Postcard from the past

In 1939, The Underwood company unveiled a 14-ton replica of its Master model typewriter at the World’s Fair in New York City. The world’s fair put art deco — with its bold lines, geometric shapes and sense of symmetry — on display.

I learned this while researching the Master I bought at a local rummage sale for $25. My typewriter was built in 1940, the fair’s biggest year. The thing — like all old typewriters — weighs a ton (not 14 of them, obvs.).

At some point, someone published a postcard in honor of the Master. I finally got around to buying one of the remaining postcards last week. I have a display table in my living room that is currently home to my succulents. When I move those outside for the summer, I plan to move the Underwood and postcard down from the library to the living room so visitors can actually see it.

The replica and fair made an appearance in Tom Hanks’ Uncommon Type. The story they appeared in was uncharacteristically dark for a book marked by stories that are often so light in tone as to verge on sappy. But you can hear Hanks’ voice reading them. If you’re into typewriters, they’re worth a few hours’ time.

*—In my few years’ of collecting typewriters, the biggest thing I’ve learned is that people like typewriters and want to see them preserved. What they don’t want to do is pay for them or give them the space because of their bulk. People who don’t collect them but want to sell them find them overpriced in online markets, so they assume there’s a lot of demand for them. So, you tend to either find people who give them away, either for free or a pittance, or people who drastically overvalue their price. I came across a rusted hulk in the online marketplace for a nearby antique store and the owner insisted that it was worth $70. When I told her that the typewriter would require hours of rehabbing just to get the keys unstuck, she told me that maybe I should move on. The last I checked, the typewriter was still in her store and still $70.