An avid typewriter collector had just driven eighty miles after work to pick up a rare Royal Grand that he had finally found after years of searching. As he drove home with his prize, it was dark and he was becoming sleepy. He decided to pull off the interstate to get some coffee. He had barely tasted his first sip, when, much to his horror, he realized that he had left the Grand exposed on the back seat of his unlocked car. He jumped up and ran into the parking lot to his car, but saw he was too late. The back window had been smashed...and there were two more typewriters beside his prize!

Typewriter collectors are relatively few, and tend to be men. Most are considered incurably weird by their significant others. As you might expect, many of us are professionally involved with writing or technology. In the U.S. there are several hundred collectors, but nine out of ten are casual collectors who own only a few old machines. The hobby is a bit more popular in Europe, particularly Germany.

Since this site first went online, in late 1995, interest in typewriters has grown. That's partly because they have almost become obsolete. Many children have never even seen a typewriter. This gives these machines the allure of the archaic. Recently, our hobby has gotten a good amount of press -- partly thanks to this Web site, I'm happy to say. We can only expect that interest will continue to grow. (Well-known typewriter collectors include Tom Hanks and Tintin in the movie.)

Good information about typewriters can be hard to find, but digging it up is part of the fun--and in recent years a number of helpful books have been published. The listing below is by no means exhaustive, but I try to cover all the most important resources.

Books in print

• Adler, Michael. Antique Typewriters, from Creed to QWERTY. Schiffer Publishing, 1997. $39.95. An exploration of early typewriters by the author of the classic The Writing Machine (see below). 208 pages with lots of color and black-and-white photos. Written in an entertaining tone with a sense of humor. Lots of information, but occasionally errors creep in. Includes price suggestions which are generally reliable, sometimes on the high side. This book is the most comprehensive typewriter history in English. I recommend it for any serious collector.
• Blickensderfer, Robert and Paul Robert. The Five-Pound Secretary. Virtual Typewriter Museum, 2003. A handsome book all about the great Blickensderfer, written in part by a descendant of its inventor. Follow the link to order the book.
• Collector's Guide to Antique Typewriters. Reprint of The Typewriter Topics Encyclopedia of Typewriters (1923), published by the Post Group. This was long the bible for English-speaking typewriter collectors; it lists all major and most minor typewriters made up to 1923, and describes them in an entertaining if verbose manner. This reprint includes many reproductions of advertisements. Available from Office Machine Americana for $12.95. Also reprinted by Dover, edited by Victor Linoff (see below).
• Current, Richard N. The Typewriter and the Men Who Made It. Reprint by the Post Group of a 1950s study of the invention of the Sholes & Glidden. Good reading. Available from Office Machine Americana for $17.95.
• Dale, Rodney and Rebecca Weaver. Machines in the Office. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1993. A short, popular book that covers typewriters, telegraphs, telephones, dictation machines, computers, and more. Gives you a sense of the context in which typewriters were invented. Entertaining, and includes many good illustrations. Information on typewriters is not very reliable, though.
• James, Duncan. Old Typewriters. London: Shire Publications, 1993. Shire Album #293. $7.25. A small pamphlet that attractively presents the essentials of typewriter mechanisms and has some nice black-and-white photographs.
• Linoff, Victor (ed). The Typewriter: An Illustrated History. New York: Dover Publications, 2000. A reprint of the 1923 Typewriter Topics Encyclopedia of Typewriters. An important early source that includes lots of usually-reliable data. The same book is available in a smaller format with reproductions of early advertisements, under the name Collector's Guide to Antique Typewriters (see above).
• Mares, G.C. History of the Typewriter, Successor to the Pen. London: Guilbert Pitman, 1909. Reprinted by the Post Group. An excellent early "buyer's guide" to writing machines. Available from Office Machine Americana for $24.95.
• Messenger, Robert. The Magnificent 5 (And 250 Other Great Things About Portable Typewriters). 2011. A very entertaining full-color book of trivia and opinions about portable typewriters. Order from the author (owner of the Australian Typewriter Museum) at oztypewriter@hotmail.com.
• Morton, Jett. The Oliver Typewriter Company: Machines and History. 2011. $19.95 at Lulu.com. A very clear and informative rundown of Oliver history and models, well-known and obscure, American and British. Everyone who owns an Oliver ought to have this book.
  
• Rehr, Darryl. Antique Typewriters & Office Collectibles. Collector Books, 1997. $19.95. This book by the former editor of the journal of the Early Typewriter Collectors Association is an invaluable guide, including detailed descriptions of hundreds of typewriters, illustrated with color photos. It is not exhaustive, and the estimates of value are generally agreed to be too low, but this is probably the first book the beginning typewriter collector should buy. You can order it directly from the author and get a free bonus: the new, expanded edition of "The Early History of the Typewriter" by Charles Weller.
• Robert, Paul. Sexy Legs and Typewriters. Virtual Typewriter Museum, 2004. "Women in office-related advertising, humor, glamour, and erotica." A different sort of book, not for those who disapprove of "R"-rated material. Follow the link to order the book.
• Russo, Thomas. Mechanical Typewriters: Their History, Value, and Legacy. Schiffer Publishing, 2002. The latest book on typewriters, written by a former Remington man who has a fabulous collection. Not the best in terms of completeness or accuracy, but notable for fine photographs of Russo's machines, including some very unusual items. A separate chapter on Remingtons is probably the most complete account of that make in print. Value estimates are reasonable. By the same author: Office Collectibles: 100 Years of Business Technology. Both books are also available directly from the author: Russo & Associates, LLC, 1200 Philadelphia Pike, Suite 220, Wilmington, DE 19809, USA.
• Webster, F. S. Company. Typewriters of All Kinds and Our Galaxy of Stars. This rare 196-page catalogue published in 1898 by the F. S. Webster Co. describes a wide variety of machines, services, and office supplies. Attractive and entertaining. Click on the link to order a print-on-demand reprint.

