Keys to the past: your typewriter stories

Love typewriters? So do we – and so do our readers. From childhood typing lessons to newsroom stories, here is a selection of our favourites

Typewriters and their owners: famous authors at work – in pictures

Recently, Tom Hanks’s love for typewriters inspired us to take a look back at classic photographs of authors with their treasured machines. Our readers joined us on our nostalgic shoot to share their stories and pictures of typewriters – including anecdotes from the past but also great stories of modern reinventions and art projects. Here is our selection, and do head here to see the rest of the contributions.

Life’s like that

After three years, I finally summoned the courage to go to the dentist. My friend said that he was young, witty, and took one’s mind off the dreadful torments I knew I would have to endure. I sat quaking in the chair, and opened my mouth. “How do you chew,” he said. I laughed, loudly, and for too long, then looked up and saw the quizzical expression on his face. When he had finished the inspection he asked me why I had been so amused. What I thought was his witty way of saying “how do you do” was in fact a serious inquiry as to how I chewed my food with so few back teeth.

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