The Snazzy Typewriter

I have this incredible passion and love for “old school” writing : ink to paper. The thought of books ever going extinct makes me sad, and I mourned the closing of my local Borders bookstore this past Fall.  I own more journals than I can count, all of which I write in with one of my many favorite pens. When I edit prose for other people, I always print it out and correct  by hand with a pen (but not a red pen because I think that’s mean). I even named my company Pen to Paper Communications.

I am also in love with antique typewriters. They are extremely heavy, inefficient, and hard to write with, but I think they are fascinating. These seemingly inconvenient machines were a wonderful technological advancement for their time and made both the writing and publishing processes so much easier. At the same time though, when I look at today’s sleek laptops and snazzy “iMachines,” the old school, bulky typewriter looks downright ancient!

I’ve been hunting for an antique typewriter for my office and, thanks to my parents, I got one today. My parents found it in a little antique store over New Year’s weekend while vacationing at the beach. It works perfectly. What I love the most is its history.

This 1934 typewriter belonged to a man named Carl J. Imper. He used it while working for a company called Roebling and bought the typewriter when he retired from Roebling in the 1960′s. Mr. Imper was also a  writer, and he used this machine to write all his prose including his autobiography. He wasn’t a fan of modern technology and preferred the typewriter; he used it until he went blind in 2008. Mr. Imper passed away a year later at the age of 94.

The owner of the antique shop is Mr. Imper’s son. He was happy the typewriter was going to another writer who would appreciate it. And I do… I absolutely love it! For me, this 80 year old typewriter is snazzier than the iPad I was eyeing earlier this week. It will have a prominent spot in my office for as long as I love writing… 

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