Adventures In Bookselling: Typewriters

Some months back a gentleman brought us an old IBM electric typewriter and left a business card with us, desiring to know who acquired the typewriter, so he would know that it would go to a good home. It eventually went to a young man in January of this year.

Yesterday, that young man brought the typewriter back in, saying that as much as he loved writing on it, it just didn't suit his needs. He hoped we would find a better new home for it.

Today, a young man walked up to the counter with a book in hand. Offhandedly, he inquired about the typewriter, sitting on top of a bookcase, asking if we would be willing to part with it. So we asked Nialle, who laid out the rules for the typewriter - 1) he had to promise to write a short story or poem on the typewriter, and send us a copy of that work; or 2) upon completing the work, bring the typewriter back to us.

Turns out that this young man had written a book to be published in November of this year about the history of IBM design engineering from the 1940s to the 1970s. He teaches at Oberlin College in Ohio, and when we explained the terms, his face lit up, and he uttered those wonderful words: "You're serious?"

So we wrapped the typewriter up in a plastic bag (it is monsoon season in Iowa City) and he told us how it would be used in his class this fall, and possibly in a museum exhibit sometime in 2013. He was also able to tell us the name of the engineer who designed the particular IBM typewriter model we had. We asked him to send us pictures, which we will happily post here and on the shop website.

And this, gentle readers, is why we have the best jobs ever.