"New damned thing, I bought it just last Wednesday. The shopman swore it would make life easier." Disraeli led the way into his office, a room reminiscent of Mr. Wakefield's office in the Central Statistics Bureau, though far less ambitious in scale, and littered with pipe-dottles, lurid magazines, and half-eaten sandwiches. The floor was crowded with carved blocks of cork and heaps of shredded excelsior.
Mallory saw that Disraeli had bought himself a Colt & Maxwell Typing Engine, and had managed to haul the thing out of its packing-crate and set it upright on its curved iron legs. It squatted on the stained oak boards before a patent office-chair.
"Looks all right," Mallory said. "What is the problem?"
"Well, I can pump the treadle, and I can manage the handles well enough," Disraeli said. "I can get the little needle to move to the letters I want. But nothing comes out."
--The Difference Engine
William Gibson & Bruce Sterling
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Inspired by The Difference Engine, this was originally a toy typewriter I picked up at an antique store. I cleaned up and plated the majority of it, and designed the dial. All it needs at this point are paper rollers and a typewriter ribbon.
