Typewriters making a comeback

For most of us, the clickety-clack of a manual typewriter — or the gentler tapping of the IBM Selectric — are but memories, or something seen only in movies.

But at the few remaining typewriter repair shops in the country, business is booming as a younger generation discovers the joy of the feel and sound of the typewriter — and older generations admit they never fell out of love with it.

“What’s surprising to me is that the younger generation is taking a liking to typewriters again,” said Paul Schweitzer, 80, owner and operator of the Gramercy Typewriter Co., founded by his father in 1932. He now works alongside his son, Jay Schweitzer, 50, and — this summer — a grandson, Jake.

Vintage typewriters are sent for repair and restoration daily from around the country, Schweitzer says. Demand is so great that early this year, the family finally opened their own store in New York City. Other surviving shops include Berkeley Typewriter and California Typewriter, both in Berkeley, and also founded in the 1930s.

Gramercy sold dozens of old typewriters over the holiday season, Schweitzer says.

Two recent documentaries, “The Typewriter (In the 21st Century)” (2012) and “California Typewriter” (2016), featuring collector Tom Hanks, have helped popularize vintage typewriters among young people, who also have a soft spot for other analog technologies like vinyl records and fountain pens.

At one time, Schweitzer says, there were six pages of typewriter repair listings in the New York City phone book (which also hardly exists anymore).

Schweitzer, who also services HP laser printers, still packs up his leather typewriter-repair bag and heads out on jobs at offices around the city, seeing to sticky keys and shredded ribbons. But these days, he sees to just a...