Typewriters through the years: from tools to inspiration

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American writer William Faulkner’s Underwood typewriter at Rowan Oak, his Oxford, Miss., home, is shown in 2000. “Faulkner had a habit of buying used portables locally, wearing them out, then trading them in on more used portables,” writes Gary Bridgman, the photographer. (Gary Bridgman / southsideartgallery.com)

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A portrait of author Jack London sits above his typewriter in the Glen Ellen, Calif., cottage where he lived in 1916. From the case’s battered condition, it’s clear that London dragged his typewriter along on the adventures that led to books such as “The Call of the Wild” and “White Fang.” (Eric Risberg / Associated Press)

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Ernest Hemingway’s typewriter remains at the ready at his home in Key West, Fla. (Santi Visalli / Getty Images)

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Los Angeles investor and civic leader Steve Soboroff’s typewriter collection includes ones owned by John Lennon, Joe DiMaggio, George Bernard Shaw and Ernest Hemingway. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times)

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Typewriter repairman Richard Lewis works on a vintage typewriter in 1999. (Christine Cotter / Los Angeles Times)

By Carolyn Kellogg

Nov. 4, 2014 2:06 PM PT

This week, Knopf announced it will publish a short story collection by Tom Hanks. It came as a surprise: The Oscar-winning actor has published just one short story, and hasn’t been known -- at least, not yet -- for writing fiction.

In a release about his upcoming collection, Hanks explained that he was inspired to write the stories by his typewriter collection.

“I’ve been collecting typewriters for no particular reason since 1978 -- both manual and portable machines dating from the ‘30s to the ‘90s, “ he said. “The stories are not about the typewriters themselves, but rather, the stories are something that might have been written on one of them.”

So typewriters have come full circle. Once they were tools that writers worked on -- such an improvement over writing by hand! Then they were displaced by home computers and printers, eventually becoming such an obsolete tool that they gathered dust in garages, went unloved at yard sales.

Then the almost-forgotten machines made a comeback. Not as a tool so much but as a collectible -- an art object, a valuable item, particularly if it was owned and used by someone interesting. No longer a tool, they’re now to be dusted and admired -- and serve as Tom Hanks’ muse.

Take a look at some typewriters throughout history and their owners at work in the photo gallery above.

Twitter: @paperhaus