Writerly traditions: The typewriter.
Guilty secret: I am obsessed with typewriters. At this moment I have five manual typewriters (an 1960s Imperial, an ancient Olivetti, a 50s Smith Corona Zephyr, a little 1960s plastic typewriter for teaching children to type, and my newest purchase, a 1940s portable Underwood)! Why am I so obsessed with typewriters? Well, they’re noisy, heavy, impractical and difficult to use, but they’re also the ultimate poet’s accessory. Allen Ginsberg hauled a massive Underwood 5 around with him; William Burroughs typed on his own namesake, and was The Good Doctor ever without his trusty IBM SElectric…?
Why should I get a typewriter?
Well, I’ll be honest with you… if you think you’re going to be sitting down to write a 600 page novel on your manual typewriter, you might want to think again. It doesn’t matter what you do (Margaret Atwood apparently used to sit her typewriter on top of a wad of newspapers), it’s going to be noisy. It’s also going to be a pain in the butt to type on, particularly if you’re used to the feather-light keys of a laptop! Around about 1950, typewriter manufacturers started to advertise “noiseless” and “light touch” typewriter models, but even these are pretty cumbersome. You also have the typo issue - there’s no room for error with a manual typewriter, unless you’re cool with crossings-out and tippex! So if you’re planning on doing any serious writing, you might want to consider an electric… quieter, zippier and generally easier to work with.
However, electric typewriters are nowhere near as cool, and in a world where everyone has some kind of word-processor, a typewriter’s main appeal is its cool factor! Personally, I think manual typewriters are incredibly beautiful — I have mine sitting around my house making the place look pretty. They’re also a serious feat of engineering… try opening one up some time and inspecting all the weights and springs. A manual typewriter makes a laptop look boring! And for that reason it’s easy to get geeky about typewriters — once you’re bitten, you might end up a collector!
How can I get hold of one?
Manual typewriters are ten-a-penny, so you don’t need to look to far to find one. Try checking out thrift stores or flea markets and see what you can find, or click around on eBay. There’s a whole load of choice out there so have a look around and find a typewriter you love — if you’re into the older, clunkier ones, eBay might be the place. But post-1960 typewriters turn up regularly in charity shops and at jumble sales and the like. I inherited my Smith Corona from my Dad, but all my other typewriters have come from junk shops and thrift stores.
What should I be looking for?
Well, when I buy a typewriter I’m usually after something that looks nice, and if it’s in its proper case and works that’s an added bonus. But you might want to check that all the parts are there — sometimes typewriters can be missing covers, bases, feet, or bits and pieces from the outer bodywork. It’s not necessarily a tragedy if these things aren’t there but you can sometimes haggle the price down a bit. If you want the typewriter in full working order, you need to check a few things:
- The space bar. On manual typewriters, the space bar is often operated by a weight system which pulls the cartridge along on a string. If you press the space bar and the cartridge doesn’t move along, it might be that the string has snapped. This is tricky to fix yourself (trust me, I’ve tried) and you might have to get an expert to take a look. So bear in mind that this could cost money!
- The ribbon feeder. Second hand typewriters have often been sitting unused for years, so more often than not their ribbons dry out. However, even if the ribbon has no ink in it, you should try typing a few words and pay attention to the ribbon movement. Does it move along through the spools? If it sticks or clogs, you can usually fix it yourself, but it’s worth checking. If your chosen typewriter has no ribbon fitted, you’ll need to find out what ribbon it takes, either by asking the seller or by doing some online research. It’s hard to find a replacement ribbon if you don’t know the right type.
- All the keys. One of the most common faults on old manual typewriters is the ‘capslock’ key, which is usually just connects to a little hook in the mechanism that locks the shift key down. This hook can wear out and stop sticking on. Other keys to check are the lesser-used ones - the numbers and symbols, but also the tab key, which should shuttle the cartridge along. But the best thing to do is just to try them all!
- The cartridge itself. Just check that it does move back and forth and doesn’t stick anywhere. Again, the movement of the cartridge is directly connected to the string-and-weight system, so if it doesn’t work it might cost you £££ to fix.
- Other things you might want to do: pick the typewriter up (sometimes the bottom will drop off or parts will drop out!), feed a piece of paper through (the rollers can be very dirty or can stick), test the carrying case (the last thing you want is the case breaking open and the typewriter smashing on the way home!) and look into the mechanism (sure, you might not know what you’re looking at, but if there are springs, strings or shards of metal sticking out, you might need to worry).
Obviously if you’re buying from eBay, you can’t do this stuff yourself. Don’t be afraid to ask your seller for all this information, and if you’re even slightly worried about the condition, look elsewhere! (I’ve found that eBay sellers tend to be sincere and honest and quite willing to deal with queries like this, so don’t worry too much about asking.)
What should I be paying for a typewriter?
Prices vary massively with manual typewriters, but if the typewriter you’re looking at is post 1945, chances are it is not rare or expensive. You have to remember that typewriters were the laptops of the 50s, 60s and 70s — everyone had one, so if anyone tries to tell you that they’re “rare,” you might want to be suspicious. Wartime and pre-war typewriters are less common and perhaps more valuable, but again, you shouldn’t really be paying too much unless your typewriter is something really special. Things you might need to pay more for include:
- Wooden casings. Typewriters with wooden bodies are quite unusual - metal, bakelite or plastic is much more common and a wooden typewriter is probably an old typewriter.
- Unusual colours. Some typewriter manufacturers brought out special editions in weird and wonderful colours. In pre-1960 typewriters, colour might be an expense factor (but post-1960 it was pretty common for typewriters to be colourful, particularly if they were plastic) — look out for dark green or dark red casings.
- Leather embellishments. Another feature of special edition typewriters.
