What happened when Tom Hanks' typewriter showed up at this small Bremerton shop

A lot of surprises come through Bremerton Office Machine Company, one of the last remaining typewriter repair shops in the Northwest. There are typewriters from different eras, with different fonts and languages, even machines that type musical notation.

Still, shop owner Paul Lundy was stunned when a typewriter of an uncommon type recently arrived in the mail — a typewriter previously owned and signed by actor Tom Hanks, a 1940 Remington 5 portable.

It came with a Playtone towel (Hanks' production company), and a letter from the actor.

"The typewriter arrived, as many do, unannounced. I was expecting a customer machine and yep, that was in the arrival stack. Then one with a Santa Monica, Calif. address," Lundy said. "I opened the box and the first thing I spied was a dark green Playtone towel — how odd. In a beautiful, deep dark green envelope was Tom’s note donating this Remington 5 portable typewriter to [Bremerton Office Machine Company]. Everyone in the shop was so thrilled to be honored."

Hanks is known for his typewriter fervor and has amassed a personal collection of hundreds of the writing machines. It appears that, lately, he has been freeing up some space on his shelves, to the benefit of small shops across the USA.

The letter accompanying the machine, typed by Hanks, stated that the shop should do with it as it pleases — clean it up, use it, display it, sell it, whatever.

"On one hand you are taking off my shelves and out in[to] the greater world. On the other hand, you are giving me more space and less clutter. On the third hand (?) you just may be giving this miracle of a machine a fuller, newer life of use. I do hope this typewriter comes into use. It is yours now. Take good care of it and help it keep doing its job for another hundred years."

Lundy doesn't keep too many typewriters around the limited space he has. So he concluded that the typewriter was an opportunity to do some good — raise money for a local food bank. But first, it needed a tune up and a good cleaning.

"Since the typewriter arrived broken, my wife and senior typewriter tech, got first dibs on restoring the machine," Lundy said. "Lisa was really into it. I could see the joy emanating as Tom’s machine came back to life."

Hanks' typewriter was then put up for sale on eBay.

"The auction was announced through the thrills of social media and within a day, it was up to $1,000. This was well above what we hoped. Then, on the last auction day, and in the very last minutes, the bidding graduated to an amazing outpouring of generosity and ended at $3,050, won by a local typewriter enthusiast in Tacoma."

"I’m hoping the Bremerton Foodline with be thrilled."

One of Hanks' signed typewriters recently showed up in Arlington, Mass. and another appeared in Philadelphia. One was also delivered to Lanoka Harbor, New Jersey. All the typewriters came in a package with a Santa Monica, Calif. return address. And each came with Playtone towels and letters typed by Hanks.

Hanks isn't likely ending his collecting habit, however. He was recently spotted at a Portland, Ore. typewriter shop picking up a Smith Corona Clipper.