The Typewriter: a Graphic History of the Beloved Machine
Janine Vangool is the publisher, editor and designer of UPPERCASE, a quarterly magazine for the creative and curious. She is working on a new book The Typewriter: a Graphic History of the Beloved Machine and is raising funds via a crowdfunding campaign and getting people to pre-order the book by selecting one of the payment options and perks.
Janine Vangool has been obsessed with typewriters since she was very young and in 2006 she became an avid collector of typewriter memorabilia when she discovered the graphic beauty of typewriter ribbon tins.
The Typewriter: a Graphic History of the Beloved Machine will be a large format (9" x 11"), full colour hardcover book with at least 224 pages. The large page size will allow for many actual-size reproductions of artifacts and graphics, presenting this rich visual history is the best way possible.
The goal set for the crowdfunding campaign is $25,000 which would cover the print costs for 3000 copies of the hardcover book, freight and transaction fees. (Any additional funds will go towards research, writing, scanning, photography and design.)
The influence of the typewriter has been significant. Most notably, typewriters brought women into the workforce, contributing to emancipation. Great works of literature have been composed with them. The once ubiquitous office tool has had integral roles in film, art and popular culture, elevating it to iconic status. And of course, the vestigial qwerty arrangement remains the keyboard of choice for our computers. Though its heydey has passed, the legacy of the machine lives on. Now experiencing a resurgence of appreciation—curiously from the digital generation—the typewriter is coveted as a symbol of simpler times.
As you may know, I love the typewriter and cannot wait to get my hands on a copy of this book, which is scheduled to be published next year. If you believe are a fan of the typewriter and/or believe in this project, then please support it.