WELLESLEY, Mass. — A family in Wellesley, Massachusetts, was so inspired by actor Tom Hanks's documentary on typewriters that it wrote the actor a letter to ask for a vintage one. To the family's surprise, he agreed.
According to The Swellesley Report, Nick de Peyster, his wife, Julia, and their kids saw "California Typewriter" four months ago. The documentary looks at the beloved but increasingly obsolete device through interviews with historians and collectors -- including Hanks and singer-songwriter John Mayer.
Nick de Peyster wrote that he and his family promised to send someone a typewritten note every day and that the family would pay it forward by giving another family a typewriter.
Hanks, a collector of about 250 typewriters -- 90 percent of which work, according to his estimate in the documentary -- sent the family a late 1960s Olympia De Luxe. It arrived Saturday.
>> Need something to lift your spirits? Read more uplifting news
"He said, 'Don't change the ribbon. It adds character,'" Julia de Peyster, 53, told CNN.
Hanks himself signed the typewriter, which The Swellesly Report said Nick and Julia de Peyster hope will encourage their 12- and 16-year-old sons to stay in touch with adults they meet without their instruction.
Hanks, who is typically private about his charitable deeds, did not respond to CNN’s requests to his representatives for confirmation on the gift.