While keyboards operate as tools of excellent function, there’s no denying the unique touch they can bring to home studies and workspaces around the globe. With that in mind, Chicago-based design manager Marcin Wichary compiled a neat coffee table book dedicated to the history of typing.
Shift Happens is split into two massive volumes, serving as something of a love letter to everything there is to know about keyboards. While the nearly 260,000-word book is not available yet, Wichary writes about specific topics ‘Shift Happens’ will touch on, including Soviet agents eavesdropping on American keystrokes and how Margaret Longley perfected the art of touch typing. And while these essays are more than enough to intrigue anyone who can appreciate these technological tidbits, there are over 1,300 photos of keyboards, new and old, showcasing the distinct evolution of these quintessential gadgets.
With a total of 42 chapters and precisely 1,126 full-color pages to flip through, this is practically the bible of keyboards. In addition to operating as a designer at Medium and Google, Wichary claims people may know him as “the person who stumbled upon the magical typewriter museum in Spain,” referring to a real-life occurrence in 2016 that further proves his admiration and dedication to discovering the history of keys.
Unsurprisingly, Shift Happens absolutely shattered its Kickstarter goal by well over $150K. Pledge a minimum of $125 to receive the two-volume, slipcase-equipped homage by October.