- Iconic typewriters. The Underwood 5 is reasonably common but it’s also iconic. People will part with quite a lot of cash for a nice one.
- A foreign language. If you come across a typewriter whose keys are cyrillic or in another language, it might be worth a bit more.
Just be careful - don’t be ripped off. For just about any post-1960 typewriter, you shouldn’t be paying more than £30. I’d even say that in 99% of cases, you probably shouldn’t be paying more than £20. The most I’ve ever paid was £14 for my blue bakelite Imperial, and I think I might even have been ripped off a bit there!! For a pre-1960 typewriter, keep a limit of £30-£50 or so, unless your typewriter is something special.
If you think you might need to spend money on renovating or cleaning your typewriter, try and haggle the price down! I once found a wartime metal typewriter in a charity store which had a £50 price tag on it, but which had been sitting in a chicken shed for decades… and it was full of feathers and chicken poo! I told the store that I’d need to spend money on cleaning it and I’d give them £35, but they wouldn’t haggle. It certainly wasn’t worth £50, so I left it… don’t be conned!
What if I’m buying on eBay?
eBay sellers can be a bit cheeky with their prices, and on eBay you can’t haggle. Just don’t get carried away in a bidding war — you really don’t need to pay over the odds. Bear in mind also that you’ll have to pay to have the typewriter delivered, and this can cost a huge amount, as typewriters are heavy things! They’re also fragile things, so if you want yours in proper working order, you might want to think twice about having it flown across the world… particularly if it doesn’t come with its own carrying case. Many people will opt for shipping rather than airmail with an item like a typewriter, too - it’s cheaper and gentler, but it does take a lot, lot longer… we’re talking months! And there can be problems when it comes to getting typewriters across borders — many older typewriters have keys made of or containing ivory, and if you try to ship ivory into the USA for example, it can end up just being destroyed by customs officials! So online shopping is a bit of a minefield… don’t be afraid to do some research and ask your seller questions about these issues!
What can I do with my typewriter once I’ve got it?
Well, despite the fact that they’re noisy and heavy, they can still make pretty sweet writing machines. If you just want to write letters, or the odd short, sweet haiku, they’re perfect. They also make awesome ornaments and I often use mine to stick photos or paperwork in. I have a friend who used to use a heavy old typewriter (don’t worry, it was in a fairly serious state of disrepair when she got it!) as a doorstop. If you want, you can dismantle your typewriter (just make sure it’s not worth major £££ first!!) and turn it into all sorts of stuff… look around on Etsy and you’ll find jewellery, mobiles, paperweights, bookmarks, sculptures and artwork, all made out of typewriter parts! Typewriters are also useful things to have around if you’re into Steampunking.
Something I always like to do when I buy a new typewriter is get on the internet and do some research. It’s great to find out when your typewriter was made and what it might have been used for… maybe a famous writer used the same kind of typewriter as you, or perhaps it was popular among chic 50s office workers. I’m always fascinated by this stuff and there are heaps of typewriter-related sites to help you find out all about your typewriter!
What kind of typewriter(s) do you have? How much did you spend, and where did it come from? Anyone have a cool typewriter tale to tell? I want to hear it!
Cool typewriter links…
Why typewriters kick the PC’s ass!
The Antique Typewriter Collector
Ye Olde Vintage Typewriter Shoppe
A great all-round typewriter website…
A typewriter geek’s blog!
Typewriter eyecandy: the Writing Machines Flickr Group!
(Photo by Anjuli)(Collage by Jo_Cheung)
Visit the One Night Stanzas store! Great Christmas gifts for the writers in your life!
Tags: advice for young writers, publishing, resources for young writers, writerly traditions the typewriter, young poets
December 10th, 2008 at 5:30 pm
i have a 1920’s era royal. it’s in perfect condition other than lacking a box so it sits in my living room inviting me to be tough enough to survive using its keys!
i only have one typewriter tale and that was back when john peel was alive. he used to always write his set lists on an olivetti(?) and had run out of ribbon/needed a new one (can’t remember) so he aired his grievance that in the days of computers he couldn’t get a new one. i, among many, emailed him to correct the error of his ways. i also told that while i could forgive him for not finiding a typewriter his refusal to use google to source one was curmudgeonly. as i recall his reply was polite but terse.
March 2nd, 2009 at 9:58 am
[...] order — these things can all be done on paper (or, if your handwriting’s really bad, on a manual typewriter). You may think you’re saving the trees by sticking to the screen, but running your laptop on [...]
March 4th, 2009 at 12:22 pm
I worked in Leicester at the Imperial Typewriters until 1955 I then joined Uderwood as a typewrietr salesman for seven years.One of the so called benifits with the Imperial was the interchangeable unit providing the pitch
was the same (ie charactures per inch) it worked although this ’selling feature of the Imperial never cost me a sale when I sold Uderwoods’ the latter also being made in England ie Brighton. When Ollivetti took over Unerwood Corporation we were being told how to sell typewriters by young ‘lads’ straight from Milan University. So I call it a day in the typewriter trade and went into the print trade and for my sins became a
ROBERT MAXWELL employee and would you believe it I am now a Robert Maxwee pensioner!!!!
April 16th, 2009 at 9:18 pm
I picked up an Imperial ‘War Finish’ for free yesterday. Needed a good clean and a bit of work, but its working fine now. I was wondering if you knew anything about its history? I’m very interested in that sort of thing too, but i couldn’t find an ounce of information on the internet.
Cheers
Johan
January 26th, 2010 at 1:55 pm
[...] of them here. You can also find out a bit more about typewriters, and why writers love them, in this post from a few months ago. However, I decided I hadn’t done a typewriter-related post in too [...]