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Grand Opening of Typewriter Muse

For about 7 years Typewriter Muse has been operating out of a home-like space, but this weekend they opened a lovely brick and mortar location in Riverside, CA in a nice sized business park with plenty of Doris Day parking right out front. 

Their Instagram account has been documenting some of the move and set up over the past month, but Bob and the gang have unveiled their new space on Saturday, January 31, 2026. 

Bob’s shop is one of the few I’m aware of with a multitude of people (at least six by my count on Saturday) working at any given time. (Most modern shops are one or possibly two person operations.) This means that the cleaning, repairs, oiling, and adjusting can be set up in an assembly line fashion. Machines come into the front of the shop on the left hand side, then move down the left to the rear where they do power washing and platen work in the back room. From there they move back into the main portion of the shop where the segments and internals are cleaned using isopropyl alcohol and long stick q-tips. (This generally means less health and safety issues by not using mineral spirits, lacquer thinner, or other caustic chemicals which require better ventilation.) From there  they stage on a long desk before they go to one of two mechanic’s stations where repairs and adjustments are made before being stored for pick up or placed in the “showroom”  The overall layout is quite well designed for moving machines in and out of the shop.

Unique for many shops, the front reception space has community room for a handful of small desks and typewriters to accommodate 8-10 people for small classes, demonstrations, or a small type-in. The room has been dedicated to local journalist Dan Bernstein. (If you’re in the So-Cal area and are interested, Bob has kindly offered the writing space for small type-in events.)

I drove out in the late morning from Altadena. As a typewriter enthusiast I naturally chose the apropos 71 S Corona route (California State Route 71 towards Corona) before turning off toward Riverside, which is about an hour from my house near Pasadena.

Five lane highway featuring a massive sign over the road announcing the split between the 71 South to Corona and the 60 East to Riverside.
Who’d have thought the great typewriters were in Riverside and not in Corona?

Single story business park building featuring the storefront of Typewriter Muse including a black sandwich board touting the store.

Front entrance at Typewriter Muse with a snack station and small drink refrigerator next to a typewriter table and a ribbon dispenser.

A view of the front reception/writing room at Typewriter Muse. There are several small desks with typewriters and a dedicatory sign on the wall that reads "The Dan Bernstein Writing Room".

The front reception window that separates the reception and writing rooms from the office and repair space in a typewriter shop.

Bob Marshall with his hair tied back and wearing his mechanic's shirt sitting at the intake desk in front of a green Celtic-painted Royal P owned by Bryan Mahoney who is wearing a plaid vest and flat cap. Bob Marshall and Bryan Mahoney discussing a custom painted Royal P.

Typewriter Muse's typewriter showroom with 4 wire shelving units covered with about two dozen typewriters of various makes and models. Underneath the shelving is a row of typewriter cases. On the side of the room opposite the shelving is a table with space for three typewriters for typing tests.
Try out a machine or twenty while you’re here!

A typewriter mechanic's bench with a variety of tools on it and a lazy susan with a typewriter on it for restoration

A typewriter mechanics's station with a Corona 3 on one side and a bunch of long handled q-tips and other cleaning tools on the other side.

A parts station with shelving for a variety of typewriter replacement feet, and miniature drawers for screws, springs, and various other typewriter parts.

Typewriter repair bench at Typewriter Muse with a typewriter surrounded by tools and an anglepoise lamp.

Typewriter Muse has gone old school analog even in their speaker choice.

The rear washroom at Typewriter Muse for cleaning typewriters including a sink and an air filtration station

Rest in Peace: Typewriter Repair Legend Duane Jensen (August 21, 1961-January 25,2026)

Just a few hours ago, Faye shared some sad news.

Screencapture of a Facebook post announcing the passing of Duane Jensen which reads: Our hearts are broken to share the news of Duane Jensen's passing. Please keep his family and friends in your thoughts. | Thanks to all of you for your support. | Faye Wade Jensen

Most of us might only be able to recognize his voice, his patient hands, and his preference for lacquer thinner, but all of us are richer in typewriter knowledge because of Duane Jensen’s kind sharing of his craft by way of his spectacularly helpful Phoenix Typewriter YouTube channel.

