A pilot flew nearly 600 miles to Philly Typewriter, trusting the South Philadelphia shop to restore his mother’s IBM Selectric III, a family heirloom he did not want to risk mailing, writes Maggie Prosser for The Philadelphia Inquirer.
Barry Partlo of Clayton, N.C., inherited the typewriter from his late mother and kept it in his office, using it sparingly. A month ago, he discovered it was not working. As a family historian passionate about antiquities, he searched online for a restorationist and found two options, including Philly Typewriter.
“Believe it or not, there’s no one that fixes them anymore,” he said. “There’s not many people that use them anymore.”
After sending out two requests, Partlo heard back first from Bill Rhoda, co-owner of Philly Typewriter. The Philadelphia dealer and repair shop maintains a collection of over 1,000 machines and usually has about 60 typewriters being serviced.
After deciding not to mail the typewriter, Partlo flew it in himself in December. Rhoda received the machine at the airport and spent 25 hours over the following weeks fully rebuilding it. The IBM Selectric is now ready for its return flight home.
Read more about Philly Typewriter and the work he did to fix a typewriter that is very special to a North Carolina man in The Philadelphia Inquirer.
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Editor’s Note: This post first appeared on PHILADELPHIA Today in March 2026.
