How Tom Hanks Helped Keep Typewriters in the Spotlight
From a 1970s repair-shop lesson to a collection reported at more than 300 machines, Hanks has spent decades celebrating typewriters as working tools, design objects, and vehicles for personal connection.
A Repair-Shop Conversation Changed the Hobby
Hanks began collecting in the 1970s. He has described taking an inexpensive plastic machine to a Cleveland business-machine shop in 1978 and being told it was not worth repairing. The proprietor showed him better-built portable models, and Hanks left with a Hermes 2000.
That encounter changed the way he saw a typewriter: not as a generic obsolete appliance, but as an engineered object with its own feel, sound, design, and purpose.
The collection has continued to evolve
In the 2017 documentary California Typewriter, Hanks discussed a collection of roughly 250 machines. By 2025, coverage of his “Some of Tom's Typewriters” exhibition described more than 300, with 35 selected for public display.
What He Values in a Typewriter
One clear purpose
A typewriter is designed to put words on paper. That narrow mission is part of its durability and charm.
Mechanical personality
Key touch, carriage motion, typeface, body design, and sound make each model feel distinct.
Permanent output
The words become a physical object that can be mailed, saved, displayed, or given away.
Hanks has praised Smith-Corona Sterling and Silent models, Hermes portables, and the Olivetti Lettera 22. He often uses typewriters for memos, lists, letters, and short notes while using computers for longer work.
Typewriters in Uncommon Type
Hanks's 2017 collection Uncommon Type contains 17 short stories. A typewriter appears in every story—not always at the center, but as a recurring object that helps establish character, tone, memory, or motion. In interviews, Hanks explained that the machines helped him formulate the stories even though he did not type the entire book on one.
The project demonstrates a useful distinction: loving typewriters does not require rejecting computers. The tools can occupy different stages of the same creative life.
When Tom Hanks Visited Typewriters.com
During a visit to the Typewriters.com facility in Tucker, Georgia, Hanks browsed the inventory, spoke with the staff, and selected a 1970s Smith-Corona that Jim Riegert serviced and sold to him. Jim remembers an informed, down-to-earth collector who wanted to see the machines and talk with the people who kept them working.
A Timeline of Typewriter Influence
1970s–1978: A collector is made
Hanks receives an early machine, visits a Cleveland shop for service, and discovers the Hermes 2000.
2014: Hanx Writer reaches the App Store
The Apple app brings typewriter-inspired sound, motion, type styles, and document sharing to iPhone and iPad. The Hanx Writer listing remains available.
2016–2017: Film and fiction
California Typewriter features Hanks among artists and collectors, and Uncommon Type uses typewriters across 17 stories.
Letters and gifts
His typed notes and gifts to students, families, journalists, and shops have turned private correspondence into public encouragement for analog writing.
2025: “Some of Tom's Typewriters”
An exhibition in Sag Harbor displayed 35 favorites from a collection reported at more than 300 machines, introducing new visitors to their design and feel.
Tom Hanks Typewriter FAQs
How many typewriters does Tom Hanks own?
The number has changed over time as he has collected, donated, and gifted machines. Recent 2025 reporting described a collection of more than 300.
What is his favorite typewriter?
He has praised several families rather than naming one permanent favorite, including Smith-Corona Sterling and Silent models, Hermes machines, and the Olivetti Lettera 22.
Does he write books entirely on a typewriter?
No. He uses typewriters for shorter work and creative inspiration, while using computers for longer manuscripts and editing.
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