Brother Produces UK's Last Typewriter

These days, the majority of us do our typing on our laptop or PC keyboards with a dash of touchscreen typing thrown in for good measure. Computers have long since replaced less efficient ways of producing documents, such as by hand or via typewriter. In fact, the UK just produced its last typewriter ever and it's headed for a museum.

The UK's last typewriter is headed for the London Science Museum where it will join the museum's collection of more than 200 typewriters.

"This object represents the end of typewriter manufacture in the UK, a technology which has developed over the last 130 years and has been important to so many lives," assistant curator of technologies and engineering, Rachel Boon, told the BBC. "This model will enable us to tell the story of how technology has evolved in accordance with our communication needs."

Brother told the BBC that its factory in Wales has produced 5.9 million typewriters since it opened in 1985. Going forward, the factory will be used to recycle printer cartridges as well as for the production of other office technology.

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Jane McEntegart
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Jane McEntegart is a writer, editor, and marketing communications professional with 17 years of experience in the technology industry. She has written about a wide range of technology topics, including smartphones, tablets, and game consoles. Her articles have been published in Tom's Guide, Tom's Hardware, MobileSyrup, and Edge Up.

  • abbadon_34
    Oh brother....
    Reply
  • geost91gr
    We had to get to 2012 to understand we no longer need typewriters. OK...
    Reply
  • neiroatopelcc
    geost91grWe had to get to 2012 to understand we no longer need typewriters. OK...There's one at serveral offices around here still. They're used a couple times a year to type documents in triplicate because we don't have any matrix printers.
    Reply
  • fuzzion
    You could buy one and sell it in 200 years for a profit.
    Reply
  • assasin32
    Never could find the backspace button to delete things on a typewriter.
    Reply
  • lassik
    The old time I've used a type writer is to save in Resident Evil.
    Reply
  • geost91gr
    neiroatopelccThere's one at serveral offices around here still. They're used a couple times a year to type documents in triplicate because we don't have any matrix printers.
    And what would be that "around here"?
    Reply
  • guru_urug
    assasin32Never could find the backspace button to delete things on a typewriter.
    It's right next to the insert key :P
    Reply
  • vaughn2k
    ... and 'Liquid Paper' still lives...
    Reply
  • A Bad Day
    assasin32Never could find the backspace button to delete things on a typewriter.
    If I do recall, there was a typewriter that had white-out capability. Backspace, then turn on the white-out and then backspace again to resume typing over the blotted out mistake.
    Reply