I don’t need another typewriter. In fact, I’ve finally reached the point where I don’t really want another typewriter. As things stand right now, I have more than one good machine that just isn’t being used nearly often enough. I don’t like to have these machines sitting around unused. Yet I couldn’t say no to my friend Bob when he informed me that he wanted to give his old Underwood to me, even though he had just bought it last year.
I was the one who had strongly encouraged him to buy a typewriter in the first place. Bob and I had begun exchanging letters not long after I bought my first typewriter back in 2020. We kept this going for quite some time despite the fact that we lived just four miles apart. It made for a nice way to help pass the time during that portion of the pandemic when we were all much more isolated than we are these days.
It was during those exchanges that I kept going on and on about just how much I was enjoying the use of a typewriter. Bob was one of the few friends that I knew that genuinely liked to write, and did so very often. To be honest, he was an easy target who eventually gave in and ended up buying this 1942 Underwood Model S for himself. I think that he truly enjoyed his visit to the typewriter shop (one of many here in Portland) where he bought this machine. So I was e bit surprised when Bob finally informed me that a typewriter just wasn’t for him.
To be honest, this old Underwood types quite nicely, but it just doesn’t do it for me. I prefer the “newer” typewriters from the 50’s & 60’s. My glass keytop needs are filled by the ’46 Smith-Corona Clipper that I own. I’ll eventually get around to documenting this typer and will add it to the Typewriter Database. Then I will work on finding it a new home. That’s not to say that this heavy hunk of writing iron doesn’t hold some sentimental value to me as lt did represent Bob’s ultimate vision of what a typewriter is. But Bob’s letters that he wrote using this Underwood are what I truly value. Those I will be keeping.
AFTERTHOUGHTS: I would note that I do manage to put the majority of my typewriters to good use. However, I recently began to pull those rarely used examples out from their cases to make sure that they were still working okay. This has served as a good reminder why I’m just not using certain typewriters any longer. There isn’t anything wrong with these rarely used typers — I took care of anything that might have been ailing them upon arrival. It’s just that I have begun to develop my favorites out of the typewriters that I do own and those are the ones I find myself wanting to use time and again. The arrival of this Underwood serves as a reminder that I really need to work on getting my unused machines into the hands of others, hopefully further growing the typewriter community in the process.
Those old Underwood typewriters are fine machines although they, like other typewriters, may not be for everyone.
True. With so many typewriters out there to choose from, a person willing to invest a bit of time is bound to find one that is to their liking.
I have much the same issue, where I really only use maybe half my collection on a regular basis, and have many machines that get put away within a few sentences of being pulled out to type because I suddenly remember why I don’t use them (Valentine and all my Olivettis – just hate the way they feel and sound, but too pretty to get rid of.)
However, that’s also a pool of machines I can give from at a moment’s notice if an Emergency Typewriter Acquisition needs to occur for someone, so I don’t feel bad keeping them. (:
I can certainly relate as I bought my Lettera 32 based on its looks. I wanted a pretty typewriter and I got one, but I don’t enjoy typing with it and therefore rarely use it. Like your Olivetti’s, mine also falls into the “too pretty to get rid of” category. That was early on in my typewriter journey. Had I been patient and waited until I could get my hands on one to try it out for myself, I wouldn’t have bought one. Yet others love the way those machines type. There’s a typewriter out there for almost everyone, sometimes more than one, lol.
I think if I was a first-time typewriter owner, that thing would be a bit intimidating. I’m left wondering if Bob would change his tune with a more modern typewriter, maybe even–gasp!–an ultra-portable. Of course, it really is true that typewriters are not for everyone. I’m sure there has always been a time when that could be said. Some people have always preferred the pencil, pen, quill… or nothing at all.
Not a bad suggestion Gregory. However, Bob actually purchased his Underwood from one of the many typewriter shops here in Portland where he had a number of machines to choose from. I actually wasn’t surprised by his pick — long before he purchased this Model S, Bob always brought up Underwood’s whenever I raised the topic of typewriters. Not to mention that he was fond of an older standard-sized machine that belonged to yet another friend of his. In the end, a typewriter just didn’t end up serving Bob’s needs as a writing tool and he simply wasn’t enamored enough with these machines to keep one around as a display piece. Still, I’m glad that he gave it a shot.
Somehow I missed this when you first posted it . I’ve been on a blog break too, but still quite obsessed with typewriters. I’m writing a lot, just not posting like I used to. Like you, I prefer machines for the typing experience way more than the looks. Now that I’ve found several both manual & electric that I like very much, the desire to acquire more has dwindled. I was getting like 2 or 3 typewriters per month! Unless something really special like that Brother dial-a-type element comes along, I’m really going on a strict diet this time!