“I’ll seek out the lot of you”: how an Edinburgh book shop owner became Tom Hanks’ hero
We all know Tom Hanks as the mild-mannered, all-American sweetheart, who plays mild-mannered underdogs, and is a long-term collaborator of Steven Spielberg. He’s even destined to be relevant among future generations with go-to films like Forrest Gump, Toy Story and Big being consistently handed down between parents and children.
So it’s fair to say more than a few people might call him their hero, whether it’s an adult who grew up watching him or an actor who has been inspired by his steady output. But it’s not everyday that a regular person gets called a hero by the man himself. However, an Edinburgh bookseller and typewriter mechanic was hailed a hero by Hanks for their dedication to the machines.
While you might be familiar with his acting chops and filmography, you might not be aware of Hanks’ obsession with vintage typewriters. Plenty of celebrities have unique collecting habits, think Leonardo DiCaprio’s collection of priceless action figures or Angelina Jolie’s vintage daggers, and for Hanks, it’s his penchant for vintage typewriters, which is as wholesome as is to be expected.
So, in 2021, Tee Hodges, who founded and runs the independent bookshop Typewronger Books, typed a letter to the actor on their grandfather’s Remington Noiseless, letting him know of the shop and the typewriting exhibition that was on in the National Museum of Scotland at the time. They didn’t expect a reply, but nevertheless, one came all the way from the set of Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis.
Typed on a Col Tom Parker letterhead, the letter calls Hodges a hero, explains Hanks’ latest work on the set and praises the work done at Typewronger. “Now you battle the giants to sell the best of books, and keep typewriters alive. Did I tell you that you are my hero?”, the letter said, so Hodges has been called a hero not once but twice by the actor.
But the praise is definitely earned, with Hodges not only running the bookstore and keeping the love of typewriters alive, but also running a quarterly poetry publication, a riso-printing service and various related events. Typewronger is also registered as a non-profit and has become a creative hub in Edinburgh for writers, artists and everyone in between.
“I receive letters from people all the time, and they are all precious to me, but it is not every day you receive one from a Hollywood legend, and they call you their hero,” Hodges gushed of the high praise. But they were clear that it wasn’t just the actor’s fame that made the reply special: “He might be a big Hollywood actor, but for me it’s all about his love of typewriters”.
Hanks has been collecting typewriters since he was a teenager and has amassed over 300 of the machines. In 2016, he even appeared alongside his collection in a documentary called California Typewriter, about a failing typewriter repair shop of the same name. Even the actor’s letter shows how much he appreciates the art of typing, with his mistakes x’d out like a pro. This might look messy to you or me, who would probably opt for Tipp-Ex, but as a mechanic, Hodges praised his decision, “Typewriter mechanics hate Tipp-Ex because it gets in the mechanics, so it was great to see he had x’d out his mistakes instead”.
Hanks signed off the letter saying, “When I’m next in Edinburgh, I’ll seek out the lot of you,” but sadly, it doesn’t seem like the actor has made it back as of yet. Hopefully, one day he’ll be able to drop in at this iconic shop, helping to keep the creative spirit of the typewriter alive.
