PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT.”

I’ve been using typewriters routinely now for at least eight years, and my typing is still full of mistakes. The real answer is: I am not improving day by day. Even so, I do not let that discourage me either.