Some celebrities collect art, rare film prints or plain old action figures. (Welcome to the club, Leonardo DiCaprio.) Tom Hanks, somewhat famously, collects something that’s simultaneously more practical and unwieldy: typewriters. And unlike Steve Martin’s paintings or Leo’s figures, you can currently get a look at some of the Hanks typewriters at The Church, an exhibition venue in Long Island’s Sag Harbor.
Some of Tom’s Typewriters includes 35 from his collection of over 300, chosen by Hanks himself. These include an electric typewriter from the set of Mad Men (the curators are, as yet, unclear as to how Hanks obtained this, but he’s recording an electronic guide to accompany the show that they are hoping will explain), an original 1969 Olivetti “Valentine” typewriter designed by Ettore Sottsass, and, in one of the more surprising touches, a relatively new model: a translucent typewriter, still manufactured by a company that pivoted from calculator production in the 1980s, for use by incarcerated writers. The exhibit also includes some less fancy beaters set aside for a more interactive experience; the physical presence, after all, is such a part of the typewriter’s mystique.
