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LITERARY TYPEWRITER
Everyone keyboards now. Here is a real keyboard typewriter. A typewriter patented in 1857 by a doctor from Newport, Rhode Island, has a keyboard that looks like a piano keyboard. It was called the “literary typewriter.” There are examples at the Newport Historical Society and at the Smithsonian. Check it out by clicking on Smithsonian.
When I attended Katharine Gibbs School (1986-1988), the faculty made sure we knew how to spell the name of the school. It was, naturally, a big deal.
I can just imagine the chagrin of the person who made up this rather professional sign. He or she was probably quite annoyed that the students thought it mattered.
I know that I always stressed the correct spelling. I thought that it hurt a job candidate’s credibility when Katharine was misspelled.
Rose,
I noticed in the headline of one of the slides in your presentation the name of the Ritz-Carlton Hotel was incorrectly spelled as Ritz-Carleton.
For me as a non native english speaker, this typographical error caught my eyes immediately.
Dear Gunter Bunter,
Thank you for seeing an error that never should have escaped my proofing. In Gibbs terms, that error meant a failing grade. Every Gibbs student who reads this note will recognize the annoyance and disappointment that accompany this type of mistake. Your promptness is very Gibbs-like. I do hope that you enjoyed the talk in spite of the error. Below is a passage from the book about the graduate known as Miss Ritz.
Elinor O’Neil joined the staff at the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Boston after six years with the Red Cross and like many Gibbs graduates was promoted quickly. After three weeks on the job, she became reservations manager at a time when rooms were not available to the general public. If one had been at the Ritz before, one could return. Mention in the Social Register or Poor’s Directory of Executives would also guarantee a reservation. Otherwise Miss Ritz, aka Miss O’Neil, would use common sense to make the decision. Elinor O’Neil registered the hotel’s first African American guest, actor Eddie Anderson, who played “Rochester” with comedian Jack Benny. The Boston Globe article published when she retired said, “She chatted with Sir Winston Churchill about the weather, got a canine curtsy from Rin Tin Tin, satisfied the whims of Joan Crawford for pink furniture and was buffaloed, along with the rest of the Ritz-Carlton staff, by the reclusive and elusive Howard Hughes.” O’Neil persuaded the Ritz’s general manager to ease the hotel’s dress code in the 1960s so that women guests could wear pantsuits. Of course, the pantsuits had to be coordinated.
Hoping to attend the May 13 “stroll” and meet more graduates. I was in the 1-year Boston program from 1975-1976, and I was originally from small-town, central Iowa–the only student.
Thanks, Jane. I look forward to seeing you again.
Rose
Will you going into “86” at either of these strolls?
Phyllis Cosgrove Confer
1966
Hi Phyllis,
Gibbs properties are now private. Unfortunately, 86 Beacon is the Greek Consulate and is foreign soil. I talked myself in once but had to stay near the beautiful staircase.
Rose
I totally understand Katharine Gibbs’ frustration about having her named misspelled!
I named my first daughter KathArine with an “A” because that’s the only way I knew how to spell it — being a KathArine Gibbs graduate (Boston 1966) and a fan of the actress KathArine Hepburn and living on Cape Cod, home of KathArine Lee Bates, the author of “America the Beautiful”.
All her report cards used to come through as KathErine, even though I corrected them each time. Before her high school graduation, I phoned the school to make sure her diploma was spelled correctly — at last success!
Hi Liz, I was cleaning out email and cannot see that I ever responded to your note. I love all of your references to KathArine. A society columnist in Boston wondered how anyone could go through Gibbs and misspell her first name in the engagement and wedding announcements! My first thought is that the young woman may not have attended Gibbs. Of course, details in such material is not fact checked. Rose