Few machines seem as outmoded as a manual typewriter. But look closely, and you’ll see something than can still be found on today’s laptops and smartphones.
Q-W-E-R-T-Y.
The first five letters of the keyboard are the inspiration behind the QWERTY Festival, a celebration of typewriters taking place Aug. 11 at the Museum of Printing in Haverhill.
Museum president Frank Romano said the event is not just for typewriting aficionados, but for children, historians, and visitors.
“When people come to the museum, we get one of two reactions,’’ Romano said. “One is nostalgia and the other is amazement.’’
The Q-W-E-R-T-Y key sequence dates back to the Sholes and Glidden, the first commercially successful typewriter invented in the 1870s, according to Romano. He said Christopher Latham Sholes designed the keyboard that way because he wanted to make it easy for his daughter to demonstrate the prototype — all the letters to type “typewriter’’ are in the top row.
It quickly became the standard, and most users only knew how to use the QWERTY keyboard.
“It is probably the worst keyboard arrangement for text input, but is the standard for the most modern devices: computers, mobile phones, pads,’’ Romano said. “So, let’s celebrate it.’’
There will be more than 40 typewriters on display, as well as some for visitors to test drive. Typewriter experts and collectors, including Romano, will speak to guests at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. about the history and evolution of the typewriter. There will also be a showing of “California Typewriter,’’ the 2016 documentary film about the last remaining typewriter repair shop in Los Angeles, at 2 p.m.
“There’s a story behind almost every machine that is here,’’ Romano said.
Romano got his first typewriter, a Royal Portable, for his 13th birthday. He fell in love with the meticulousness required to type accurately. Since then, he’s spent years researching and writing about them.
“I love that you have to think before you type,’’ he said. “Modern word processing programs allow typing first and then editing.’’
A number of rare machines will be on display at the festival, includingthe smallest typewriter ever made: no bigger than a dollar bill.
Romano said a modern fascination with all things vintage has helped typewriter repair shops survive in the Boston area.
“It’s like a retro thing, people want to go back to the past,’’ he said. “At one time that was just the way you got things done.’’
Information will be available at the festival from representatives of typewriter repair services, suppliers, and typewriter-related publications and products.
The museum also will sell typewriters, typewriter T-shirts, and other type-related items at the gift shop. Each visitor on the day of the event will receive a free poster with the history of the typewriter.
The QWERTY Festival taked place Saturday, Aug. 11, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. It is free and open to the public. The museum is located at 15 Thornton Ave., Haverhill. For more information, visit museumofprinting.org.
Morgan Hughes can be reached at morgan.hughes@globe.com.
