Mechanical Typewriters: Their History, Value, and Legacy

There is a relatively small community of typewriter collectors, of whom I am one. Within this community there are subdivisions: those who collect the very early machines, those who collect a particular brand, those who collect a particular type (e.g. portables, desk machines, electrics). Because the typewriter was such a common device in both homes and businesses for almost all of the twentieth century, and because they were produced in the millions, many have failed to appreciate the impact these machines made on our society. The typewriter is the story of American ingenuity come to life. While there were foreign contributions to its development, the overwhelming percentage of patents and improvements were American. The typewriter freed countless women from a living of domestic servitude and allowed them to support themselves in a newly-created occupation. It changed both the nature and tempo of American office work, where efficiency and productivity were measurable. This book focuses on the earliest machines prior to World War I. As many know, the early typewriter took many forms: some had the familiar typebars, while others used a rotating type wheel where letters were pressed to paper one at a time, some allowed the paper to move past the type, and still others allowed the paper to remain stationary while the typewriter moved! There were typewriters available for a few Dollars for the occasional home use, while the most mechanical models were quite expensive. For the 'outsider', this book is a detailed and beautifully illustrated (in color) survey, by brand, of the available machines and their types in these early years. Many of these machines can still be found and purchased rather inexpensively, while the rarer machines are steadily increasing in value. The machines covered here are not for those of us who like to actually type--most don't have the standard keyboard we use today. These are machines for display. This book will remain a valuable resource on the subject long after it has gone out of print. I would like to see a followup on machines covering the period between the Wars, when the industry as a whole continued development. This field represents American ingenuity at its best, and is a lesson for all of us in this regard.

Anyone building a small library of typewriter books should add this one. It covers a lot of ground beautifully -- it's loaded with photos -- and it offers a lot of unique information, information not readily found elsewhere. This one is on my shelf.

If you are a typewriter enthusiast like myself, this book is a must.

I grew up typing on a typewriter and love the history, value and variety of typewriters. I personally have five, a couple of them dating to the late 1800's. Many young people have no idea of the contribution that typewriters made to history or that they even existed.

Lots of pictures; nice to have a look into. Not only for collectors, also for the general interested. Two more words.

This book is written by Thomas Russo who himself a office equipment collector...he has very large collection of typewriters, calculators, ribbons etc along with own Museum of business history. If you have interest in these beautiful machines or if you are collector, this is for you!