Typewriter: The History, The Machines, The Writers

by Tony Allan, Paul Schweitzer (Foreword by)

Overview

Personal computers may have replaced the typewriter in most homes and offices, but the venerable writing machine is currently staging a comeback. From portable models that hipsters are snapping up in Urban Outfitters to Tom Hanks's bestselling app that recreates the manual experience on a tablet, the typewriter has never been so hot.

This celebration of the typewriter covers what a platen knob is, why QUERTY won out over other arrangements of keys, which authors loved (or loathed) their typewriters, and much more.

• A gift book with yellowed paper and typewriter fonts for a cool vintage look
• Timeline of the typewriter features key models
• Foreword by Paul Schweitzer of Gramercy Typewriter Co.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781627950343
Publisher:	Shelter Harbor Press
Publication date:	10/21/2015
Edition description:	Illustrated,Bound like a flip pad
Pages:	96
Sales rank:	466,982
Product dimensions:	5.60(w) x 7.70(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

After studying History at Corpus Christi College, Oxford and Journalism at Indiana University, Tony Allan worked for the British Broadcasting Company and as a magazine editor before turning to book publishing. He worked at Time-Life Books in London and Alexandria, Va., and served as editor and writer on many multi-volume book series including the 24-volume Time-Life History of the World.

Paul Schweitzer is the owner of the famous Gramercy Typewriter Company located on lower 5th Avenue in New York City. He has lovingly restored thousands of typewriters over the years. Paul's shop has served as a mecca for thousands of typewriter lovers and aficionados worldwide.

Editorial Reviews

"With users from hipster art students to government officials, the typewriter is making a comeback. The trendy store Urban Outfitters sells the machines, modern with a vintage touch. Actor Tom Hanks, a typewriter collector, developed a successful iPad app that simulates typewriter typing, noises included. Popular television shows such as Mad Men, and growing concerns about online privacy, have also contributed to the resurgence. In turn, numerous books on the machine have recently been published. Typewriter is an easy-read gift book packed with fast facts and trivia about the machines and the people who used them. In a font reminiscent of typewritten text, the book teaches about the development of the keyboard and which machine was an author's favorite. Images mainly include typewriter advertisements and photographs of secretaries and authors at their machines.The Art of Typewriting contains over 200 works from Marvin and Ruth Sackner's Archive of Concrete and Visual Poetry, the largest collection of its kind—in the poetry, the arrangement of the words on the page directly affects the understanding of the text. The overall image is either abstract or realistic. Opening essays introduce readers to the Sackner's collection and the history of typewriter art, from decorative patterns to reproductions of famous paintings to visual poetry. Almost every artwork has its own beautifully printed catalog page, making it easy to see detail. Biographies of prominent artists and a bibliography round out this comprehensive catalog. VERDICT Typewriter will appeal to collectors of the machines and readers nostalgic for the pre-computer era. But with its small book design, it won't hold interest for long. The Art of Typewriting, exemplifying a one-of-a-kind art collection, is likely to find more readers among machine enthusiasts, artists, and poets."—Shannon Marie Robinson, Denison Univ. Lib., Granville, OH Library, December 1. 2015 

From the Publisher

12/01/2015
With users from hipster art students to government officials, the typewriter is making a comeback. The trendy store Urban Outfitters sells the machines, modern with a vintage touch. Actor Tom Hanks, a typewriter collector, developed a successful iPad app that simulates typewriter typing, noises included. Popular television shows such as Mad Men, and growing concerns about online privacy, have also contributed to the resurgence. In turn, numerous books on the machine have recently been published. Typewriter is an easy-read gift book packed with fast facts and trivia about the machines and the people who used them. In a font reminiscent of typewritten text, the book teaches about the development of the keyboard and which machine was an author's favorite. Images mainly include typewriter advertisements and photographs of secretaries and authors at their machines.The Art of Typewriting contains over 200 works from Marvin and Ruth Sackner's Archive of Concrete and Visual Poetry, the largest collection of its kind—in the poetry, the arrangement of the words on the page directly affects the understanding of the text. The overall image is either abstract or realistic. Opening essays introduce readers to the Sackners' collection and the history of typewriter art, from decorative patterns to reproductions of famous paintings to visual poetry. Almost every artwork has its own beautifully printed catalog page, making it easy to see detail. Biographies of prominent artists and a bibliography round out this comprehensive catalog. VERDICT Typewriter will appeal to collectors of the machines and readers nostalgic for the precomputer era. But with its small book design, it won't hold interest for long. The Art of Typewriting, exemplifying a one-of-a-kind art collection, is likely to find more readers among machine enthusiasts, artists, and poets.—Shannon Marie Robinson, Denison Univ. Lib., Granville, OH

Library Journal