Posted by Doug Nichol’s 2016/2017 documentary film, California Typewriter has a mix of creativity and technology, includes artists, collectors, and writers such as Tom Hanks, John Mayer, David McCullough, and Sam Shepard (in his last film before his death), and others; using the typewriter as a tool and a muse.
From Tom Hanks showcasing his collection; Musician John Mayer saying he prefers the typewriter because it “doesn’t judge you, it just goes, ‘right away, sir, right away’,” and Sam Shepard’s careless fling of the return lever.
California Typewriter also gives you useful bits of trivia, like how the letters for the word TYPEWRITER are all on the top row of a QWERTY layout.
If you haven’t seen it, spend a couple of hours.
All of the people in the film intersect in Berkley, CA in a little store called CALIFORNIA TYPEWRITER. Sadly, after 70 years, CALIFORNIA TYPEWRITER closed their doors in March 2020.
Dara Rochlin Book Doctor 