July 31, 2000
The Typewriter
Tidbit Archive
| Computers have done to the typewriter in the past two decades what
automobiles did to the horse and buggy 100 years ago. Once practically
ubiquitous in offices and homes, typewriters are today a relic used mainly
by cranky writers and the technologically-challenged. In this technological
transformation, they have gained a kind of cult status and a romantic image
that few would associate with computers. As Anthony Ramirez
wrote in The
New York Times in 1998, "A typewriter tells tales. . . . It is
a clattering, ringing mass of hardened steel that assaults the senses .
. . in a way that cannot be matched by any computer. "
Of course, typewriters do still have a practical side; for example, they are handy for addressing envelopes and filling out forms. But the major focus of interest in this low-tech device today is among collectors (of whom there are more than you might think) and historians of technology. On its way to the museum, however, the typewriter has left a number of legacies. Foremost among these is the keyboard layout affectionately known as "QWERTY," which dates from 1874. QWERTY has outlived the typewriter (and, some would say, its usefulness) and survives to rule the computer world. |
Links:The typewriter pictured above is a Reliance Visible, introduced in 1915. Mesa Typewriter Exchange in Mesa, Arizona, (source of the image) also has a much larger and clearer picture of it.
Free download of the Vintage Typewriter-Corona font used in the title at the top of this page.
The Classic Typewriter Page. If you are interested in old typewriters, this is the place to go first. Facts about typewriters, history, a great set of links, and even a page devoted to typewriter parts (what to call the whatchamacallits).
Short biography and links to more information about poet and essayist Wendell Berry. Berry's classic essay, "Why I Am Not Going to Buy a Computer," in which he explains why he prefers to have his wife type his writings on a 1956 Royal Standard typewriter rather than using a computer, appears as chapter 5 in my book, Technology and the Future, 8th edition.
"Carbons to Computers," a nicely-written and illustrated site describing the history of the typewriter, from the Smithsonian Institution.
Antique Typewriter Collecting. More resources for collectors (and others who may be interested).
The Early Typewriters Collectors Association. Further evidence that there is an association for everything.
"How to Collect Antique Typewriters," by Richard Polt (author of The Classic Typewriter Page, above).
"Typewriters, Qwerty, and Typing," from About.com. Lots of information, including a discussion of why the typewriter keys are arranged the way they are.
"Typewriters: Machines to supersede the pen," from the National Museum of Science and Industry (U.K.). Lots of information on this site, but it's difficult to navigate and the text is dull.
Places to buy a new, 21st Century typewriter:
Canon
IBM typewriters by Lexmark
