Off Shore Muse

Famous Authors and Their Typewriters

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Nelle Harper Lee, author

To Kill a Mockingbirgd

While most novelists nowadays are inseparable from their laptops, up until some decades ago the typewriter was among the author's most treasured possessions. Many of the greatest stories have been written on the typewriter, making it one of the most genius inventions of all time.

Mark Twain

(1835-1910)

Mark Twain supposedly is the first ever author to submit a typed manuscript although which script is not clear. In his autobiography in 1904, he claimed he was the first person in the world to apply the type-machine to literature which he remembered to be The Adventures of Tom Sawyer written in 1876 and using a Remington typewriter. However, it is now believed this story was published from a hand-written manuscript. Historians thinks it was Life on the Mississippi in 1882 that is the origiinal typed manuscript although it was dictated by Twain to a typist from a handwritten version. The same Remington was given away twice by Twain for being frustrated by it, but it returned to him both times. Before Twain owned a Remington, it is thought that in the early 1870s he acquired a Sholes & Glidden typewriter sold by Remington Arms.

Sholes & Glidden Typewriter

The Remington 2 Standard was the Model T of typewriters, simple, reliable and practical. It was the first typewriter to be produced in great quantity, introducing the world to typewriting and paving the way for the explosion in typewriter design and manufacturing which soon followed. Introduced in 1878, the Remington 2 was the first typewriter to feature a shift key enabling both uppercae and lowercase characters. Each key typed two characters much like a modern computer keyboard.

Ernest Hemingway

(1899-1961)

In the times of Ernest Hemingway typewriters had become more manageable and were widely used by writers. Hemingway had worn out several typewriters including the Corona No. 3, No. 4 and several Royal portables. Supposedly, the author of The Sun Also Rises (1926), A Farewell to Arms (1929) and Old Man and the Sea (1952) preferred to write standing up, keeping his Royal Quiet de Luxe typewriter on a bookshelf.

Agatha Christie

(1890-1976)

The typewriter connected to Agatha Christie's famous for Hercule Poroit and Miss Marple detectives, is the 1937 Remington Portable Typewriter.

Christie started off with an Empire from her sister and got to appreciate the typewriter, in general, when she broke her wrist. Dictating her stories to a secretary made Christie realize how much the writing and typing processes helped her choose the best words instead of repeating comparable sentences several times. Writing on a typewriter also kept her in the writer's flow. Other typewriters Agatha Christie presumably used were a Corona Portable and a Remington Victor T.

Orson Welles

(1915-1985)

Orson Welles proves that typewriters were perfect for writing plays. The American cultural icon, producer, screenwriter and actor is mostly famous for the movie Citizen Kane (1941) and the play War of the Worlds (1938). He used an Underwood Standard Portable typewriter with his name and address painted on the case.

Danielle Steel

As Danielle Steel and many other famous authors prove it is not too late to start using a typewriter. It can provide a welcome change from staring at the screen of your computer and who knows, it might just inspire you to write a great novel. Steel's choice of typewriter is an Olympia SG1. Steel and several other writers today continue to use typewriters despite the widespread adoption of computers.

Winston Churchill, the British Prime Minister during WWII used an Imperial 58 typewriter. Churchill, known for his stirring speeches and extensive writings, relied on this robust machine to compose many of important wartime communications and literary works. The Imperial 58 is a testament to Churchill's prolific output and enduring influence. One of Churchills' Imperial typewriters is on display at the Churchill War Rooms in London. This museum, part of the Imperial War Museums, preserves the underground bunker that sheltered Churchill and his government during the Blitz.

Andy Rooney (1919-2011) and William F. Buckley, Jr. were among many writers who were very reluctant to switch from typewriters to computers.

Andrew Aitken "Andy" Rooney at his 1920 Underwood Typewriter

"Those old Underwoods were the best typewriters ever built and one of the best of anything ever built. Even when you weren't writing anything interesting they were satisfying to pound on and I never outgrew my sentimental attachment to them."

Andy Rooney

Andy Rooney's 1923 Underwood with auction tag.

"This vintage 1923 Underwood typewriter used by Andy Rooney in his home office."

William F. Buckley with his canine companion, Freddy.

Freddy was a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel who was the brother of one of President Reagan's White house dogs.

