When you love someone who loves typewriters, it can be a daunting task to find them an appropriately themed present that they don’t already have. You don’t want to buy someone a typewriter because it’s a) expensive and b) a selection of personal preference, and if you don’t know what to look for in a typewriter, you’ll have no idea what to do when you’re looking under the hood of a 1940s portable Smith-Corona with glass top keys. Even if you’re just looking for a vintage gift, it’s hard to know where to start so I’ve curated a list of resources for you as you go out into the Wild West that is the typewriter gift market.
Everyone can appreciate something old, especially collectors. Items that have a rich history or a natural patina to them are cool trinkets to not only display, but, if you’re a typewriter person, also use. A simple gift that is on the lower end of the cost spectrum is a vintage ribbon tin. These tins would hold the typewriter ribbon that you would have to order for your typewriter. Now days, you can buy ribbon on the internet, and it comes shipped in a plastic bag that locks in the moisture and ink. These tins, like vintage license plates or old coke bottles, show the progression of design in this particular area and can really add to a displayed collection. This tins can be found on eBay or in collections on Esty. They’re also small enough to be storage devices for other gifts like type key cufflinks, tie pins, or earrings. I personally purchased a set of two ribbon tins on eBay for roughly seven dollars (including shipping) so this is an achievable and personalized gift that someone who has an appreciation for history and typewriters will really enjoy.
In that same vein, you can find some really interesting handcrafted pieces of jewelry or wearable art that incorporate typewriter keys. When a typewriter dies and goes to typewriter heaven, the miscellaneous parts are often repurposed in other ways like sculptors (check out this art work by Jeremy Mayer) or use the parts to repair mostly intact machines. Another use of those keys once chopped from the machine is in the jewelry design market. These circular shapes are great as charms or ring pieces. Etsy is a fantastic place to find these customized pieces. You can also be selective about what specific keys you want. For example, I wanted a floating shift key with a glass top (a metal key that has a glassy finish to the top as opposed to plastic) to make a key chain. I was able to find this specific key in a necklace form which means it was already in a jewelry setting that made it easy to affix to another sort of piece like key chain or jump ring. You can find specific letter keys, shift or tab keys, numbers, etc. If you want to see how I did this, be sure to check out my YouTube channel Just My Typewriter to see a video on this process.
There are other ways to incorporate the typewriter aesthetic into your daily life without hunting down typewriter parts. Amazon has plenty of typewriter based stationary products like note paper and desk ornaments for your office typewriter nut, and the wonderful world of book publishing is full of collections on typewriter history. There are also two books that come highly recommended by the typewriter community that are less about the history of this great machine and more about the practice of using it. The Typewriter Revolution: A Typist’s Companion for the 21st Century, for example, is a guide on how to pick a typewriter specific to your needs and care for it. This book written by Richard Polt, who wrote the Typewriter manifesto, is a fun and eclectic guide that epitomizes the nature of the full typewriter community. In addition to creating this manual, Richard Polt also runs a typewriter blog and publishing company focused on creating works of typewriter content- both short stories and works of poetry. If you want more works of typewriter fiction, check out the godfather of the typewriter revolution’s collection of short stories: Uncommon Type by Tom Hanks. This book contains 17 short stories by the Forrest Gump actor all of which include a specific typewriter. In addition to being a great resource on typewriter vernacular and culture, Tom Hanks also has a very specific voice which, if you’ve watched any interviews by Hanks about his writing, he helped hone through the help of director, producer, and writer Nora Ephron.
Beyond the pieces of jewelry, antique tins, or even books, you could also look to the digital world for a typewriter present. For example, you could always get your local typewriter fanatic a copy of California Typewriter, a documentary produced by Tom Hanks about the re-emergence of typewriter culture. This documentary follows artists, poets, collectors, and repair shops as everyone continues to show their love for these fascinating machines. Both digital and physical copies of this documentary are available on Amazon. If you’re looking for something a little bit more interactive for your typewriter fiend, I have one last suggestion. Tom Hanks recently released an app called Hanx Writer which turns your digital device (iPhone, iPad, etc.) into a typewriter. The app allows you to type with a vintage typewriter keyboard within the app on a digital sheet of paper, and, for a $9.99 upgrade, you can also install the app as a keyboard option to use in other applications on your device like Notes or in your phone’s messaging apps.
With all of these options, there’s no reason not to personalize your gifts for typewriter people this season. A gift that comes from the heart never goes unappreciated especially when you’re dealing with a sentimental typewriter collector. If any of these gift ideas intrigued you, feel free to consult the list of typewriter related gifts below and follow us on Instagram @Just.my.typewriter to see what else the typewriter community has in store.
Links for Gifts
IvieRidge- https://www.etsy.com/listing/578870335/typewriter-key-jewelry-typewriter-charm?ref=hp_opfy-1
Typewriter paper- https://www.amazon.com/dp/1452136319/?coliid=I2YJCNJK7DGT9M&colid=3GQOIKGWQWFRY&psc=0&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it
Typewriter book- https://www.amazon.com/Typewriter-Celebration-Ultimate-Writing-Machine/dp/1454920785/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1541346071&sr=1-2&keywords=typewriter
Typewriter music box decoration- https://www.amazon.com/Alytimes-Vintage-Typewriter-Office-Decoration/dp/B012CJDE9K/ref=sr_1_15?ie=UTF8&qid=1541346096&sr=8-15&keywords=typewriter
California typewriter movie- https://www.amazon.com/California-Typewriter-Tom-Hanks/dp/B074L8MBY2/ref=sr_1_18?ie=UTF8&qid=1541346171&sr=8-18&keywords=typewriter
Tom Hanks App- Hanx Writer- https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/hanx-writer/id868326899?mt=8