A bunch of us both watch and provide links to his library of typewriter repair videos on a daily basis. Many of us know how to tear down and build up a typewriter because of his tutorials and years of work. Once you attempt to repair a typewriter for yourself, you’ll realize how skilled he was to be able to simultaneously film his work while he did it. (I swear he had six hands….) He also patiently dispensed (and still asked for his own repair advice) on a regular basis on Facebook.

Thousands of his repaired machines will continue to give people joy every day. He’ll be missed terribly in the typewriter community, but fortunately some of his work and his spirit will continue live on online. 

For those who don’t know him as well (yet), here’s an article about Duane from last year: Meet one of the few people in America who knows how to fix manual typewriters, and an excellent podcast from September 2024: Charm Type Repair podcast w/ Duane Jensen of Phoenix Typewriter.

Because it was his usual sign off, I feel obligated to quote him:

Phoenix Typewriter, Good Day!
—Duane Jensen

Golden Globes: Nominees for Best Typewriter in a Movie or Television Series?

As I’m watching the Golden Globes, it’s painfully obvious that it is missing some important analog representation. In an effort to remedy the error, shall we collect the nominations for Best Typewriter in a Movie or Television Series? (The only requirement for nomination is that the movie or television show was released in the 2025 calendar year. Bonus points if you include a photo of the typewriter from the show with your nomination.)

I’ll start with a first nominee:

The 1930s Juwel 3 from the Netflix series WEDNESDAY.

Thing, a disembodied hand, types on a black portable Juwel 3 typewriter.

What other machines deserve a nomination?

On Purchasing Typewriters: Condition is King; Context is Queen

New typewriter enthusiasts will very often post to Reddit, one of the Facebook typewriter groups or other similar fora, something along the lines of: “I spotted this typewriter at an antique store. Good condition to buy?” and include a picture of some generic typewriter.

It bears mentioning and thoroughly understanding that even an expert typewriter collector or professional repair person can only tell very little of the condition of a typewriter by photos. Does it look generally clean? Are the decals in tact? Does the segment look clean (a vague proxy for the potential condition of the internals)? Is anything obvious missing (knobs, return lever, keys)? Does it look cared for or has it been neglected in a barn for half a century? If it has a case, how beat up, dirty, and water-stained is it?

Most modern typewriters made after 1930 in unknown condition are worth about $5-25 and they peak at about $500 when purchased from a solid repair shop unless some Herculean additional restoration has taken place, they’ve got a rarer typeface, or are inherently actually rare. Hint: unless it’s a pro repair shop or very high end collector with lots of experience, don’t trust anyone saying that a typewriter is “rare”—run the other direction. Run faster if they say it “works, but just needs a new ribbon” as—even at the most expensive—new ribbon is only $15 and their “rare” $600+ machine should have fresh, wet ribbon. The rule of thumb I use is that almost no one online selling a typewriter knows anything about it, including if it actually works. Worse, they’ve probably priced it at professional repair shop prices because they don’t know that in the secondary typewriter market: condition is king.

The least experienced typist will know far more about the condition of a machine by putting their hands on it and trying it out. Does it generally work? Does the carriage move the full length of its travel? Can you set the margins at the extremes and space reliably from one end to another? Does it skip? Is the inside clean or full of decades of dried oil, dust, correction tape, white-out splatter, and eraser crumbs? Does the margin release work? Does it backspace properly? When typing “HHHhhhHHH” are the letters all printed well and on the same baseline? 

Presumably a typewriter at an antique store will meet these minimum conditions (though be aware that many don’t as their proprietors have no idea about typewriters other than that if they wait long enough, some sucker will spend $150 on almost anything). They’ve done the work of finding a machine that (barely) works, housing it, and presenting it to the public for sale. This time and effort is worth something to the beginning typewriter enthusiast, but worth much, much less to the longer term practiced collector.

If everything is present and at least generally limping along, you’ve got yourself a $30 typewriter. Most people can spend a few hours watching YouTube videos and then manage to clean and lubricate a typewriter to get it functioning reasonably. You can always learn to do the adjustments from YouTube videos. (Or just take it to a typewriter repair shop and fork over $200-400 to get things squared.)

If you’re getting into collecting, you’ll make some useful mistakes by overpaying in the beginning and those mistakes will teach you a lot.

Maybe you’re a tinkerer and looking for a project? If so, then find the cheapest machine you can get your hands on (maybe a Royal KMM for $9 at thrift) and work your way through a home study course.

