musée mia burrus

Musings on technology

Why do I have seven typrewriters? Why not. Most belonged to my late father, who also seemed to think you couldn’t have too many of them. Two are electric, not on display, and untested. Of the five seen in Gallery, four function and have new ribbons. All contain typed poems. Of course, their useful lives will likely be shortened by being on display…the rollers will dry out, dust will accrete, moving parts will stop moving. But why have seven typewriters in cases?

One of those cases serves as a shrine to the typewriter and contains the poem to be found in Reading Room. It was not written expressly for the typewriter shrine, but for another disappearing technology, the bell, and all typewriters have a bell. Ting!

I have much more to say about both typewriters and bells as brilliant and elegant technologies.