Jack Murphy, an Arizona journalist, gave his daughter Kathleen Murphy Harber her first typewriter before she went to college.
Pictured: Randy and Kathy Harber
Since that day, more than 40 years ago, she and her husband, Georgia State University alumnus Randall Harber, have collected an estimated 48 typewriters.
Now, the Harbers have donated 27 of those typewriters to Georgia State’s Communications Department.
“After 28 years of living in our house in Grant Park, we decided it was time to downsize and move into something more manageable,” said Randall Harber. “But we were concerned because the typewriters are like pieces of art.”
The two found some relief when the Communications Department accepted their gift.
Long time Georgia State donors, the two journalists have strong ties to the College of Arts and Sciences.
Randall Harber, who edited the script of the first-ever CNN broadcast, received his master’s in English from Georgia State in 1987. Following his master’s program, Harber taught journalism in the Communications Department before returning to CNN.
In 1992, he became the first creative writing Ph.D. student.
“Here at Georgia State, Georgia’s largest urban premiere university, you can make a difference,” he said. “Here, what you do—however great or small—will be noted. You can come by and see how your donation counts.”
Together, the Harbers have supported a number of Georgia State endowments including the English Department’s Kenneth M. England Professorship of Southern Literature.
The Harbers pose with a pastel Remington portable typewriter from the 1950s.
“I believe in giving donations where your connections are and we have many connections at Georgia State,” said Kathleen Harber.
The couple recently celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary in their new condo, which is within walking distance from the Georgia State campus. And while they no longer have 18 typewriters decorating their hallway and others strategically stationed throughout this home, the husband and wife are confident that Georgia State will take great care of their collection of typewriters or “serial digital input devices” as Randall Harber jokingly calls them.
“It was really fun the day we brought the typewriters to Georgia State,” said Kathleen Harber. “People were whipping out their camera phones and asking what they were, especially younger people.”
“I believe that the urban university is the perfect place for the typewriters because there are people here that will appreciate them in a way that will be unique,” Randall Harber added. “It’s also a perfect fit for the university’s new Creative Media Industry’s Institute.”
The typewriters are currently on display in the lobby of the Communications Department, located on the eighth floor of 25 Park Place.