Watched this yesterday afternoon, and really enjoyed it. There were quite a few interesting people in it, included celebs like Tom Hanks, Sam Shepard, and John Mayer. Those that I liked the most, though, were Martin Howard, a collector, and Jeremy Mayer, an artist, along with the Permillion family and Ken Alexander, the people who have been keeping the California Typewriter company afloat. Martin collects only machines from the 1880s and 90s, and is searching for a specific model that he only finds in museums or the collections of others. Jeremy takes old typewriters apart and uses those pieces in his sculptures.
Throughout the film there is information given on the history of the typewriter, mostly by Martin, who also talks about his family's history. He mentions Christopher Latham Sholes, who invented the first practical typewriter, and how it led to the position of 'type writer girl' - a job that women held almost exclusively at the start, giving them a way to get out of low paying factory or teaching jobs.
There are scenes of of Herb Permillion and Jeremy at swap meets together looking for more machines, also one of Jeremy stopping by the shop with parts that Herb was looking for
the 2nd image is Herb, the owner and chief repairman, and the 3rd is Ken, his main assistant.
The film was very well directed, and was just about the right length, as far as I'm concerned.
IDBM Entry
Trailer #1
Here are 3 pieces of Jeremy's art
