Gift guide for Christmas
Give a typewriter
Restored by hand, tested, ready to type. No battery, no updates, no expiry date.
- 98 available right now
- 500+ restored by hand
- AZERTY and other keyboard layouts
01/09 Why it makes an impression
An object,
not a gadget
It's one of a kind
Its colour, its patina, its serial number: no other is quite like it.
It really writes
Nothing like a decoration that only pretends. You slide in a sheet, strike a key, and the word prints.
Overhauled from A to Z
It arrives fully overhauled. All the work has been done at the workshop; all that's left is to write.
02/09 How much to spend
Three budgets,
the same workshop
They all go through the same workbench and leave ready to type, from the first to the last. From one price band to the next, what changes is the model's design, its rarity and its history. Never the overhaul, never the typing feel.
Portables from the 1960s and 1970s, often colourful, produced in their hundreds of thousands. You can still find them: that is what makes them affordable, nothing else.
The ones you recognise from across the room, the models that built the reputation of the great brands. More in demand, and so harder to find in fine original condition.
A signed design, a short production run, a colour that was never made again. A handful pass through the workshop each year, and rarely the same one twice.
03/09 Who to give it to
Which machine
for which person?
They all write; none says the same thing. The right gift idea is the one that looks like the person.
The novelist, the poet
A soft, even touch, the kind that lasts three hours without tiring the wrist.
We recommendOlympia Oriette SG-3 · Olympia SM9
The first machine
Simple, colourful, indestructible, and with a familiar keyboard layout so as not to throw them. Nothing to install, nothing to recharge: you sit down and type.
We recommendSilver-Reed 100 · Brother Model 200
The signed piece
For anyone who knows Sottsass and Nizzoli. An object in its own right, which starts writing the moment it comes out of its case.
We recommendOlivetti Valentines S AZERTY · Olivetti Valentine S
The travel portable
Reporting, studies, long journeys. A flat portable of three and a half kilos that slips flat into a suitcase.
We recommendBlack Mercedes Superba · Japy L.72
The piece of history
A pre-war machine, lacquered black or folding. It sits on a shelf like a piece of history, and still works.
We recommendWhite Adler Tippa · Remington Travel Riter
04/09 The point not to miss
The question
of the keyboard
The one place a gift can go wrong. On a mechanical typewriter the layout is built into the type bars: it cannot be changed.
Match the keyboard to the person.
For a French speaker, the accents other keyboards lack. Of our 98 machines, 77 are AZERTY; a filter shows only those.
- AZERTYFor French speakers
The French keyboard: the accents é è à ç ù are there, and the punctuation is where a French typist expects it.
- QWERTYFor English speakers
The English-language keyboard. The right choice for an English speaker; without French accents, though, it quickly becomes tiresome for writing in French.
- QWERTZFor German speakers
Switzerland and Germany. Z and Y are swapped, and French accents are missing too.
05/09 In the workshop
What happens before
it is wrapped
A typewriter is not a computer keyboard. It is a mechanism sixty, sometimes eighty years old, and each one has its own character. The same overhaul for all, but never quite the same path.
- 01
Full dismantling
The body comes off and the mechanism is laid bare.
We find out its true condition. Sometimes a pleasant surprise, often not.
- 02
Cleaning the type-bar segment
Type bars stuck together by dried ink, freed one by one.
From an hour to a full day, depending on what time has left behind.
- 03
Degreasing and lubrication
Every shaft degreased, then relubricated.
A mechanism seized for twenty years can't be rushed.
- 04
Mechanical adjustments
Typing strike, line spacing, margins, carriage return, escapement.
Each model has its own screws, its own settings, its own traps.
- 05
New ribbon fitted
Ribbon fitted, spools checked, black-and-red selector tested.
Some spools can no longer be found. We adapt.
- 06
Full test page
A whole page, letter by letter, accents included.
One character that sticks, and it goes back to the bench. No exceptions.
06/09 And afterwards?
The only consumable
is the ribbon
A mechanism consumes just one thing: ribbon. No cartridge, no subscription, no chip deciding it's finished.
A new ribbon is fitted to every machine before it ships: nothing to buy to start writing. The next one won't be needed for months: you don't change a ribbon every week, more like once or twice a year depending on how much you write. That's exactly why it's worth keeping a spare in the drawer: the day the ink fades, you don't stop writing. And slipped into the parcel, it's the little extra that makes a finished gift.
Each
9,90 €
le ruban
Sand two-color black and red ink ribbon – for Hermes, Brother, Royal…
See ribbons −25%
Pack of 2
14,90 €
soit 7,45 € le ruban
Pack of 2 Sand two-color ink ribbons, black and red – for Hermes, Brother, Royal…
See ribbons −40%
Pack of 6
34,90 €
soit 5,82 € le ruban
Pack of 6 Sand two-color ink ribbons, black and red – for Hermes, Brother, Royal…
See ribbonsEach machine page lists the ribbon that goes with it, so there's no need to hunt. The Sand range above suits most portables. Bought in twos or sixes, the ribbon drops to as much as 40% cheaper, and it keeps for years in its case.
Add a ribbon to the giftEvery machine types its page before it leaves.
07/09 Order in time
To have it under the tree
We restore machines one by one, so there are never two identical machines in the shop. Some models are in great demand: a Hermes Baby, a Lettera 32, a Valentine. Here are the dates to know to have peace of mind.
It travels in reused packaging : salvaged boxes and padding, chosen to protect. Making things last is part of it too.
Valid for 1 yearFrom €25
08/09 Doubt is allowed
Give the machine,
let them choose which
The colour, the keyboard, the model: for something this personal, it is sometimes better to let them choose. Sent by email with its code, valid for a year across the whole shop. And it's the last-minute solution: ordered on the evening of the 24th, it arrives before dessert.
Does a vintage typewriter really work?
Yes, and that is the whole point of the workshop. Every machine is taken apart, its mechanism cleaned and degreased, the typing and line spacing adjusted, then a new ribbon fitted. We type a full page, letter by letter, before shipping. It arrives ready to write.
Which machine should I give to a beginner?
A portable from the 1960s–70s, between €250 and €300: Olympia Traveller de Luxe, Brother 210, Olivetti Lettera 35. Simple, robust, standard ribbon, and you're not afraid to use it every day.
How much does a typewriter gift cost?
Between €250 and €650 for a restored, tested machine. All receive the same overhaul and write equally well: the price follows the model's rarity and design. A Hermes 3000 or a Valentine costs more than an everyday portable because you come across them less often, not because they type better. See the three budgets.
Do I need to buy supplies often?
No. Every machine leaves with a new ribbon already fitted. After that, the ribbon is the only consumable, and it lasts several months, sometimes years. We sell it at €9.90 each, cheaper in packs, and it changes in two minutes without tools.
What if the keyboard isn't the right one?
The layout is mechanical and cannot be changed. That is why we state it on every machine page, and why a filter lets you show only AZERTY machines. If in doubt, write to us before ordering: we'll check with you.
How is it packed?
Carriage locked, machine wedged in place, reused packaging: we reuse boxes and padding rather than have new ones made. The only criterion is protection. The machine travels safely, in France and abroad, with tracked shipping, with its original cover or case if it has one.
How late can I order for Christmas?
Until 19 December for mainland France and 15 December for international orders. After that, the gift card is sent by email within minutes, right up to the evening of the 24th.
· Matypo workshop
There may be one left for you
Our machines are restored one by one, in France.
There are never two identical ones, and rarely the same one twice.