Collecting anything can be dangerous to your reputation, especially if that "something" is typewriters.

You know, it's been said that any person who collects has a problem.  I recently heard this described as "change worthy behavior."  Modern pop psychology would seem to have us believe that anyone who has more than two or three of anything suffers from some sort of obsessive-compulsive disorder.  It's a tough world out there right now for those of us who own collections of anything, and it seems as if, while some headway has been made, it's still true that typewriter collecting is still generally considered to be a fringe lunatic effort.

I wholly disagree.  My collection was begun as a direct result of my own curiosity, which originally simply centered around a desire to explore the differences in operational abilities (particularly that sensation in the hands while typing generally referred to as "touch") between various portables, which I intended to use to write a still-unwritten book.  That brief spark led to the realization that the questions I had were still largely unanswered; the result to find the "ultimate answers" still continues today, a number of years later.  Would we confuse unending mechanical and historical curiosity with obsessiveness?  This kind of devotion would be heralded as visionary were it applied to the future instead of the past -- that is, applied to mechanical development instead of mechanical archaeology of sorts.  But, since it's the finding of things already done but done recently that is the focus, it is taken as odd even in the most liberal-minded circles.

Is it better if the machines are older?  Do people at least have a spark of understanding if the word "antique" is mentioned?  The answer is an unqualified "yes."  The also-modern pop-antique collecting culture spearheaded by PBS has opened a new frontier, which by simple association allows anything antique to be accepted, even if not understood.  Naturally, this all comes down to money, because of the perception that anything old enough is worth enough to somebody somewhere that the effort expended in acquiring it is justified.  It is true that the mention of typewriter collecting causes odd looks, which are softened when age and value are mentioned; smiles of understanding are received from those who do not actually understand when the "big fish" stories are told; when the paid little for that worth much is evoked, a level of acceptance is achieved.

Of course, these are simply social covers employed when the mention of our passion isn't met instantly with open arms, when such mention is made in the hope of finding like-minded individuals.  The commonality of collecting anything is one tie, but it would seem that typewriters are still quite outside the realm of believability to most.  It is our burden, but one borne gladly by those who not only understand, but believe that lack of mainstream acceptance allows us to avoid that kind of attention which would remove from us the ability to still make those big finds at low prices.  Maybe, on second thought, we aren't in that bad of a spot now.