Announcing the first Philadelphia
Type-IN
A Pleasant Afternoon of Manual Typewriting
Long before the laptop or the mainframe, writers, reporters, and bureaucrats alike relied on the typewriter to get the word out. Today, only a few companies make typewriters—but thousands of classic Remingtons, Underwoods, and Olivettis are still around, waiting to be dusted off. Just as vinyl records have held their mojo in a digital world, these miniature printing presses are attracting a new group of fans, many half the age of the typewriters they’ve lovingly restored.
They’ll be gathering to clack out letters, poetry, perhaps the beginnings of their next novel at the Type-IN, an off-beat gathering of manual typewriter users coming to Bridgewater’s Pub at 30th Street Station. Typewriter aficionados will enter a typing competition, buy and sell at a typewriter swap meet, and consult with an experienced typewriter technician, who’ll offer tips to keep that vintage machine cranking out words smoothly.
Complimentary typing paper, carbons, and stamped envelopes will be on-hand so that freshly-typed holiday letters may be mailed at the Main Post Office nearby.
The event is free, but attendees should RSVP.
Type-IN
Bridgewater’s Pub
Saturday, Dec. 18, 1pm – 4:30pm
30th Street Station, 30th & Market Sts.
Philadelphia, PA
A few typewriter tidbits:
Mark Twain was one of the first important writers involved with the typewriter—his handwritten manuscript for Life on the Mississippi was typed up before going to the publisher in 1883.
More recently, writer Cormac McCarthy (The Road) auctioned off his trusty Olivetti Lettera 32 for $250,000. That machine cost him $50, and on it, he typed an estimated five million words, including his Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, The Road. Don’t worry, he’s not typewriter-less—he found another Olivetti 32 for $20!
Ironically, the Internet has helped manual typers link up and share resources. Check out these manual typewriter sites:
www.strikethru.net/
www.cambridgetypewriter.blogspot.com/
www.machinesoflovinggrace.com/
www.brady-kowalski.com
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