Typewriters: Iconic Machines From the Golden Age of Mechanical Writing
By Anthony Casillo, Photography by Bruce Curtis and Anthony Casillo, Foreword by Tom Hanks.
This handsome volume is a visual homage to the golden age of the typewriter, charting a century of beautiful machinery and design innovation. Eighty vintage devices ranging from the first commercially successful typewriter, the Sholes & Glidden Type Writer of 1874, to the iconic electric models of the 1960s are profiled in elegant photographs and fascinating text, highlighting the design modifications, intricate details, and peculiar quirks that make each typewriter unique. Packed with visuals and rich with history, TYPEWRITERS is the essential story of a writing invention that changed the world.
Hardcover, Publisher Chronicle Books – October 17, 2017
Available on most book seller websites and in bookstores everywhere.
Author signed copies are available HERE.
IN THE MEDIA:
GOODREADS, Toni’s Reviews, TYPEWRITERS 4/8/2018
LITERARY HUB, Confessions of a Typewriter Addict 2/6/2018
The Florida Times-Union Book of the Week 12/31/2017
Romantic Homes Magazine – October 2017
The Wall Street Journal – October 14, 2017
REVIEWS:
The typewriter has made a comeback as a nostalgic object reminiscent of a time before we were connected to computers. Office machine repairman Casillo began to preserve and collect vintage typewriters in the 1970s. The machines here are from his own collection, and this book is essentially an extension of his website, typewritercollector.com but with excellent images and detailed descriptions of each machine. A brief essay by actor Tom Hanks, another avid typewriter fan, is followed by the author’s story of becoming a collector. Casillo then provides a concise history of the typewriter, starting with numerous writing machine inventions in the early 19th century through 1990, when IBM sold its typewriter department. Details articulate the changes and surprising consistencies in design over the decades. A glossary and bibliography benefit readers new to typewriter history and collecting.
VERDICT This is sure to delight typewriter lovers and those interested in machine or design history.
–Shannon Marie Robinson, Drexel Univ. Libs., Philadelphia