A Partnership Built on Craft & Genuine Expertise

Mr & Mrs Vintage Typewriters is a husband-and-wife business at its core — a true partnership between commerce and craft. While the business side handles curation, presentation, and the customer experience, our in-house typewriter restoration specialists, Joujou & myself brings something almost impossible to find elsewhere in this market: genuine, deep mechanical expertise applied to every single machine we restore to sell.

We are not a warehouse operation. We are not a dropshipper passing on untouched machines with a new price tag. Every typewriter that enters our collection is assessed, dismantled where necessary, cleaned, repaired, adjusted, and tested before it is photographed and listed. The process takes time. That is intentional.

Our reputation has been built quietly and steadily — not through marketing hyperbole, but through the machines themselves arriving in exactly the condition described, working exactly as promised, and delighting the people who receive them. Word of mouth in the vintage typewriter community is powerful. So is a BBC television appearance.

When the production teams behind The Crown and Mank — two of the most detail-obsessed period productions in recent cinema and television — came looking for authentic vintage typewriters, they came to us. That is not a coincidence. It is a testament to the authenticity, quality, and historical accuracy of the machines we source and restore.

What Actually Happens to a Typewriter Before You Receive It

The word "restored" is used loosely in the vintage typewriter world. For many sellers, it means little more than a surface wipe and a working ribbon. For us, it means something categorically different.

Here is what that actually involves:

• Full mechanical assessment — every component inspected for wear, damage, and functionality before we commit to restoring a machine.
• Deep cleaning — decades of grime, dust, ribbon residue, and environmental contamination removed from every accessible part, inside and out.
• Mechanical adjustment — type alignment, key tension, carriage travel, escapement, and platen condition all checked and corrected where required.
• New consumables fitted — fresh ribbons as standard, new washers and rubber feet ( if available ), with platens assessed and treated or replaced as needed.
• Cosmetic care — where appropriate, cases are cleaned, decals preserved, and chrome polished without compromising patina or historical integrity.
• Final typing test — every machine types a full test page before it is approved for sale. If it doesn't meet our standard, it doesn't go on the site.

This process cannot be rushed. It is why our collection is curated rather than vast — and why every machine that does appear on our site has genuinely earned its place there.

Mr & Mrs Vintage Typewriters vs. The Alternatives

The vintage typewriter market is broad. You could buy from a car boot sale, a general antique dealer, a large auction platform, or an online marketplace. Here is an honest comparison of what you actually get.

This is not about disparaging other sellers. It is about helping you understand what a specialist operation genuinely looks like — and why the difference matters when you are spending real money on something you intend to use, display, or treasure.

Curation Over Volume

We do not stock everything. That is deliberate.

Our collection focuses on machines with genuine character, proven mechanical resilience, and real aesthetic merit. We are particularly known for iconic models — among them the beloved Olivetti Lettera 32 and Lettera 22, two of the most celebrated portable typewriters ever made. Compact, beautifully designed, mechanically robust, and favoured by writers from Cormac McCarthy to Sylvia Plath — these are not just typewriters. They are cultural objects, and we treat them accordingly.

When a restock arrives, it has been sourced with intention — not bought in bulk for resale. Each machine is individually assessed. Many do not make the cut. The ones that do are the ones you find on our site after our full restoration process. The ones that don't might be used for parts to save other typewriters. 

This curatorial approach means our inventory is not the largest you will find. But it is among the most reliable — because every listing represents a machine we would be comfortable selling to a friend who trusted our recommendation completely.

Secure, Simple & Completely Transparent Transactions

Buying a vintage item online requires trust. We take that seriously. From the first click to the moment your typewriter arrives at your door, the entire experience has been designed around your confidence and peace of mind.

We understand that for many buyers, a vintage typewriter represents a meaningful purchase — a gift, a milestone, a considered investment. We match that seriousness with a shopping experience that is smooth, honest, and backed by genuine human accountability.

Service That Feels Personal, Because It Is

When you contact Mr & Mrs Vintage Typewriters, you are not entering a ticketing system or waiting for a reply from a customer service department. You are communicating directly with the people who sourced, restored, and care deeply about every machine in the collection.

This makes a meaningful difference. We can answer questions about the specific mechanical quirks of an individual machine. We can advise on which model is best suited to your intended use — daily writing, display, gifting, or collecting. We can offer honest guidance on maintenance, ribbons, and long-term care. This is the kind of knowledge that simply does not exist in most retail environments.

Before You Buy

Not sure which machine is right for you? Reach out. We will have an honest conversation about your needs, your budget, and what will genuinely serve you best — even if that means recommending patience while we wait for the right machine to come in.

After Your Purchase

Our relationship with you does not end at checkout. If you have questions about using your typewriter, sourcing ribbons, or anything else related to your machine, we are here. We want your typewriter to be something you enjoy for years — and we are invested in making that happen.

Why Source Matters as Much as the Machine

A vintage typewriter is not a commodity. It is a piece of history that has survived — sometimes decades, sometimes longer — and arrived at a moment where someone has decided it deserves a second life. How it is handled in that transition matters enormously.

A poorly restored machine can be made worse than it was found. An improperly packed shipment can cause damage that takes months to repair. An honest-but-inexpert seller can list a machine in good faith that has fundamental flaws they simply lack the knowledge to identify.

At Mr & Mrs Vintage Typewriters, we exist at the intersection of genuine expertise and genuine care. We are passionate about these machines — not merely as products, but as objects worth preserving. When you buy from us, you are not just purchasing a typewriter. You are participating in a chain of custody that we take seriously, and that we hope you will too.

We believe in the enduring value of analogue tools. We believe in the irreplaceable pleasure of writing by hand — or in this case, by mechanism. And we believe that when something is worth doing, it is worth doing properly.

That is why Mr & Mrs Vintage Typewriters exists. And it is why, we think, it is worth choosing us.