Community Corner

Tom Hanks Sent A Typewriter To An Arlington Shop: Report

The actor surprised Cambridge Typewriter in Arlington with an Olympia SM4 typewriter from the 1960s, Boston.com reports.

"What a wonderful surprise," owner of Arlington's Cambridge Typewriter, Tom Furrier, wrote in a Facebook post about Hanks' gift.
"What a wonderful surprise," owner of Arlington's Cambridge Typewriter, Tom Furrier, wrote in a Facebook post about Hanks' gift. (Photo by Michael Tullberg/Getty Images)

ARLINGTON, MA – Actor Tom Hanks sent a surprise typewriter to an Arlington shop, Boston.com reports.

Store owner Tom Furrier told Boston.com he knew from the package that someone had send him a typewriter – but only later did he discover that the someone in question was the famous actor Tom Hanks.

Inside the package was an Olympia SM4 typewriter autographed by Tom Hanks and a letter from the actor explaining the surprise gift.

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“On one hand you are taking off my shelves and out into 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,” Hanks wrote in the letter, according to a Facebook post by Cambridge Typewriter.

Furrier told Boston.com the German-made Olympia model from the 1960s needs some small repairs and cleaning, although it is in fair condition.

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He plans to keep the typewriter for a short time before passing by selling or donating it, Furrier told Boston.com

“Take good care of it and help it keep doing it’s job for another hundred years,” Hanks wrote to close off his letter to the Arlington shop.


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