Otherwise, if you’re just buying one or two machines to use—by far—the best value you’ll find is to purchase a cleaned, oiled, and well-adjusted machine from a repair shop. Sure it might cost $350-600, but what you’ll save in time, effort, heartache, searching, repair, etc. will more than outweigh the difference. Additionally you’ll have a range of machines to choose from aesthetically and you can test out their feel to find something that works best for you.

Or, you could buy a reasonable machine like the one typically asked about for $40-70 and find out it needs cleaning, oiling, and adjusting and potentially a few repairs. The repair tab might run you an additional $450. Is it worth it when a repair shop would have sold you the same, a very similar, or an even better machine in excellent condition for $350? It also doesn’t take much work to realize the god-send that a properly packaged and shipped typewriter is worth.

Why Context is Queen

Remember in asking about the cost and value/worth of a typewriter, you’re actually attempting to maximize a wide variety of unstated variables including, but not limited to:

  • upfront price and value, 
  • information about the current state of the market,
  • information/knowledge about the machine itself, its history, desirability/popularity, and how often it’s encountered in the wild, 
  • information about how to clean it,
  • information about oiling it,
  • information about adjusting,
  • information about repairing it,
  • cost and availability of tools and repair parts,
  • and the time involved for both learning and doing all of the above.

The more time you’ve spent learning and doing all of these, the better “deals” you’ll find, but gaining this expertise is going to cost you a few years of life. What is all this “worth” when you just want to type on a machine that actually works as well as it was meant to?

Most of the prognostication you’ll find in online typewriter fora will be generally useless to you because you’re not readily aware of the context and background of the respondents with respect to all of the variables above. Similarly they’re working with no context about you, your situation, where you live, what’s available in your area, your level of typewriter knowledge, your aesthetic, or your budget. You don’t know what you don’t know. At the end of the day, you’re assuredly just as well off to use a bit of your intuition and putting your hands on a machine and trying it out. Then ask: “What is it worth to you?”

If you find yourself asking this question online, but you’re really asking: “Is this $50 typewriter highway robbery?”, the answer is generally: “no”. Alternately if the question is: “Is this $1,000 typewriter really this valuable?”, the vast majority of the time the answer is also probably also “no”. 

More resources (and some of my own context) if you need them: https://boffosocko.com/research/typewriter-collection/

Happy typing.

A clever affordance of card index filing cabinet drawers

Someone recently mentioned to me that the small, portable 1,000 index card capacity cardboard box with lid that they use as a zettelkasten felt more like it was for deep storage rather than daily use. Perhaps it’s a result of the fact that this is how most people have been using these cheaper cardboard boxes for the last 30+ years? They said they’d prefer to have a drawer or a box with an attached lid. 

It dawns on me that I’ve never mentioned one of the great affordances of many of the older card index cabinets is that they’re designed to be able to completely remove one or more drawers at a time and use at your desk. On an almost daily basis, I pull out at least one drawer from my cabinet and place it on my desk and it allows me to actively work with collections of over 7,000 cards at a time. This means that while the cabinet itself may seem like deep or “cold” storage, it’s really ongoing active storage that I can quickly and easily interact with depending on the range of projects I may be dealing with on a given day. Working on a different project for a bit? Put one drawer away and pull another…

Several of my cabinets have not only pull handles on the front of the drawers, but also have cut-out handles in the rear to be able to easily pull them out and move them around. This feature was also the reason many cabinets also had card rods. The cards could be physically held into the drawers to prevent the user from accidentally tipping the drawer and loosing all the cards into a random pile on the floor.  Robert Pirsig describes a sad affair similar to this in his book Lila: An Inquiry into Morals (Bantam Books, 1991).

Angle on a Steelcase card index drawer and chassis. The back of the drawer features a hole just large enough to put one's hand through to make carrying the drawer as a tray easier.

Of course at the end of the day I can quickly slot the drawer right back into the cabinet for that clean desk look. And because today is the one year anniversary of the Eaton Fire, I’ll mention that it’s also pretty easy to pull a few of your favorite drawers out of the filing cabinet for fleeing your home office, evacuating your town, and being able to work for four months remotely. (Just remember to seat belt those drawers into the back seat if you don’t have card rods!) 

