In 1942, a St. Louis man sought a 1924 Dayton Portable Typewriter. See below:
The Journal Herald explains, somewhat awkwardly, that people actually collect typewriters. Writes the paper, “It is a peculiar hobby but that’s his affair.”
The hobby is no less peculiar today, but fortunately we have Richard Polt’s The Typewriter Revolution to explain the phenomena. There is also a documentary, California Typewriter, that quickens people’s interest.
For my part, I simply hand someone a typewriter, a method of evangelism that has made many converts.
© 2018, Mark Adams. All rights reserved.
It’s a great hobby. I call it collecting. Mrs. M. calls it hoarding.
Heh, yeah. seems like if I lend out a typewriter to someone mildly curious, it very rarely comes back. Luckily, resupply isn’t difficult 😀
I bet it really was a peculiar hobby in 1942! The old machines were seen as junk, and there was pressure to scrap them to support the war effort. But thanks to the small band of collectors at that time, many rarities have managed to survive.