Just found a 1972 IBM Selectric at a recycling center in Tulsa

I went to drop off some old electronics at the city recycling center last Tuesday and spotted this huge beige machine sitting by the e-waste bin. The guy working there said it was headed for the crusher if nobody took it. I asked if I could grab it and he just shrugged. Got it home, plugged it in, and it actually works. The sound of that typeball hitting the paper is incredible. Has anyone else ever rescued a typewriter from a dump site like that?

2 comments

2 Comments

park.iris11d ago

THEY WERE GONNA CRUSH THAT THING?? Bro my jaw literally dropped reading that. A 1972 Selectric is like the holy grail of typewriters for a lot of collectors and to hear it was one screwdriver away from being destroyed is insane. Those machines are built like tanks, I bet the one you rescued still types better than most new ones on the market. The typeball mechanism alone is a work of art, so smooth and satisfying. You 100% saved a piece of history right there, good for you for grabbing it.

taylor.phoenix11d ago

Those Selectrics are absolute beasts. The fact that it was headed for a crusher is wild, but hey, at least it found a good home. They just don't make things like that anymore, everything is so plasticky now. You should see the look on people's faces when they hear that thing clacking away. Did you get any of the different typeballs with it?