Vintage restored working typewriters from 1910-70 are now sold online, for example, priced from £125-400. Fairs-wise, try Frome Independent Market in Somerset, where Julie and Philip Chapman of Charlie Foxtrot are among the traders.
Philip said: “There has been a worldwide resurgence in interest in manual typewriters for a few years now. The more digital everything goes, the more demand there is from a small section of people to do this the old analogue way.
“We sell our manual, mainly portable typewriters, with ribbons made to our own specifications, to collectors and creative writers and people wanting to avoid computers due to security concerns and the complexity of always having to keep up with technology, and parents buying for their children to get them off computers.
“The brands we like to source are Olivetti, Imperial, Remington, Corona and Hermes, due to their superior engineering and quality of design.”
The Chapmans sell worldwide, sourcing their stock from fairs and auctions and from people who contact them.
As to their typewriters of choice, Philip added: “Julie likes Olympias and I like an Imperial Good Companion No 1 and we both like Hermes 2000s and 3000s.”
Oz roots
The Chapmans’ firm began Down Under in 2012 at Kirribilli market just next to the Sydney Harbour Bridge. They returned to Wiltshire in 2017.
Frome Independent Market is a street market which runs on the first Sunday of the month from March to December in the centre of the town.
Vintage and gardenalia are two of the attractions on offer.
