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Tytell was a typewriter repairman and expert -- that's it. But in his 70-year career, which ended on his retirement in 2000, Tytell was so influential that when he once made a mistake on a typewriter that was set up for Burmese (he accidentally inserted the slug for one character upside down), the mistake became standard -- even in Burma (now Myanmar). His Manhattan shop, where he advertised "Psychoanalysis for Your Typewriter", was frequented by writers like Dorothy Parker, newsmen like David Brinkley, and politicians like Dwight D. Eisenhower. Mail addressed simply to "Mr. Typewriter, New York" were delivered to him. When a museum curator needed a hieroglyphics typewriter, Tytell was able to build it. Tytell even invented a reverse carriage for languages that read from right to left. Tytell started early: he got the contract to service the typewriters in a hospital before he even graduated from high school. In 1943, The Office of Strategic Services asked him to convert a batch of 100 machines to type in 17 different languages. When he was done, they were airdropped to O.S.S. units along the front lines. "I'm 83 years old and I just signed a 10-year lease on this office," he said in 1997. "I'm an optimist, obviously." As for typewriters themselves, "I hope they do survive," he said. "Manual typewriters are where my heart is. They're what keep me alive." Some do survive, but Tytell died September 11 from cancer. He was 94.
From This is True for 7 September 2008
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