Book Club: Steven Pinker’s When Everyone Knows That Everyone Knows

Dan Allosso has been hosting a regular book club since Autumn 2021, centered around sense making, note taking, and topics like economics, history, sociology, and anthropology. (See our list of past books to get an idea of topic coverage.) Our next iteration over the coming month or so will focus on Steven Pinker’s most recent book on knowledge:

Pinker, Steven. 2025. When Everyone Knows That Everyone Knows . . .: Common Knowledge and the Mysteries of Money, Power, and Everyday Life. New York: Scribner.

The first session will be on Saturday, January 10, 2026, and will recur weekly from 8:00 AM – 10:00 Pacific. Our meetings are welcoming and casual conversations over Zoom with the optional beverage of your choice. We’ll cover the first three chapters in the first meeting and the book will likely consume three meetings in all over the coming month.

To join and get access to the Zoom links and the shared Obsidian vault we use for notes and community communication, ping Dan Allosso with your email address. 

Happy reading!

Niklas Luhmann’s Zettelkasten Method One Pager (1968)

The internet is now rife with what I call “zettelkasten method one pagers” that describe what many people rightly (or very often wrongly) think that Niklas Luhmann’s zettelkasten method entails. 

While doing some research about Luhmann’s numbering system’s antecedents, I recently came across a “one pager” (typescript) written by Luhmann himself in the form of some lecture notes from 1968 that folks may appreciate.

Luhmann, Niklas. 1968-01-13. “Ms. 2906: Technik des Zettelkastens.” Münster, Germany. Lecture Notes. Niklas Luhmann Archiv, https://niklas-luhmann-archiv.de/bestand/manuskripte/manuskript/MS_2906_0001.

Seemingly everyone with a blog that ran across the idea of Zettelkasten in the last decade or so wrote up their own description of what it is.  If you know of other blog posts about zettelkasten, let me know for my collection.

Of special note to those who are still under the misapprehension that Luhmann “invented the zettelkasten”, in the closing section of his 1968 notes he writes “In conclusion: from personal experience, others work differently” by which one understands that he’s aware of others who use similar systems and admits that they’re all idiosyncratic to their individual users. I would suspect that he gave this lecture while at Sozialforschungsstelle an der Universität Münster (Social Research Centre of the University of Münster) to students about how to arrange and do their own sociology research work.

Filing Index Cards with a C-Line Document Sorter

Not surprisingly, I don’t always file away my index cards as quickly as I probably ought to. Every now and then I go through my deck of unfiled cards and try to sort them into my card index/zettelkasten. The end of the year seems like a pretty good time to clear the decks.

Because I haven’t documented some of this portion of my process before, I thought I’d take a few photos of my C-Line document sorter which I use to do a fast sort of cards before filing into my card index. I bought it a while back from Brodart Library supplies and it comes in quite handy for sorting and filing documents. It’s got sections for sorting by alphabet, days of a month, months of the year, days of the week, and numbers up to 30,000 (which I primarily co-opt for Dewey Decimal sorting). The days of the month and month sections come in handy for use with my Memindex work, and the months of the year are useful for sorting receipts for expenses and at tax preparation time. In all, it’s fairly flexible analog office tool.

Side view of a C-Line index card sorter sitting on a wooden table. We can see about 100 cards slotted into the various flaps of the sorter

As I go through my stack of index cards, I use a Mitsubishi No. 772 pencil (the vermillion side) to underline topics for filing and cross-referencing purposes. This allows me to cross-index topics quickly as well.

A box of Mitsubishi No. 772 pencils with a sharpened one sitting in front of it. One end of the half red/half blue pencil is vermillion and the other end is Prussian blue.

I went through several hundred cards the other day and only had about 150-200 left for filing into the commonplace book section of my card index. Most of these cards were from 2025, but some dated into 2024 with a handful from as far back as 2023. 

Over the coming days, I’m hoping to finish cleaning up some of the notes from this year’s reading work.

