Indore man runs museum with collection of over 450 typewriters from across world

Rajesh’s collection includes typewriters mostly from the period between 1910 and 1930. One of them is an American typewriter, dating back to 1890 and another manufactured by Mercedes Company from 1922.

A man in Madhya Pradesh’s Indore runs a museum with over 400 types of typewriters which he claims has links to countries around the world. Rajesh Sharma, who started the ‘typewriter museum’ ten years ago, has managed to exhibit nearly 450 typewriters from America, England, Germany, France, among other countries, dating back to the 1890s.

Rajesh Sharma started the ‘typewriter museum’ ten years ago and has managed to exhibit nearly 450 typewriters from America, England, among other countries. (ANI)

"I started the museum 10 years ago, and now it has almost 450 typewriters from America, England, Germany, France, Italy, Japan, China, and India. The oldest one dates back to 1890," Rajesh told news agency ANI. He said that the typewriter business was his family business and he started the museum to educate the young generation of the existence of the antique machine. As per Rajesh, his father Madhav Prasad Sharma used to work on a typewriter outside a district court during his time.

"Typewriter business used to be our family business. We started the museum so that the generation growing among smartphones can recognise that such a machine also existed once," Sharma said.

Rajesh’s collection includes typewriters mostly from the period between 1910 and 1930. One of them is an American typewriter, dating back to 1890 and another manufactured by Mercedes Company from 1922.

Speaking about the typewriters, he said they were police officers’ favourite in their time due to the convenience factor. They were small, foldable, weighing just 2.5 kg. Other than Corona Company from 1913, the museum has several other typewriters from different years including that belonging to the Royal Company from 1922 and Tramp Company from 1960 to 2000.