Typewriter resources for the collector

I’m organizing an upcoming type-in at Vroman’s Bookstore on Saturday, May 10, 2025 and you’re invited to join us.

Typewriter Resources

Some of my favorite typewriter information and resources:

Typewriter Database
Richard Polt’s Classic Typewriter site
Typosphere
- My typecasts
r/Typewriters
Facebook Antique Typewriter Collectors
Facebook Antique Typewriter Maintenance Group
Typewriter Discord
Type Pals (find pen pals who use typewriters)
Typewriter Wiki

Typewriter Articles

Articles I’ve written about particular typewriter-related topics:

Cleaning, Repair, & Restoration

Typewriter Ribbon

Typewriter Collecting

Typewriter Use, History, and Miscellanea

Typewriter Bibliography: Books, Movies, etc.

A. C. Van Sant. The Van Sant System Of Touch Typewriting For Smith Premier (Book), 1902. http://archive.org/details/TheVanSantSystemOfTouchTypewriting-ForSmithPremier.
Ackerman, Peter. The Lonely Typewriter. Illustrated edition. Boston: David R. Godine, Publisher, 2014.
Adler, Michael. Antique Typewriters: From Creed to QWERTY. Schiffer, 1997.
Adler, Michael H. The Writing Machine: A History of the Typewriter. George Allen & Unwin Ltd, 1973.
Allan, Tony. Typewriter: The History · The Machines · The Writers. 1st ed. New York: Shelter Harbor Press, 2015.
Atkinson, Annelise. Typewriter SOS: The DIY Guide to Fixing Common Problems with Typewriters, 2014.
Auster, Paul, and Sam Messer. The Story of My Typewriter. 1st edition. New York: D.A.P./Distributed Art Publishers, Inc., 2002.
Beeching, Wilfred A. Century of the Typewriter. First American Edition. London: St. Martin’s Press, 1974.
California Typewriter. Documentary. Gravitas Pictures, 2016.
Casillo, Anthony, Bruce Curtis, and Tom Hanks. Typewriters: Iconic Machines from the Golden Age of Mechanical Writing. Illustrated edition. San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 2017.
Flint, Woz. The Distraction-Free First Draft. One Idea Press, 2023. https://www.oneideapress.com/product-page/the-distraction-free-first-draft.
Hanks, Tom. Uncommon Type: Some Stories. Knopf, 2017.
House, Clifford R., and Samuel Skurow. Typewriting Style Manual with References to Century 21 Typewriting. Cincinnati, OH: South-Western Publishing Co., 1977. http://archive.org/details/typing_202007.
Lyons, Martyn. The Typewriter Century: A Cultural History of Writing Practices. Studies in Book and Print Culture. Toronto ; Buffalo ; London: University of Toronto Press, Scholarly Publishing Division, 2021.
Maintenance Of Office Machines. 16 mm. Vol. MN-1513. United States Navy Training Film, 1943. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ocdxgkxKAKo.
Marty (Costa Mesa). Gregg Typewriting For Colleges (Complete Course), 1964. http://archive.org/details/greggtypewritingforcolleges.
Monk, Theodore. “1954 Smith-Corona (SCM) Typewriter Type Styles and Keyboards Catalog.” – To Type, Shoot Straight, and Speak the Truth… (blog), February 3, 2023. https://munk.org/typecast/2023/02/03/1954-smith-corona-scm-typewriter-type-styles-and-keyboards-catalog/.
Pearce, H. G. Complete Instructions: How to Repair, Rebuild, and Adjust Underwood Typewriters With Handy Reference for Locating Trouble Quickly. Bridgeport, CT: Typewriter Mechanics Publishing Co., 1920. https://johnesimmons.com/Typewriter/Articles/Manualpdf/Underwood_Repair_Manual.pdf.
Polt, Richard. The Typewriter Revolution: A Typist’s Companion for the 21st Century. 1st ed. Woodstock, VT: Countryman Press, 2015.
Robert, Paul, and Peter Weil. Typewriter: A Celebration of the Ultimate Writing Machine. 1st ed. New York: Union Square & Co., 2016.
Smith-Corona, Inc. Type Styles and Keyboards for Smith-Corona Office Typewriters. Syracuse, NY: Smith-Corona, Inc., 1954. https://munk.org/typecast/2023/02/03/1954-smith-corona-scm-typewriter-type-styles-and-keyboards-catalog/.
Vangool, Janine. The Typewriter: A Graphic History of the Beloved Machine. UPPERCASE publishing inc, 2015.

My Brief Typewriter Biography

I started out in my youth swiping a small ultra-portable from my older brother so frequently that my parents got me a cheap, plastic PETITE 400 sometime about 4th grade. It really wasn’t up to snuff, so they later picked up a used Smith-Corona Clipper around 5th or 6th grade for me to use.

Later on, that ceded way to a Panasonic word processor that got me through to early college before being superseded by a variety of computers. In my first few post-college jobs, I had occasional use of an IBM Selectric II whose primary use was for typing out envelopes, though I did retype a full draft of a book on one once.

In Spring of 2023, I recovered the old Smith-Corona Clipper from my parent’s basement and began noodling around with it again, and all the old touch memory for all of its functionality came flooding back.

Since March of 2024, I’ve begun collecting and repairing a small segment of manual typewriters. I’ve got enough now that it’s probably worth having a page I can point to with a list of what’s in my collection. I’ve written about many of my machines, their cleaning, repair, and even some use along with lots of photos.