A comparison of A5 sized notebooks with 4 x 6 inch index cards on a cost per square foot basis

Notebooks

Product Sheet width
(inches)		 Sheet height
(inches)		 pages price Area
sq. ft.		 $/sq. ft.
Hobonichi A5 Graph 5.8 8.3 288 $23.00 96.3 $0.24
Leuchtturm 1917 A5 5.8 8.3 251 $25.95 83.9 $0.31
Moleskine Hard Cover 5 8.25 192 $20.00 55.0 $0.36
Travelers Notebook 4.3 8.3 128 $11.90 31.7 $0.38

 

4 x 6 inch index cards

Product Sheet width
(inches)		 Sheet height
(inches)		 sheets price Area
sq. ft.		 $/sq. ft.
Amazon Basics 4×6 Index Cards 4 6 500 $7.30 166.7 $0.04
Oxford 4×6 6 4 1000 $16.49 333.3 $0.05
Stockroom Plus 4×6 (grid) 6 4 300 $13.67 100.0 $0.14
Exacompta 4×6 6 4 100 $15.77 33.3 $0.47
Notsu 4×6 6 4 50 $14.99 16.7 $0.90

Generally, Exacompta cards are the closest in price per square foot to the nicer notebooks while most 4 x 6 inch index cards are comparatively much cheaper (even if you’re only writing on one side).

Breaking News: Brodart No Longer Manufactures or Sells Library Card Catalogs

With no advance notice or apparent fanfare, Brodart, one of the major library supplies and furnishing companies in the United States, has quit manufacturing, distributing, and selling library card catalogs and library charging trays. This seems sad news for analog library enthusiasts coming just two days after Melvil Dewey’s 174th birthday on December 10th. 

I’ve got word in for specific details about end dates for manufacturing and the last sales on some of these products. Apparently the last purchase of charging trays was someone wiping out their stock of 50 remaining units in the last two weeks.

This news comes a decade on the heels of the Online Computer Library Center (OCLC) announcing that it printed its last batch of library card catalog cards on October 1, 2015.

 

 

Fundamentals Of Hypercomplex Numbers | UCLA Extension

Dr. Michael Miller, a retired researcher at RAND, has been teaching upper level undergraduate/graduate level math courses for fun at UCLA Extension for over 50 years. This winter, he’ll be introducing hypercomplex numbers to those interested in abstract math: Fundamentals Of Hypercomplex Numbers.

His courses are thorough and rigorous, but geared toward lifelong learners and beginners in abstract mathematics to allow people better entry points into higher level mathematics. His classes are interesting and relatively informal, and most students who take one usually stay on for future courses. The vast majority of students in the class (from 16-90+ years old) take his classes for fun and regular exposure to mathematical thought, though there is an option to take it for a grade if you like. There are generally no prerequisites for his classes, and he makes an effort to meet the students at their current level of sophistication. Some background in calculus and linear algebra will be useful going into this particular topic.

If you’re in the Los Angeles area (there are regular commuters joining from as far out as Irvine, Ventura County and even Riverside) and interested in joining a group of dedicated hobbyist and professional mathematicians, engineers, physicists, and others from all walks of life (I’ve seen actors, directors, doctors, artists, poets, retirees, and even house-husbands in his classes), his class starts on January 6th at UCLA on Tuesday nights from 7-10PM.

If you’re unsure of what you’re getting into, I recommend visiting on the first class to consider joining us for the Winter quarter. Sadly, this is an in-person course. There isn’t an option to take this remotely or via streaming, and he doesn’t typically record his lectures. I hope to see all the Southern California math fans next month!

Course Description

A survey of those systems of numbers that can be constructed by adding “imaginary units” to the real numbers. The simplest and most familiar example is the two-dimensional system of complex numbers. Much less familiar, but equally fascinating, are the systems of quaternions and Cayley numbers, of dimensions four and eight, respectively. These “algebras” still enable meaningful notions of addition, multiplication, and division, but only at a price: the loss of commutativity and (in the case of Cayley numbers) associativity. Things get even more bizarre when sedenions (dimension 16) and trigintaduonions (dimension 32) are brought into play. The latter part of the course is devoted to the theorems of Hurwitz and Frobenius on the existence of suitably behaved division algebras over the real numbers.

The course should appeal to those seeking a better understanding of the arithmetical underpinnings of our number system.

Prerequisites: advanced calculus and linear algebra

January 6 – March 17
Tuesday 7:00PM – 10:00PM PT
REG# 407060
Fee: $450.00

Recommended textbook: TBD

Register here: https://www.uclaextension.edu/sciences-math/math-statistics/course/fundamentals-hypercomplex-numbers-math-900

If you’ve never joined the class before (Dr. Miller has been teaching these for 53 years and some of us have been with him for nearly that long; I’m starting into my 20th year personally), I’ve written up some tips and hints.

