Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

'I Am TOM. I Like to TYPE. Hear that?' So wrote actor Tom Hanks recently, describing his love of the typewriter. The beloved typewriter - its utilitarian beauty, the pleasing percussive action of striking its keys, the singularity of the impressed page - is enjoying a renaissance across the creative industries. In this authoritative book, the authors apply their experience to mine the collection they have created over four decades to present over 550 examples produced by more than sixty of the world's finest contributors to the genre.

From the early ornamental works produced by secretaries in the late nineteenth century to more recent works that consider the uniqueness of the typewritten document in the digital age, there is an astonishing - and delightful - range of creativity in every artwork. The book features three main sections: an introduction to the history of the typewriter and its art; an expansive plate section showing key works, rendered in exquisite detail; and a reference section featuring biographies of the most influential artists and writers.

Designed by top graphic design studio and typewriter aficionados Graphic Thought Facility, this is a once-in-a-generation publication, carefully curated through decades of first-hand experience to inspire a new wave of designers and artists for the future. Each cover displays a unique combination of two artworks. This was achieved through the creation of a custom algorithm that processes the data that is fed to the HP Indigo 10000 Digital Press.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Library Journal Review

With users from hipster art students to government officials, the typewriter is making a comeback. The trendy store Urban Outfitters sells the machines, modern with a vintage touch. Actor Tom Hanks, a typewriter collector, developed a successful iPad app that simulates typewriter typing, noises included. Popular television shows such as Mad Men, and growing concerns about online privacy, have also contributed to the resurgence. In turn, numerous books on the machine have recently been published. Typewriter is an easy-read gift book packed with fast facts and trivia about the machines and the people who used them. In a font reminiscent of typewritten text, the book teaches about the development of the keyboard and which machine was an author's favorite. Images mainly include typewriter advertisements and photographs of secretaries and authors at their machines. The Art of Typewriting contains over 200 works from Marvin and Ruth Sackner's Archive of Concrete and Visual Poetry, the largest collection of its kind-in the poetry, the arrangement of the words on the page directly affects the understanding of the text. The overall image is either abstract or realistic. Opening essays introduce readers to the Sackners' collection and the history of typewriter art, from decorative patterns to reproductions of famous paintings to visual poetry. Almost every artwork has its own beautifully printed catalog page, making it easy to see detail. Biographies of prominent artists and a bibliography round out this comprehensive catalog. VERDICT Typewriter will appeal to collectors of the machines and readers nostalgic for the precomputer era. But with its small book design, it won't hold interest for long. The Art of Typewriting, exemplifying a one-of-a-kind art collection, is likely to find more readers among machine enthusiasts, artists, and poets.-Shannon Marie Robinson, Denison Univ. Lib., Granville, OH © Copyright 2015. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.