Underwood Typewriter

Welcome to Typewriter week. Today's picture was taken in 1918, and it shows a woman next to a state of the art Underwood typewriter.

Today, no typewriters are manufactured. I am curious when the last typewriter was made. I did quiet a bit of research, but was not able to find anything definitive.

I entered the workforce in the mid-1980's. At the time, there was one PC in the building, and it was something of a novelty . . . no one really used it. All letters and memos were hand written, given to a secretary, and then the secretary would type it up for you. It was especially important to be nice to the secretary, to ensure your work was done in a timely manner, and done accurately. By the mid to late 1990's, everyone had a PC. The secretaries still had typewriters, but most everyone typed up their own letters, papers, and memos. 

I can remember in the mid-2000's, offices still had typewriters, but they were used mainly for things like labels, or when it was necessary to put words on non-standard or odd size pieces of paper, like time cards. I would imagine typewriters are still around for that purpose, as it is still difficult to use a computer when you must align to existing things on a piece of paper. One wonders when the last typewriter will be shelved from an office.