Check that: Typewriters are not dead!

Posted at 11:32 AM on April 26, 2011 by Marianne Combs (3 Comments)
Filed under: Technology, Writing

This photo taken on February 15, 2011 shows professional typist Purushottam Sakhare typing an affidavit on his typewriter at a sidewalk outside a city court in Mumbai.
Photo credit: INDRANIL MUKHERJEE/AFP/Getty Images

So about an hour ago I forwarded on the news reported in the CBC, that the last known typewriter factory had shut its doors.

Whoops.

Gawker.com proves otherwise. Here's an excerpt from their post:

From the fake typewriter ashes, a million nostalgic personal essays bloomed.

But rest easy, annoyingly hirsute hipster Luddites loitering at local cafes: The typewriter is alive and well. How do I know? Well, because I looked on Staples' website. But don't take my word for it. Let's check in with a typewriter manufacturing expert:

The typewriter is "far from dead," [says] Ed Michael, General Manager of Sales at Moonachie, NJ-based Swintec.

"We have manufacturers making typewriters for us in China, Japan, Indonesia," Michael says. "We have contracts with correctional facilities in 43 states to supply clear typewriters for inmates so they can't hide contraband inside them," Michael explained.

There you have it: So long as you can smuggle a nail file inside a MacBook, the typewriter will live to jam another day.

Well, I, for one, am happy to find out I was misled.

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Comments (3)

I remember when my office manager removed the last typewriter in the office about 10 years ago. I was devastated. I survived. It's probably time to let it go. I still long for the sound of those clanking keys, though.

Posted by Randy Sands | April 26, 2011 12:21 PM

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I have *a* coworker who still uses an IBM Selectric for a few tasks. And I still have my old Royal typewriter burrowed away at home. :-)

Posted by John O. | April 26, 2011 1:19 PM

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This guy makes sculptures from typewriters:
jeremymayer.com

Posted by blue | April 27, 2011 8:36 AM

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