TypeTown #17: “I like typewriters; you can type with real flourish.”
🐻 Michael Bond, John Lennon, Manchester United, and Matthew McConaughey
Howdy — and phew — it’s a hot one.
Today, TypeTown sweats in Toronto and generally looks dishevelled.
It’s a stark contrast to what was happening back in Blighty last week, when two UK institutions were sitting down for a pleasant cup of tea (what else?).
Paddington Bear creator Michael Bond died in 2017, aged 91. But he left behind an archive of work that brings constant joy to millions of children.
“If you’re brought up with books being part of the furniture, with a story being read to you when you go to bed at night, it’s a very good start in life.”
An airforce volunteer during World War II, Bond first took to writing when he found a typewriter in his Egypt barracks.
In many ways, he was a typical man.
Paddington came about after Bond left his 1956 Christmas shopping too late. In a scene all too familiar to so many males, he found himself wandering the shops late on Christmas Eve with a foreboding sense of panic and despair.
In haste, he bought his wife a bear glove-puppet that was “rejected and alone on a shelf in Selfridges”.
A couple of months later, inspiration struck.
Bond looked at the bear, created a world for him to occupy, and 10 days later the first draft of A Bear Called Paddington was doing the rounds of London’s publishers.
“The first book started life as a doodle really because I had a blank sheet of paper and a typewriter and you know that nobody else is going to put any words on unless you do.”
It took the publication of six different Paddington novels before Bond finally, in 1965, ditched his day job at the BBC and dedicated himself to full-time writing.
More than 35 million Paddington books were sold. The stories were translated into 40 different languages.
And even though Bond finished his career on laptops, his first love remained firm.
“I like typewriters; you can type with real flourish.”
READ» Michael Bond: ‘Paddington stands up for things, he’s not afraid of going to the top and giving them a hard stare’ - The Guardian
READ» Michael Bond, Paddington Bear Creator, Is Dead at 91 - The New York Times
READ» Michael Bond, The Creator of Paddington - Paddington
“Let’s write a swimming pool!”
Next up, here’s John Lennon explaining his process for creating some of the most memorable songs ever known.
It was a process so trusted, and so commercially successful, that he and Paul McCartney used to joke about writing “a new swimming pool”.
"I just scribble on a bit of paper, you know. And then leave it in a sort of pile. And when it begins to be more interesting, I venture on to the typewriter and type it out. And the typewriter adds things, too. I change it as I type it. It’s usually the third draft when I get to the typewriter. Depending on how easy it came. If it just all came it’s just like “write it and type it.” But if it’s a general song, I’ll type it a few more times. But the final version is never until we’ve recorded it. I always change a word or two, at the last minute."
Simple, huh?
READ» He Said, She Said: An Interview With John Lennon - Spin
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United in grief
We complete a UK treble this week with another spot from one of TypeTown’s international network of spies.
News reaches us of this Underwood taking centre stage at Old Trafford, home of Manchester United — one of the biggest soccer clubs in the world.
Its owner was Walter Crickmer, a club secretary born in 1900 who rose from a teenage clerk to twice acting as temporary manager (head coach to our north American friends).
Crickmer, along with 22 others, perished in the 1958 Munich air disaster.
READ» Walter Crickmer profile - Manchester United
Worth pausing the platen
📬 Confessions of a Typewriter Addict - Literary Hub
📬 Typing institutes make the most of obsolete machines in Tiruchi - The Hindu
📬 National Museum’s exhibition on 1970s-2000s tech offers chance to experience history - The Straits Times
And finally… typewriters in the wild
In this still from the Matthew McConaughey 2019 release The Beach Bum…
In this Hotels-dot-com TV advert…
And in BBC comedy drama White Gold…
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Until next time
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TypeTown is a fortnightly celebration of the typewriter’s place in modern (and not so modern) culture.