[LINK] "Meet the Last Generation of Typewriter Repairmen"

[rfmcdonald]

Thanks to Tom for linking to this Matthew Schechmeister article from Wired. I own a typewriter, actually, left at my parents' place on Prince Edward Island after I moved. It still worked, and for a time I liked it because of its tactile feel. The fact that I didn't think of bringing it with me says something about the future of the industry, but not everything.

It’s easy to forget how much time computer word-processing programs have saved the writing public. Before computers, any typewritten document that needed revision had to be retyped again and again. And that’s hardly the end of it. Total up all the hours that people spent whiting out errors before the Delete key … how many zeroes would the final figure have? Combine the surface area of every lumpy smudge of liquid paper: Would it cover the country? The world?

Despite these inefficiencies, there are a few places where typewriters still clack away. New York City police stations, the desks of a few stubborn hangers-on, and, increasingly, the apartments of hip young people who have a fetish for the retro. Mechanical devices with a lot of moving parts, typewriters require maintenance by technicians with specialized knowledge and years of experience. A surprising number of people still make their living meeting that demand.

[. . .]

California Typewriter Company works on both vintage and modern office equipment, but surprisingly, over the last 10 years, the sale and repair of manual typewriters has constituted an increasing share of their business. Most of the people buying the older machines are under 35, the company reports, and are mostly people looking for an interesting gift or a decorative conversation piece.

In addition, girls under 12 have become a significant market, following the example of the titular character of the recent movie Kit Kittredge: American Girl, who frequently uses a typewriter. California Typewriter Company also worked on machines for celebrity clients including Danielle Steele and Tom Hanks, and sold a replacement ribbon to Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong.

In addition to having beautiful pictures of all sorts of models, the article includes interesting notes on everything from the economically emancipatory role of typewriters for women's independence in the early 20th century to the use of typewriters at prisons across the United States (prisoners are not allowed computers). Go, read.