I clearly remember the day I bought my first typewriter. Searching an online marketplace (probably Craigslist), I noticed a picture of this sweet little machine. It looked so fun. At the time, I visited coffee shops 3-4 times a week so I had visions of hours of typing, coffee in hand, and staring at Pikes Peak (we lived in Colorado Springs back then). She wanted $40 and I had no idea if that was a good deal or not but I loved they way it looked. We met at a favorite coffee shop, the seller telling me it worked. I was delighted with how cute it was and quickly handed her the cash, rushing home to try it in the privacy of my own space.
It was a 1962 Royal Signet. Manuals were new to me and I felt a bit intimidated. It took me a bit to figure out how it worked and when I pushed on the keys, it seemed to require a lot more effort than I expected. Also, some of the keys were stuck. Naturally, since the keys were metal, I assumed that the same oil I used on our bike chains would be sufficient to fix the stiff keys. I poured oil all over the type bars, and then added some more. In the end, I had a mess. Long story short, We had to drive hours to take it to a proper repair person. In the process, we learned a lot about typewriters.
Like most people, by the time the 90s rolled around, I forgot all about the existence of typewriters. Awed and distracted by the shiny screens of technology, the magnificent works of art that are typewriters were forgotten and receded into the shadows of sheds, attics, and garages.
I was old enough to have used electric typewriters in high school typing class and young enough to grow up with technology. I saw my first computer in third grade, a behemoth of a machine that was taller than me with a large green screen. There was only one computer in the entire school and the students were assigned a time slot to walk up to the intimidating machine and type in answers to math questions. A few years later, in junior high, the very first computer room was built. Both High School and College had computer rooms, where the computers got fancier. If anything needed typed when I was in high school or college, I’d go to the computer room and sign my name into a time slot on the clipboard laying on the front desk. As such, I was never interested in typewriters save for the mandatory typing class in high school.
However, that day in the summer of 2018 when I woke up, I decided I wanted to start writing and for the first time in 30 years, I wondered if typewriters were still around. A few days later, I bought that first Royal Signet…and then a few weeks after that, we launched our typewriter side-hustle. It all happened so quick. At the time of this writing, it is our 7th Christmas selling season. On one hand it’s hard to believe we’ve been in business this long and on the other hand, it’s hard to recall NOT being in the typewriter business.
The first typewriter, to be honest, was…not as great as I imagined. For me.
It looked great, but was awkward to use. I spent more time looking at it than using it. Not what I expected in a typewriter experience. There were no long writing sessions with my typewriter. I did try taking it to a coffee shop one day, but it wasn’t as exciting and romantic as I thought. Thankfully, I understood that it had more to do with finding the right model of typewriter; one that fit my hands and personality better. Eventually, I found other models that had a feel and flow which called to me. Nevertheless, I’ll always appreciate and remember this experience with my first typewriter.