For our feature this December, we look at typewriters and their impact on office workers in collections at The Women’s Library and other collections around the UK.

Throughout the 20th century female typists were a key part of office life, resulting in an uneasy relationship between the workforce and the machine.

The Women’s Library have provided an introduction and some suggested reading, and there are links to related websites.

And the subject of a previous feature also gets a mention: Betty Boothroyd, Speaker of the House of Commons, 1992-2000, at one time worked as a secretary.

Illustration: Untitled [typewriter covered with beads], 2003, by Brigitte Williams, University for the Creative Arts at Farnham. Photo courtesy of VADS