Buying a Typewriter with history
May 20, 2012 4:03 PM   Subscribe

I would like to buy a semi-famous typewriter.

So I want a great classic typewriter. But I'd also like a little MORE than that. I want it to have a history. To have stories. To make it unique. So where can I buy a typewriter owned by someone famous? I'd love a celebrity's typewriter but I'm also open to other ways it could be famous. such as...

owned by a hack writer from the 50's who knocked out MY THREE SONS episodes on it.

from a police station where a notorious criminal was arrested and which might have typed up memos related to it.

A factory mistake with two Z's

I want something original or special about this typewriter. How would I go about looking for it? Because Ebay and Etsy aren't as much help as I'd like here.
posted by rileyray3000 to Shopping (5 answers total) 3 users marked this as a favorite
 
Estate sales?
posted by COD at 4:42 PM on May 20, 2012


I think the only way to pull this off is to explain what you're looking for to antique dealers and to keep an eye on auction and estate sales listings.
posted by drezdn at 5:07 PM on May 20, 2012 [1 favorite]


First of all, My Three Sons was awesome. It was not written by hack writers!

Secondly, as far as typewriters-with-history go, there's one style in particular that, while utterly distasteful, is highly sought after by collectors: The Nazi typewriter with the "SS" key.

If what you want is 'a celebrity touched this,' though, it couldn't hurt to just write to some and flat out ask for their old typewriters.
posted by Sys Rq at 5:13 PM on May 20, 2012




Vintage typewriters are already expensive. I recommend getting the coolest-looking typewriter you can find, and making up an elaborate story about the aspiring writer, the Not-So-Great American novels in the desk drawer, the reams of wretched poetry, and the crate of rejection letters.

Or some other story.
posted by theora55 at 7:14 PM on May 21, 2012 [1 favorite]


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