The attractiveness and the usefulness of my IBM Personal Wheelwriter is now augmented by the recent addition of more (Courier 10, Dual Gothic, Essay, Gothic, Olde World, Rhetoric, Script) printwheels and ribbons.

This in addition to the 5 (Artisan 12, Letter Gothic 12P, Prestige Elite 12P, Gothic 15, Title PS) I already owned.

Printwheels are about all I have space for these days. Fortunately, there’s enough room in the “Super Swede” to accommodate them.

The “Cartridge II” printwheels used by IBM in its Wheelwriters and Wheelprinters evolved from the “Cartridge I” printwheels used in its 5218 daisy wheel printer, a printer sold with the “Displaywriter” ( a June 1980 precursor to the IBM PC).

IBM not only took a different approach to the design of its printwheels, it also took a different approach to the design of its electronic typewriters.

Stylistically, it could have followed Olivetti’s lead but chose not to, instead giving us a “Wheelwriter” the size and weight of a concrete block.

And with a colour scheme to match.

In the context of its grey-beige PCs, display monitors and keyboards, it all made perfect sense.

Big can be beautiful. But who has room for a full-size snooker table?

Cutting down to three-quarter size makes even more sense. But why leave it as late as 1988?

Given an earlier start (and a later advent of the PC), the Personal Wheelwriter might have enjoyed the kind of dominance enjoyed by its Selectric predecessors.