When I turned on CBS Sunday Morning, I caught the last part of Bill Geist's segment on, of all things, typewriters. It fitted right in with Marilyn Meredith's blog post about her publishing journey that started on a typewriter. Mine started there as well, so I was fascinated by the Geist tale, especially when one of the young people he interviewed said he thought it was a new invention!
"A new invention." I loved the thought. Especially since throughout our house I have a wide variety of typewriters stashed away. There's the very old Underwood that belonged to my father. Somewhere I have the Royal electric typewriter on which I wrote my first stories for the Richmond News Leader. Hidden away in a closet, I have my portable electric typewriter on which I typed the early drafts of my first novel. That was before I got my first computer, an Apple IIGS that has the signature "Woz" written above the words, "limited edition".
The Geist segment mentioned "type-ins" which I didn't quite get. He said sales are brisk at a New York flea market. Someone said that writing on a typewriter made them feel like a real author. One man commented that there is something romantic about writing a letter on a typewriter. A young woman enjoyed the dinging sound at the end of each line.
A bright green typewriter was considered beautiful, and the keys were smooth and "sexy". Some of these sentiments may be carrying things a little too far. I was never too fond of having to go back and erase my mistakes. Even after erasing, the manuscript always looked a little messy. At least to me.
It is fun to know that appreciation of typewriters may be actually growing. And Geist reported some of these antiques are selling for as much as $500. Wow!
8 comments:
Neat! I love my typewriter. It sits on a shelf collecting dust, the keys are locked, and the ink is dried up on the ribbon, but I still love it. Glad to hear there are others out there who love their typewriters as much! Nice blog!
$500? Too bad we got rid of our old one years ago.
There is something special about having an old typewriter around. I saw yours, Sofie, at the neat event you planned last fall. Thanks for stopping by!
Alex, I bet you have a really neat house with no clutter! I don't because I can't stand to throw anything away. After all, you never know when you might want to actually type a letter!!! Thanks for commenting.
I love old typewriters. If I had a larger office I would collect them. I have an old Royal - circa 1940 - that was my first typewriter.
As we grow further away in time, I suppose we will become more nostalgic about them. The variety of models and changes in them are certainly fascinating.
Thanks for commenting, Maryann!
I also caught this piece Sunday morning and thought it was quite interesting. There is something appealing about the old-fashioned typewriter ... guess they remind us of an earlier time, perhaps. A lot of romance and nostalgia around typewriters ... old movies, the classics, the way things change, but not really.
Thanks, Daisy. "The way things change, but not really." That is oh so true. My favorite comment was that she thought it was a new invention. Amazing how perspective changes the meaning of things!
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