Zettel of the Year Awards

In preparing for some of my end-of-the-year review from my card index, I thought it would be interesting to choose the “Best Note of the Year”. Then it thought it might be worth choosing a “Best Insight”, “Most Surprising Note”, and a “Best Folgezettel” as well. 

And if you’re going to give out an award, it should involve a trophy of some sort, right?!? So naturally I went out and picked up a “4 x 6 inch index card” made out of India Black Granite that I plan on engraving with the Note of the Year. At 3/8ths of an inch thick, it is by a large stretch the thickest index card I have in my zettelkasten.

A thick black granite 4x6" slab nestled into a card index drawer with hundreds of other index cards

As it may be an interesting end-of-year review practice, I thought I would open up the “competition” to others who’d like to participate. Are there other categories one should enter cards for consideration? 

What is your “Best Note of the Year”?

A black granite "index card" sits on a desk in front of a two drawer Shaw-Walker card index.

 

You’re Invited to Another Southern California Type-In!

“Like a jam session for people who like typewriters. You had unions do sit-ins and hippies do be-ins, so I thought, ‘We’ll do a type-in.’”
—Michael McGettigan, 56, bike shop owner who coined the phrase

With attendees from 8 months old to over 80, our Spring type-in was so successful, we’re hosting another one before the end of the year. Bringing your own typewriter(s) and related ephemera is definitely encouraged, but is entirely optional. 

Date
Saturday, November 29th, 2025

Time
1:00 – 4:00 PM

Location
Vroman’s Bookstore
695 E Colorado Blvd.
Pasadena, CA 91101

2 blocks West of Lake Avenue, which has both East and Westbound exits off of the 210 Freeway.

We’ll be meeting upstairs on the second floor.  Parking available behind the bookstore as well as on surrounding streets. There is a handicapped accessible ramp (from the parking lot in rear) and entrance(s) with an elevator to the second floor as well. (Hint: this is also available for those bringing their collections of standard typewriters.)

What is a Type-in?

Type-ins are community-based, family friendly events at which typewriter enthusiasts share their love for the analog art of putting ink onto paper with mechanical marvels of the late 19th through 20th centuries. To do this they bring one or more manual typewriters and their knowledge and love of the machines to share with the community. New friends share stories, history, repair tips, working methods, and other typewriterly ephemera. Typists of all ages and levels of ability are welcome.

Typewriters optional
We definitely encourage those without their own machines to attend. With some luck and the kindness of new friends, you should be able to try out a variety of machines which are present in an effort to decide what styles and feel you might consider for purchasing one of your own one day (or for the upcoming holidays). Please kindly ask the owners’ permission before trying a machine out. If you’ve got multiple typewriters, feel free to bring an extra for a friend or two. Our current record for the attendee bringing the most typewriters is 6.

Approximately a dozen people sitting at 8 foot folding tables typing on typewriters at a Type-In on the second floor at Vroman's Bookstore

Activities during the afternoon

Below is a list of activities we might try based on the interests of the attendees:

  • Basic typewriter demonstrations covering: use, maintenance, and repair; how to find/buy typewriters, how to date the year of manufacture of your machine, etc.,
  • Type up your letter to Santa
  • The holidays are coming, maybe you could type up some holiday cards?
  • Speed typing contest
  • Writing! (naturally)
    • poetry competition
    • letter and postcard writing;  bring some stationery/envelopes/stamps to write letters to friends & loved ones
    • Typing prompts for those who need inspiration for writing
  • Typewriter Art – composing visual pictures using ink on paper
  • Cadavre Exquis – a dedicated typewriter with paper is set up for participants to compose and write a group story, each taking turns throughout the event at writing one sentence at a time.
  • Impromptu lightning talks of 3-5 minutes on topics like “how to buy a typewriter”, “how to get into home typewriter repair”, “how to work a typewriter into your daily writing routine”, “how to join the Typosphere” etc.
  • Participants are encouraged to type up their experiences of the event for posting to their personal websites (aka the Typosphere).
  • Meet new pen pals to start exchanging letters via typewriter and post
  • Selfies with the typewriter mural on the front of the bookstore.
  • Typewriter repair advice: Have a broken machine and not sure what’s wrong? Get some advice from the community.
  • Show off your typed baseball scorecard from Game 7 of the 2025 World Series. Go Dodgers!
  • Bring and share your own ideas… What do you use your typewriter for? (Paul Sheldon, if you’re reading this, you can only bring your Smith-Corona, you CANNOT bring your Royal Ten.)
 
