This keyboard only has three keys! (1925 AEG Mignon 4 index typewriter)

Описание: Only three keys? It even has a stylus you could use to play osu! Well, no. This is an AEG Mignon 4 index typewriter from 1925, where you use the stylus/pointer to control which character the single "impression" key prints onto the paper, the others just being the spacebar and backspace, plus a few levers for other typewriter functions. This is the 41st addition to my collection as obtained at an online auction within Ontario, whereby it came with Plakatschrift as well as a beautiful Schreibschrift script typeface.

0:00 Introduction. For more details on the history of these machines, I recommend https://site.xavier.edu/polt/typewrit... and    • Mignon Schreibmachinen / Typewriters (Germ...  
1:03 Keyboard versus index typewriters. The example typebar machine is a Torpedo 18B.
2:05 The three keys (right to left): backspace, impression key (prints the character), and spacebar.
2:46 Type cylinder (the thing that impresses letters upon the paper). Here, I have the script or "Schreibschrift" type cylinder installed. These machines use a special 2D "PFUGQ" layout which was probably optimized for German, but works reasonably with English; there is a chance that this script type cylinder while having the same letter layout has a French instead of German layout on the perimeter.
3:31 Feeding paper
3:48 Paper release. I didn't complete the sentence about this lever controlling whether the feed rollers under the platen (large roller thing) will push the paper against the platen which is necessary for it to be pulled in when you turn the platen. I also didn't cover the small lever I shortly touched without a word which is for choosing between single and double spaced lines; you push it down and slide it forwards or backwards.
4:20 Line finder lever
4:28 Paper bail
4:35 Adjusting the paper using the paper release. I meant to say to disengage it before typing rather than while , which you obviously don't want to do.
5:05 Carriage release lever. Holding down the spacebar achieves the same, like on the Blickensderfer. The Bennett's carriage is always free-moving except while a key is pressed.
5:40 Setting the margins
6:12 First keypresses. Using the stylus. "Hello world!" Yes, I am a programmer.
6:48 ***How it works***. Removing the cover. Indexing mechanism and alignment slots.
8:36 Ribbon mechanism. I at various places said "ribbon" instead of spool .
10:45 Escapement mechanism
12:27 Touch control spring. This controls how heavy the keys feel to press down.
13:00 Backspace mechanism
13:17 ***"Single-element" typewriters***. The Mignon, Blickensderfer, Bennett, Hammond, Selectric, and a number of much harder to find machines used a single element instead of multiple type slugs to hold all the characters. This particular Blickensderfer was actually made in 1914 while that Bennet was made between 1910 to 1913; I don't always recall my machines' birthdates.
15:51 End of line bell
16:23 Margin release. Sorry for putting the carriage out of frame here. The lack of a convenient margin release key encourages you to be more disciplined about hyphenation and keeping the right margin unpolluted.
17:31 Line feed and carriage return
17:43 ***Changing typefaces***. Here, I switch from Schreibschrift (script/cursive) to Plakatschrift ("poster type" or "block lettering")
19:18 Changing indexes / character legends. Sorry for putting the index removal out of frame.
20:17 The German instructions, as you will see later, say to insert one space between each character, and three between each word, given how large the letters are.
20:39 Installing a type cylinder
21:32 Here we see why those spacing instructions were important. I was going to note how this index uses the usual German QWERTZ layout instead of PFUGQ prior to my noticing my mistake.
22:26 **Typing demo**
23:05 Comments regarding technique. In addition, the stylus should be held lightly so as to not introduce resistance while the mechanism engages with the alignment slots. Here, when aligned, the stylus points to the top of the character on the index.
23:58 Speed limitations
24:48 Line alignment edges and cursor
25:22 ***Fast typing***. I was a bit rusty with the layout at this time and intend on posting a video with much more fluent typing. Kind of makes me think of someone operating a Morse key.
30:16 **Closeup view**. For fast, consecutive characters, you can barely even see the cylinder rotating.
31:54 Conclusion. Examples of earlier index typewriters: https://www.officemuseum.com/typewrit...

What you can expect to see on this channel:
Soon: Typewriter, switch, and keyboard collecting, Romantic Era piano performances (Chopin, Liszt, Schumann, Alkan etc.), "perfectionist" Lego builds and mods.
Within a year: Programming, computer architecture, model ship building, worldbuilding?, conlangs?, philosophy?
In the following years: Independent watchmaking, making a unique typewriters from scratch, "revolutionizing" the concert grand.