As ink hits paper, no distractions from email, IMs and YouTube
Monday, December 19 2011
Andrew Savulich/New York Daily News
Paul Schweitzer and his son, Justin, of Gramercy Typewriter Co. on 5th Ave., have seen a resurgence in business as some young writers opt to use an old-fashioned way to write.The old-fashioned typewriter is making a comeback.
Once written off as obsolete, the low-tech machines are experiencing a surge of popularity among writers looking to avoid distraction or drawn by the novelty of seeing their words appear on the page as they type.
“They have their computers, they have their blackberries or iPads or whatever it is, but they still would like to have a typewriter. They like the idea of pressing the keys and having the words hit the paper,” said Paul Schweitzer, 73, whose Gramercy Typewriter Co. has been in business since his father Abraham founded it in 1932.
As typewriters fell out of favor in the 1990s, Schweitzer kept his business alive by learning to repair laser printers. But in the past few years the typewriter business has bounced back, as customers bring in old typewriters from flea markets or basements. Schweitzer takes them apart, soaks them in a chemical bath, and gives them back good as new.
Donna Brady of Brady & Kowalksi Writing Machines calls them “non-native typers” — people who have been using computers for decades before deciding to invest in one of the typewriters she and her partner sell at the Brooklyn Flea.
“The more disconnected we get from other humans because of electronic devices ... the more we kind of want to get away from those gadgets,” she said. “A lot of people still want to be productive, but would like to get away from the screen.”
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/old-school-typewriters-a-comeback-generation-writers-article-1.992255#ixzz1h0oKMRGrOnce written off as obsolete, the low-tech machines are experiencing a surge of popularity among writers looking to avoid distraction or drawn by the novelty of seeing their words appear on the page as they type.
“They have their computers, they have their blackberries or iPads or whatever it is, but they still would like to have a typewriter. They like the idea of pressing the keys and having the words hit the paper,” said Paul Schweitzer, 73, whose Gramercy Typewriter Co. has been in business since his father Abraham founded it in 1932.
As typewriters fell out of favor in the 1990s, Schweitzer kept his business alive by learning to repair laser printers. But in the past few years the typewriter business has bounced back, as customers bring in old typewriters from flea markets or basements. Schweitzer takes them apart, soaks them in a chemical bath, and gives them back good as new.
Donna Brady of Brady & Kowalksi Writing Machines calls them “non-native typers” — people who have been using computers for decades before deciding to invest in one of the typewriters she and her partner sell at the Brooklyn Flea.
“The more disconnected we get from other humans because of electronic devices ... the more we kind of want to get away from those gadgets,” she said. “A lot of people still want to be productive, but would like to get away from the screen.”
Thanks to Dr. Donald Kerr, F.L.S.,Special Collections Librarian,University of Otago, Dunedin for bringing this story to my notice.