An early American typewriter collector, Paul Lippman

An early American typewriter collector, Paul Lippman
by Tony Casillo

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In the 1960s, after nearly a century since its introduction and when the typewriter was at its peak in popularity, there were only a handful of typewriter collectors in the United States. Communication between them was limited to letter writing or an occasional telephone call or visit. One such collector was a young Paul Lippman in Greenwich Village, NY, a copy writer for the advertising firm J. M. Mathes Inc. in New York City. As a writer with the collector gene embedded in him, collecting and researching early typewriters seemed to come naturally. Paul and his family, along with their typewriter collection, eventually settled in nearby Hoboken, NJ. In the 1980s typewriter collecting had grown in popularity and Paul was editing the typewriter newsletter Typewriter Topics. The word was out and many who heard about Paul Lippman made the pilgrimage to visit him and see his collection. His home at 1216 Garden Street in Hoboken quickly became the center of the typewriter collecting scene in the US at that time. The above photo captures the collector and his typewriters at a time when discovering them and their history was just beginning.

In 1992 Paul and his wife Barbara published the book, "American Typewriters, A Collectors Encyclopedia". It was a compilation of more than three decades of research on the subject. It was self published with only one printing. It has become a much sought after typewriter reference.

Posted by Tony Casillo
http://www.typewritercollector.com