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Old Types: Cormac McCarthy and the Olivetti

JA December 10

As you may have heard, Cormac McCarthy, author of uplifting reads like The Road and No Country for Old Men parted with his trusty Olivetti Lettera 32 typewriter last week. Some lucky (and extremely cashed-up) bidder bought the piece for a whopping $US254 500 at a charity auction, quite a stretch when you consider that McCarthy bought it in 1963 for a mere $50.

The machine has certainly been put through its paces though, and would appear invaluable if author paraphernalia is your thing. McCarthy has written all of his 10 novels, including All the Pretty Horses and Blood Meridian on the Olivetti, although he’s clearly not a strong believer in upkeep:

It has never been serviced or cleaned other than blowing out the dust with a service station hose. ... I have typed on this typewriter every book I have written including three not published. Including all drafts and correspondence I would put this at about five million words over a period of 50 years.

McCarthy would probably have kept the machine longer had it not been on the verge of breaking down. His replacement of choice was a gift from his friend John Miller, who found him an Olivetti just like his old one, for the bargain price of $11.

McCarthy is not the only novelist to be attached to his Olivetti. Typewriters seem to hold some sort of romantic appeal for many writers – George Orwell wrote 1984 on a Remington Portable, Hemingway kept a Royal Quiet de Luxe for years, and John Steinbeck had a rather cutely named Hermes Baby portable. Perhaps it’s something to do with the physicality of punching out words and hearing the loud clacks and clicks, or the satisfying feeling of pulling out a finished page. Norman Mailer certainly seemed to think so, writing in a letter in 1945 to his parents that he’d like a typewriter with ‘ridged keys and a hard touch and a lot of noise. Somehow I don’t like most of the new models with their slippery keys and noiseless action. When my machine clacks and snaps I know it’s happy, but you can never tell about those quiet ones!’

One letter, however, comes up trumps when it comes to stories about authors and their typewriters of choice. In 1941, the playwright Tennessee Williams had a small accident while in Italy. He wrote describing the incident to his agent at the time, Audrey Wood:

My operation occurred on the Via Aurelia between Rome and Genoa in my new Jaguar. I was driving it at 70 miles an hour, fortified by a couple or three stiff martinis, when a capricious truck came out of a side road and I decided to hit a large tree instead. One side of the car was demolished. My portable typewriter flew out of the backseat and crowned me just over the hairline. I have not had a bigger or more excited audience since the opening of Menagerie. No one could believe the divine bird was still able to flutter!

If typewriters do indeed float your boat, have a look at these beautiful images from an old instruction manual for the Olivetti Lettera 22.

image from The Classic Typewriter Page

image from The Classic Typewriter Page


 

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