Deal! Office Machine Americana offers the Collector's Guide, Mares, and Current for only $44 total, postpaid in the US (add 30% for shipping abroad). Visit their website or e-mail Ernie Jorgenson at rbc@cableone.net. Snail mail address: Ernie Jorgenson, Office Machine Americana, P.O. Box 1161, Lewiston, ID 83501.

Books out of print

• Adler, Michael H. The Writing Machine. London: George Allen & Unwin, 1973. A scrupulously researched book that features a very thorough investigation of the early history of typewriter invention, and a long list of "unconventional" typewriters. This is a keeper.
• Beeching, Wilfred A. Century of the Typewriter. London: Heinemann, 1974. Information in this book is unreliable but plentiful. Useful lists of serial numbers, and an excellent selection of photographs. A paperback reprint was produced in the 1990s, and can probably be found more easily than the original. In the UK, reprints may be available from Bernard Williams, 80 Manor Road, Burton-on-Trent, Staffs, DE 159 9SP.
• Bliven, Bruce, Jr. The Wonderful Writing Machine. New York: Random House, 1954. An entertaining, journalistic book sponsored by Royal (so, as you'd expect, the Royal typewriter is presented as the greatest thing since sliced bread). This book can often be found at used bookshops.
• Herrl, George. Catalog of the Carl P. Dietz Collection of Typewriters. Milwaukee: Milwaukee Public Museum, 1965. A nice set of photographs (some are reprinted in Beeching). Information is sometimes unreliable.
• Lippman, Paul. American Typewriters: A Collector's Encyclopedia. Hoboken, N.J.: Original & Copy, 1992. A self-published hardback book by a longtime collector -- includes many illustrations and personal observations about virtually all American-made typewriters, plus useful information and advice for the collector.
• Martin, Ernst (pseudonym of Johannes Meyer). Die Schreibmaschine und ihre Entwicklungsgeschichte. 4th ed: Pappenheim, Bavaria, 1949. An outstanding, encyclopedic work. Plentiful illustrations make it worth looking at even if you don't know a word of German.
  
• Masi, Frank (ed.). The Typewriter Legend. Secaucus, N.J.: Matsushita Electric Corporation of America, 1985. This book put out by Matsushita when they were introducing the short-lived Panasonic electronic typewriter is very good: generally accurate, entertaining, and sporting a large number of interesting black-and-white photos. The author was actually collector Don Sutherland. Hard to find, but worth looking for.

Organizations and Periodicals

• ETCetera, the journal of the Early Typewriter Collectors Association, is a quarterly color magazine edited by Alan Seaver. Dues are $35 a year in North America, $40 elsewhere. Visit the ETCetera website for details.
• Michael A. Brown edits TypeX (The Typewriter Exchange). The newsletter features entertaining and interesting stories and color pictures. Want ads, For sale, To buy, For trade, etc. ads are free to subscribers (space permitting). TypeX is published four times a year: February, May, August, and November. Cost is $25, North America, $30 overseas. Make all checks / money orders payable to Michael A. Brown. Mail to: P.O. Box 52607, Philadelphia, PA 19115. E-mail: typex1@aol.com. Phone: (215) 934-7998.
• The German collector's club is the I.F.H.B. (Internationales Forum Historische Bürowelt), which publishes HBW-Aktuell (20 pages, 8 issues a year, with news about meetings, etc.). Three times a year every member also gets Historische Bürowelt, a magazine with historical research into typewriters and adding machines. Membership dues are 75 euros/year. Contact Wolfgang Mock, Gemarkenstr. 61, D-45147 Essen, Germany. E-mail: ifhbev@t-online.de.
• The French Association Nationale des Collectionneurs de Machines à Écrire et à Calculer Mécaniques publishes its journal, Arts Mécaniques, about every six months, as well as a bimonthly bulletin, Contact, mostly dealing with collectors' meetings. ANCMECA membership is 50 euros a year, payable to international bank account FR35 2004 1010 1206 0144 8N03 334, Bank Identifier Code PSSTFRPPSCE. President François Babillot can be contacted at fbabillot@aol.com. Edmond Kern, editor of the publictaions, can be reached at 11, rue Ravel, F 67310 Wasselonne, phone 00 33 3 88 87 06 91, edmondkern@yahoo.fr. Web site: calcollect.free.fr.
• The Italian typewriter collectors' association is the Associazione Italiana Collezionisti Macchine per Scrivere, Calcolo e da Ufficio in Genera d'Epoca, founded in 1994. It includes about 80 members in Italy and other countries. Membership includes three or four issues a year of the association's newsletter, L'ufficio d'epoca. Supporter members also receive a silver pin with the symbol of the association, Ravizza's "Cembalo Scrivano." Dues: 50 euros/year for a basic member, 70 euros for a supporter. For more information, visit the Association's Web site. Street address: c/o Gamma, Castiglione 12B, 10036 Settimo Torinese (TO), Italy.
• The Swiss office machine collectors' club is SHBS. Visit their web site here (in German).

Publicly Displayed Typewriters

Cyberspace

• The major online sources for antique and secondhand typewriters are eBay and German eBay. Usually photographs of the machines are posted online. Browse for a quick education on typewriter rarity and value.
• Etsy also offers many typewriters, typically at a higher price.
  
• Consider joining one of the typewriter mailing lists and bulletin boards.
• For other Web sites of interest, see my typewriter-related links.