John.
I have become increasingly interested in your friends typewriter, any chance you could get a picture and post it here?
I have looked around der web and so far nothing.
Drift into teletype machines - For reasons which now escape me, I was in contact with the ROC about year before they disbanded and they were just installing some new teletype machines, which until I thought about it seemed masochistic to say the least. then I realised they would be immune to any EMP produced by a Nuke. I never found out how they were networked, but it was an interesting example of how old style tech still had a place at that late date.