 
 
 
 
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Vroman’s Bookstore

Vroman’s Bookstore is a Pasadena institution and SoCal’s oldest indie bookstore since 1894 (almost as old as the invention of the typewriter itself!) While you’re visiting, be sure to check out not only their book selection, but their gifts and cards; the wide array of notebooks, stationery items and their fantastic fountain pen counter; and their children’s section. Downstairs stop by their excellent wine bar or Tepito Coffee Shop which will be open for snacks and beverages throughout the day.

Looking for typewriter-related books as holiday gifts and stocking stuffers while you’re there? Ask for some of the following:

  • The Typewriter Revolution: A Typist’s Companion for the 21st Century by Richard Polt (Countryman Press, 2015)
  • Uncommon Type: Some Stories by Tom Hanks (Knopf, 2017)
  • Olivetti by Allie Millington (Feiwel & Friends, 2024)
  • Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type by Doreen Cronin (Simon & Schuster, 2003) as well as other follow up books in the series
  • Typewriter Beach: A Novel by Meg Waite Clayton (Harper, July 2025)
  • Yankees, Typewriters, Scandals, and Cooperstown: A Baseball Memoir by Bill Madden (Triumph, April 2025)
Two rows of four typewriters each lined up on opposite sides of a table.
Who’s ready for a type-in?!?

RSVP & Questions

Our meeting space, which is frequently used for author talks and book signings, should be adequate, but please RSVP (with your expected number of typewriters) so we can plan for the appropriate amount of tables and chairs.

Questions? Media queries? Contact: ChrisAldrich@jhu.edu

How do you use your typewriter? [Wrong Answers Only Edition]

It’s really an over-asked question: What do you use your typewriter for?. (tl;dr: writing). To make things more interesting and entertaining in the middle of the week, let’s turn it on its ear and ask only for the wrong answers today.

Whether it’s use in food preparation:

  • Throw a slab of steak into the segment and pound away for a bit until well tenderized. Then insert into oven at 400 degrees F until it’s medium rare and you’ve got some excellent typebar grill marks.

Environmental reasons:

Or attempting to cleverly camouflage your 57th machine acquisition from your partner:

  • When you’ve got too many and you need them to be useful in other ways, you turn a Royal KMM into a decorative door stop.

Send us your favorite personal uses for typewriters… Wrong answers only.

Fletch and his Royal HH Standard Typewriters

I noticed that just like Dustin Hoffman as Carl Bernstein in All the President’s Men, Chevy Chase portraying the titular  Fletch (Universal Pictures, 1985) has a Royal HH typewriter not only at his Santa Monica apartment, but he also has a matching one at his office at the Los Angeles Globe. 

Fletch’s Apartment Office

Standing, Fletch looks up from his desktop. Behind him in the middle of his home desk sits a Royal HH typewriter.

Fletch with a beer in hand eyes a basketball on the floor. In front of him on the desk is a brown Royal HH standard typewriter.
Interesting to note that Fletch’s home office typewriter has a POLICE sticker on it…
A still shot of Fletch's messy apartment. On the desk we see a Royal HH standard typewriter in the common brown color with a white bumper sticker on the side that reads POLICE.
This still shot from Fletch’s office at home may be my new Zoom background shot.

Fletch’s Office at the Los Angeles Globe

Fletch rolls a sheet of paper into the platen of a Royal HH standard typewriter at his office desk.

Fletch and his boss stand at Fletch's messy desk. Off to the far side we see the back of a brown Royal HH standard typewriter
At the far left of the desk, we see the tell-tale Royal Logo on a brown standard typewriter.

Meanwhile, the poor sap reporter that sits next to Fletch is left pounding away on an Underwood TouchMaster 5.

As Fletch is stealing the chair out beneath the reporter next to him, we see what appears to be an Underwood TouchMaster 5 typewriter on the poor reporter's desk.