Five reasons to still use a typewrite
By
Gerry Holt
BBC News Magazine
BBC News Magazine
The end of an era has
been marked, with the last typewriter built in the UK rolling off the
production line at Brother's north Wales factory.
The firm donated the
last machine to London's Science Museum - but, it seems, there are plenty of
writers and fans who think a museum is the last place their beloved,
indispensable tool should be.
So, who still uses
typewriters? And why do they choose to use them?
Refuseniks
They might be in a
minority, but fans of the typewriter remain a vociferous group.
Mike France, who sells
typewriter ribbons, says conversations with elderly customers mostly revolve
around their dislike for computers and their fear of losing their old
typewriting machines. "We get letters and cards from people thanking us
and saying 'You saved my life, it's my lifeline'," he says.
But journalist and
collector Richard Milton, who runs the Portable Typewriter website, a virtual museum of typewriters, says it is
more of an idealist's tool.
"There's
something special about typewriters - they're connected to language and
connected to people's lives in a rather romantic way," he says.
"Every writer rather fancies having an Agatha Christie-style sit-up-and
beg typewriter on their desk that they can write their wonderful novel
on."
But collector Anthony
Casillo says typewriters are simply practical.
"People still use
typewriters because they still work. They offer a distraction-free alternative
to the modern day methods for producing a document. They challenge the user to
be more efficient and see their errors on paper."
Writers and
journalists have also spoken of their love for the ageing machine."I've gone back
to using a typewriter for the first draft. It forces you to think," said
author Will Self in a recent magazine interview. "Instead of going, 'She wore a red
dress. Wait, that's banal I'll make it purple or green...' you think, 'Right,
what colour was her dress.' It brings order back into your mind."
Former court reporter
Maureen Huggins managed to use typewriters for her entire 55
years as a court reporter, saying computers would "kill journalism".
To be cool
Casillo, who has been
in the typewriter industry for almost 40 years and collected vintage
typewriters for the past 30, says while "older folks" resist
technology, the youngest missed the original typewriter experience, hence the
interest now.
Someone just brought
it to the shoot. I HATE typewriters - I love my laptop”
Caitlin Moran, pictured with a typewriter on
her book cover
Tom Furrier, who owns
a typewriter repair shop in Arlington, Massachusetts, says: "Young people
or the under-30 crowd [as] I call them, have grown up with this new technology
and never experienced analogue toys and games. They are fascinated by the
sensory feedback they get. The feel, the sound, seeing the printed image,
immediately amazes them.
"Some younger
people are tired of the soullessness of computers and digital technology and
looking for a better experience. Creative type younger kids get the typewriter
vibe and the old school ways of doing things. The number one reason younger
people tell me they like typewriters is that they can type with no
distractions. No internet or email or googling to distract them. They're just
typing, creating."
Times columnist and
author Caitlin Moran appears with a typewriter on the cover of her book
Moranthology, seemingly jumping on the retro bandwagon.
But, she explains in a tweet, "someone just brought it to the shoot.
I HATE typewriters. I love my laptop." But her husband, music journalist
Pete Paphides, loves typewriters as he hates printers.
No electricity
Typewriters may have
been largely consigned to history in many countries but in those where
electricity supply is erratic, they can be vital.
In Mumbai, India's
most populous city, the unmistakable "clack, clack, clack" of
typewriters sounds out as professional typists sit in the street outside court
houses writing up legal documents.
Aesthetic reasons
Explaining why she
loves the form of art, she says: "I think it's the mechanics of it and being
able to feel the mechanisms. It's not like using a computer where it's all a
bit of a mystery and covered up. You can see if there's nothing wrong with it
straight away... It's just fascinating to be able to look at what you're
typing."
From afar, she says
her art resembles a pen and ink drawing.
"I find
children's reactions particularly interesting as most small children do not
even know what the machine is, and are beautifully uninhibited with their
intrigue. I feel privileged to get to introduce them to the typewriter for the
first time."
Typewriters are also
very much in demand for period dramas or for plays. Meanwhile, Milton was
recently contacted by a production company working on a war-time detective
drama. They wanted typewriter lessons for a female secretary actress so she
could "appear natural at the desk," he says.
Prices are rocketing
as they become more sought after among collectors, he says. "They are
antiques nowadays. Nobody is making them anywhere in the world - I don't know
of a single factory still making them anywhere."
In demand with set
designers working on period dramas
They are also popular
among those who want a fashionable piece of equipment for their lounge or
office, for an "aesthetically-pleasing environment".
"People in antiques
or collectors are always looking for new things to collect - there's only so
many Georgian paperweights you can have," he says.
Weddings
Engaged couples are
looking to years gone by for inspiration for their big days - and that includes
retro or antique typewriters.
Milton says many
couples now opt to create their invitations on typewriters and they then have
them at their do so guests can write a few words of congratulations.
"It's rather chic
I suppose. Everything is retro now - the 1960s, 70s and 80s are all in,"
he explains.
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