In Winterthur, Switzerland, conductor Reto Parolari rigged his typewriter so that one person can play all the parts - keys, bell and carriage return - and uses heavy card stock for his "letter".

The most difficult part about assembling Royal typewriters are the ball bearings. Here I'm using a drinking straw to insert them into the proper placement along the carriage rail. Another tricky ...

Typically, these typewriters had a timer mechanism that would stop the carriage return when time ran out, ensuring that users paid for every minute of use. In 1949, Ray Bradbury typed a short ...