Walter Leland Cronkite, Jr.

(1916-2009)

Circa May 6, 1970

Cronkite used a Remington 5 Streamline typewriter. The art deco style typewriter, popular in the 1930s was known for its sleek design and portability. Cronkite also used a Corona typewriter.

Truman Capote

(1924-1984)

"To me, the greatest pleasure of writing is not what it's about,, but the inner music that words make."

Truman Capote

Truman Capote's choice of typewriters was a 1961 Smith-Corona Electra 110 in his later years. He likely typed his last three novels on it. The typewriter was purchased from Joanne Carson. Joan was good friends with Capote and even maintained a writing room and bedroom in her Los Angeles home for when Capote was in town and sitting down at at the Electra 110.

Vintage typewriters used by Harper Lee and Truman Capote, childhood friends in Monroeville, Alabama and sometimes collaborative authors sit side by side in a display arrea that was part of the Alabama Types: Poets, Playwrights and Storytellers exhibit at the Dinah Washington Cultural Center at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. The Capote typewriter is part of a collection of vintage typewriters that traveled the Southeast in 2018 under the auspices of the Southern Literary Trail. The Lee typewriter, on which she wrote To Kill a Mockingbird, was on loan from Harper Lee LLC in Monroeville.

Lee's father seeing that Nelle and Truman had fallen in love with words, encouraged them with a special gift. When they were old enough to write stories on their own, he gave them a typewriter. It was the 1930s equivalent of a word processor: a rugged, steel-encased black Underwood No. 5 weighing 20 pounds.

Nellie Harper Lee

(1926-2016)

The 1960 Southern Gothic novel's critical success and its thoughtful engagement with social issues have solidified its position as a fundamental text in American literature.

"As you grow up, always tell the truth, do no harm to others, and don't think you are the most important being on earth."

Nelle Harper Lee

The Formative Years of Nelle Harper Lee

Nelle Harper Lee was born on April 28, 1926 in Monroeville, Alabama as the youngest of four children. Her mother was a homemaker and her father, a lawyer though also serving in the state legislature. Lee's name, 'Nelle' was her grandmother Ellen's name spelled backward and 'Harper' was in honor of Dr. William W. Harper. The Southern environment of her childhood and her family's history which included being a distant relation to Confederate General Robert E. Lee influenced her later writing. Lee studied English literature in high school and attended the University of Alabama initially studying law before deciding to pursue a career in writing using Harper Lee as her pen name to ensure proper pronunciation.

.. Lee's father was her model for Atticus Finch ..

.. To Kill a Mockingbird ..

Atticus Finch was played by Gregory Peck in the 1962 film adaptation who symbolizes moral integrity, justice and unwavering commitment to fairness. He embodies the idea that everyone deserves equal treatment under the law and that one should always stand for what is right, even when faced with adversity and societal prejudice.

RIP Atticus Finch

Harper Lee's Quiet Deluxe Royal Portable Typewriter

A letter typed and signed by Harper Lee to a devoted fan.

Circa September 13, 1960

Harper Lee moved to NYC in 1949 to follow her literary ambitions. While working various jobs, she wrote "To Kill a Mockingbird" completing the manuscript in 1957 and perfecting it with the help of her editor before its publication on July 11, 1960. The novel's release during the Civil Rights Movement heightened its resonance with the American public. Lee lived in Manhattan for several decades, maintaining a private life and engaging in few public appearances. Although she began other literary projects, none reached completion, contributing to her reputation as a literary enigma.

Helen Keller was an excellent typist. Though Keller was blind she could use a standard typewriter as well as a braillewriter.* In fact, she was a better typist than her companions Anne Sullivan Macy and Polly Thomson.

*The Perkins braillewriter was invented in 1951. One of its features was an audible bell that sounded 7 spaces before the end of a line.

1957 Smith Corona Silent-Super

Alpine Blue

This typewriter started my personal writing journey in high school

eventually leading me to the creation of this blog using a Samsung Tablet S5e.

People who buy typewriters today include writers, collectors and those who enjoy the nostalgia and simplicity of using a machine that doesn't have distractions. Even though most of us now use computers, there is something about the experience and the quiet focus that keeps typewriters alive and relevant, today.