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Tampa teen collects and restores antique typewriters: 'It's all so cool'

By FOX 13 News Staff
Published  September 17, 2024 12:14pm EDT
Tampa
FOX 13 News

Bay Area man's love for the typewriter

The typewriter revolutionized the workplace for more than a century. They've gone the way of the dinosaur and the payphone but for a community of collectors, typewriters have never lost their luster. FOX 13 photojournalist Barry Wong introduces us to a Bay Area enthusiast.

TAMPA, Fla. - For the past seven years, Jack Armstrong has been mesmerized by typewriters.

The 19-year-old runs Tampa Typewriter. The business collects and restores the antique machines.

"This is a great mix of mechanical wonders and really unique engineering," he said.

His collection has grown to over 200, spanning his room, garage and storage unit. Some of the smallest typewriters in his collection have around 100 parts. Some of the largest have 2,000-3,000.

He marvels at the fact that many of these machines were manufactured decades, even more than a century ago.

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"Typewriters really drew me in," Armstrong said. "It just scratches an itch in my brain that has been there forever."

That itch is for anything analog. He listens to vinyl records, develops film photos and even restored an old Volkswagen Beetle. The humor of his younger age is not lost on him.

"I love tinkering. I love taking things apart and putting them back together again. Typewriters just became that outlet for me," he said.

Armstrong sells some of the more common portable typewriters he discovers. Those sales help fund his collection of older, unique and rare typewriters. He also has a typewriter that was a gift from fellow collector, actor Tom Hanks.

"It's probably my biggest flex. It's like it's the coolest thing about me," he said with a smile. "I'm so grateful for his compassion, for his friendliness and for him being an advocate for typewriter collecting."

After college, Armstrong hopes to expand his business and his collection.

"So many different designs, it's all so exciting. It's all so cool, and I just got bit by the bug," he said.

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