Old-school typewriters attract new generation of enthusiasts
ALBUQUERQUE, New Mexico — Typewriter enthusiasts gather at an Albuquerque restaurant to experiment with vintage Smith Coronas. Fans in Boston kneel in a city square and type stories about their lives during a pro-immigration demonstration. A new documentary on typewriters featuring Tom Hanks and musician John Mayer is set for release this summer.
In the age of smartphones, social media and cyber hacking fears, vintage typewriters that once gathered dust in attics and basements are attracting a new generation of fans across the United States.
From public “type-ins” at bars to street poets selling personalized, typewritten poems on the spot, typewriters have emerged as popular items with aficionados hunting for them in thrift stores, online auction sites and antique shops. Some buy antique Underwoods to add to a growing collection.
Others search for a midcentury Royal Quiet De Luxe like a model author Ernest Hemingway used to work on that simmering novel.
The rescued machines often need servicing, and fans are forced to seek out the few remaining typewriter repair shops.
Doug Nichol, director of the upcoming documentary California Typewriter, said the interest stems from “digital burnout” and people wanting a connection to the past. That interest seems to transcend age, he said.
“Kids who grew up knowing only mobile phones and the computer are excited to see a letter typed with your own hand,” said Nichol, who owns 85 type writers .“It’ s a one-on one interaction that doesn’ t get interrupted by Twitter alerts.”
In his film, set for release in August, Nichol interviews Hanks, who said he uses a typewriter almost every day to send memos and letters.
“I hate getting email thankyous from folks,” Hanks says in the film. “Now, if they take 70 seconds to type me out something on a piece of paper and send to me, well, I’ll keep that forever. I’ll just delete that email.”
One way the typewriter craze is growing is through organized “type-ins” meetups in public places where typewriter fans try different vintage machines.
During a recent type-in in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Rich Boucher, a slam poet, spent most of his time on a 1960s-era Hermes 3000 crafting poetry and pausing while trying to figure out when to return the carriage for a next line.
After finishing his work, Boucher grabbed his phone and sent a Facebook status update about the experience. He then started looking online for a Hermes 3000.
“That’s the typewriter I want,” he said. “I’m going to find one.”