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While F. Scott Fitzgerald famously observed that there are no second acts in American lives, it seems improbably that domestic typewriter repair may have a slender hope of persisting further into the 21st century.
It occurred to me that this is a rather good time to be collecting these machines. Keychoppers aside, they're still everywhere: they've somehow not yet attained the status of coveted antique. That will change in the next few decades, I predict, as people increasingly feel a sense of virtual overload and ecological remorse about the excesses of round-the-clock computing. Certain romantic young persons will increasingly seek typewriters out, at premium cost, to channel great writers of a pre-digital age. At least one of those will download a copy of "The Typewriter Repair Manual" by Howard Hutchison from the Obscura Ebook-porium, and figure out a way to cash in on the trend.
Currently, and fortunately for us, admiration for the machines is still largely confined to a fringe group of aging collector nuts. (Cough.) So, reserve that Remington Noiseless for the young person in your life today.
Banning the Big Black Box
5 hours ago
9 comments:
Bravo, Strikethru!
In the last few years, I've given away typewriters I've found cheaply and had repaired (while I hold on to my Dad's and other inherited family machines).
These have been very well-received gifts, and by simply having my typewriter visible in my office- and using it as visibly as possible- quite a few onlookers seek out machines of their own. The funniest incident was when a guy tried out my Lettera, and at the end of his line of writing he asked me where the "enter" key was. I courteously took the carriage handle and rolled it across and said, "that's 'enter.'"
We X'ers are really between two worlds.
Sounds to me like someone's trying to justify another machine to the spouse. "Honest honey, in a few decades this will be worth something!" (Hey, I've used those very lines myself.)
In the beginning, I collected for myself. Machines I personally liked or that were significantly different from your standard typewriter. But since my son was born, my perspective has changed. I see the collection as a whole, an assembly of a particular niche from the pre-electronic era that I'm preserving for him. Now I'm on the lookout more for the scarce or unusual, or variants; things that help complete the picture.
I've given away a handful of machines now, and sold one. I'll continue to give away or sell duplicates or non-collectible machines, but only those which are either already represented in the collection or easily replaced. I want to spread the typing bug, but I also intend to leave a well-developed typewriter legacy for my son.
i am a beginner typewriter appreciator and i think your blog made me really go out there and get one! i just acquired a royal quiet deluxe from freecycle.org (using your how to get a typewriter series) and i am so excited. it needs to be cleaned and a new ribbon/tape, but i can't wait to get started. i'm truly a newbie at all this. keep your passion for typewriters strong!
i also love your Hermes 3000 (i think) if it's the one that types in cursive. amazing! i didnt even know there was such a thing out there..
"Aging collector nuts." You must mean Those Other People, because I began ratcheting my birthdays backwards six years ago. By the time my grandson inherits these typewriters, I should be in grade school.
Monda, I used to joke that 39 is going to be my "Jack Benny birthday". Then some people would ask, "Who's Jack Benny?" To which I'd reply, "Shut up, you smarthmouthed little punk. And get off my lawn!"
True about the Gen X, indeed.
I've reduced my collection by two machines actually!
Olivander's kid is one lucky dude.
About that Hermes... I didn't know there were script 3000's either...
You can already see how much more expensive the machines are on mrtypewriter.com than on ebay usually, let alone at yard sales . . .
I think of Mellotrons and Hammond organs, how musicians still want to use them even though nobody makes them anymore. I wonder how hard it would be for someone to buy the patent for one of these things and start production again?
I've wondered about passing on one of my machines to a niece or nephew. I'm already planning on giving one to my daughter.
I just recently bought this great old portable Smith Corona number from the 30's or sometime thereabouts. She's a beaut.
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