Mind Your Language

Typewriters are back and taking the country by storm.

Siri, the personal assistant on the iPhone, offers directions, dispenses advice on where to eat, and even takes dictation. Just speak to her and she’ll tap out your texts. Still, some say, technology hasn’t killed some earlier forms of communication, namely, the typewriter.

“You’d be surprised at the number of people using typewriters,” says Scott Paness, who owns a company in Nanuet, N.Y., that repairs and refurbishes the machines.

Type-Ins are being held at coffee houses, bars and bookstores from coast to coast. Early manual typewriters are being snapped up by a new generation of fans who are rediscovering the joys of vintage Smith Coronas, Underwoods and Royals, even IBM Selectrics.

“Typewriters are a wonderful marriage of machine-era technology and cutting period aesthetics,” says Chase Gilbert, who owns and runs Kasbah Mod, which sells vintage typewriters.

Vintage typewriters are not just sought after by older folks nostalgic for a blast from the past. People in their 20s and early 30s, says Gilbert, love the old machines for a number of reasons. “Younger collectors buy the vintage typewriter both for its functionality and its looks. They love to see the typewriter sitting right next to their iPad and iPod.”

Apparently, people still type, too. “They find that on a typewriter you really have to think. Then, too, there are no distractions with a typewriter. You sit down to type and that’s it,” Gilbert says. “You can’t get distracted with Twitter, Facebook or email. The simplicity of the machine is appealing.”

via Typewriters are making a comeback among collectors and users – USATODAY.com.

Strange Random Typewriter Quote:

“Sometimes I think [my writing] sounds like I walked out of the room and left the typewriter running.” – Gene Fowler (American journalist and biographer, 1890-1960)

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