RE: OT? Vintage manuals

["James Barrow" <vrfour -at- verizon -dot- net>]

>Russell Brasel wrote:
>
>But my favorite small set of user instructions are those on the side of an
>old Wesson Oil homemade mayonnaise maker.  The simple instructions-I can't
>remember the exact recipe-are embossed on the side of the jar.  It was made
>in the late 20's and is a nice fusion of usability and proper
>documentation.  Also, my grandmother would have been amazed if you told her
>they go for $55.00 now.
[]

LOL!  I own that mayonnaise maker!  

My grandparents were the perfect couple to maintain a vintage user manual
library:  he had to have every new toy that came out, and she saved
ev..er..y..thing.  When my grandmother passed away, I found boxes of old
user manuals.  I read most of them, and some are terrible!

One of the camera manuals has a step procedure that reads:  "4. Check the
red spot".  Unfortunately, there's no reference to a 'red spot' before or
after.

Other manuals are from Great Britain for various radios (he was in the navy
during WWII).  These manuals are a crack-up!  They're written much as you'd
expect a manual from the (polite) British to be:  "Step 1:  May we be so
bold as to suggest some Chamomile tea before starting?  Good.  Now get
comfy, put on your favorite slippers, and let's get started...if that's
acceptable".

Seriously, if any tech writer wonders if they are doing a good job, they
only have to read a few lines from a vintage manual :^)

- Jim

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