At the age of 26, Simon van Vliet did not grow up with typewriters and has never worked with them. However, he has recently become completely crazy about it. He has set up a small museum in his student room in the center of Eindhoven. “The smallest museum in Brabant,” he says, laughing.
A typewriter was completely unknown to Simon. His love for typing was only born weeks ago. Simon was sitting in a café in Utrecht, where there were typewriters. “I typed for the first time and it clicked immediately. I thought: I want this too.”
Simon is an electrical engineering student at Eindhoven University of Technology. He drives across the country to pick up the machines. “I picked one up that was completely broken. I completely took it apart and repaired it. I found it fascinating. It was so much fun that I wanted another one. Before long, there were four typewriters in my living room. My roommate said, ‘What do you do with all that stuff? Are you going to start a museum or something?’ Then I thought: well…”
Simon lives in the monumental Ventose flat, opposite the PSV stadium. Behind the window is part of his collection of typewriters. “I live in a place where many people always walk by. I started this museum to entertain passers-by and make people happy. Kids kind of called them portable printers. Actually, that’s what they are.”
“This one belonged to my great-grandfather and this one to my grandfather.”
His museum was called the Tiny Temporary Typewriter Museum, or small temporary typewriter museum. “I do it with a minimal budget. These are things that come from the attic. Usually something is broken, there is a lot of dust on it or a lot of nicotine deposits. Then I do my best to make it beautiful again. As soon as they can type their own information sign, I will let them enter the museum.”
There are four copies on the roof of his car for his collection. Just collected from people’s homes and from the thrift store. Simon carries them inside and immediately puts them in a pile that he still has to look at. “I have 24,” he says proudly.
He lovingly demonstrates a V&D typewriter at the kitchen table. Pressing the keys, the keystrokes, the bell that rings. It will sound familiar to many people.
“Older people with grandchildren are often left standing.”
“This one belonged to my great-grandfather and this one to my grandfather. They entered their quotes for companies on it. This one belonged to my mother. She learned to type on this as a teenager. She later became a secretary. She has typed a lot in her life.”
“I often close the curtains and then I can hear what’s happening outside. People read the signs to each other. Older people with grandchildren often remain standing. Then the conversation is: “Gosh, do you know what those are? These are typewriters. I used to type on them.”
The typewriters can be seen at Mathildelaan in Eindhoven until Sunday, October 29.
