In 2009, after 54 years of production and millions of units capable of typing in 40 languages, Godrej & Boyce stopped manufacturing manual typewriters.

Portrait of Marvyn Pelzner by Jeremy Meyer

The archive that sits at the company headquarters in Vikhroli holds machines dating back to the 1950s, archival photos and typed documents, is manned by Vrunda Pathare. Just when the chief archivist was wondering what to do with a few spare pieces lying on campus, she came across Berkley artist Jeremy Meyer who creates sculptures with typewriter spares. “It was the ideal way to remember an era gone by and create a tangible memory for those behind the typewriter’s production,” says Pathare, who invited Meyer to Mumbai this March.