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Death of the typewriter (man)
September 24, 2008

One of the endearing elements of The Economist is its weekly obituary. It must be a challenging task to select one individual from around the world who has died, and who's life was worthy of particular note. This week it commemorates the life of Martin Tytell. If you don't recognize the name, don't feel bad. I didn't either. Tytell was a typewriter repair man in New York City who was known for having dedicated his life to the craft.

The obituary found it impossible to discuss his life without discussing manual typewriters. For those of us over 40, we remember typewriters as a symbol of a bygone era. I used to classify a person's age by whether he or she was old enough to have used a slide rule. I suppose one could extend that now and make the same classification based on one's use of a typewriter. This is particularly important for one who has made his or her living in some aspect of writing.

I left for college with a massive black Underwood pica manual. It was one of those tall designs with an open cast iron frame and it weighed a ton. Apparently it had belonged to my grandfather. Since I had taken "personal typing" class in high school, I knew how to use it. That machine served me all through college. It wasn't until I had been working for several years before I received my first computer of any kind. I can't say that I miss typewriters on a practical level, any more than I miss my slide rule. There are still a few kicking around the Control Engineering complex, but I can't remember the last time I heard the familiar clatter. Of course those that have survived are late generation IBM Wheelwriters. They don't have the same reassuring sound.

Posted by Peter Welander on September 24, 2008 | Comments (0)