Two more free Olivetti fonts

Now on The Classic Typewriter Page.

Olivetti Lexikon 94C typewriter

OK, I just acquired a little 46-pound addition to my collection.

I know, I know, I'm trying to cut down. In fact, I plan to host a swap meet in the spring and sell off a good chunk of my collection. But as a temporary possession, and a chance to explore a rare and remarkable typewriter, I couldn't resist the offer of a free Olivetti Lexikon 94C. It was located in beautiful southern Indiana and had been used in a small-town pharmacy nearby. The son of the original owner was obviously an orderly person—it was immediately apparent from his neat house—and the typewriter came with four elements and the user's manual. The typewriter needed thorough cleaning, but eventually all the functions were there.

For a rundown of all the remarkable features of this typewriter, you can read the manual yourself here. (It's dated 1978.) Basically, this machine attempted to combine the best features of IBM typewriters: the Executive proportional-spacing typebar machines and the single-element Selectrics (including the rare proportional-spacing Selectric Composer). Like a typical Selectric, the Lexikon 94C uses interchangeable elements in various styles—but they rotate on a horizontal axis, unlike the vertical axis of a Selectric ball or Olivetti's own Lexikon 82 (aka Smith-Corona Vantage). Like a Correcting Selectric, the 94C uses a correctible film ribbon cartridge and a correcting tape that can lift a mistake off the paper. Like an Executive or Composer, the 94C can type proportionally—and it can type in three different monospaced pitches, including the tiny 18cpi (useful, say, for pharmacies typing on small labels). 

Simpler typewriters with similar mechanisms include the Lexikon 90, 90C (aka Underwood 1190C), 92C, and 93C. (C=correctable.) I owe this information to a brief video in Italian about the series.

Here's the proportional "Venezia" element.

Am I right to detect a little influence of the beautiful Cassandre typeface used on the Graphika? Look at that little x.

The proportional characters come in three different widths (2, 3, and 4 units, as explained on p. 29 of the manual). To select the pitch of your typing, you adjust two levers:

Like Executives, the 94C has a "no print" setting (useful for invisibly typing a line of text in order to calculate how to create a justified right margin) and an  e x p a n d e d  print setting.

Like some Olivetti typebar electrics such as the Praxis 48 or Editor, the 94C freezes the keyboard if you make a mistake such as hitting two keys simultaneously; the backspacer frees the keyboard.

A clever detail is a little wire that pops up when you're backspacing or correcting to show you the printing point—very useful when trying to manage proportional typing.

The bold, simple, serious look of this machine is an Ettore Sottsass design. 

As for the mechanism, which achieves all these functions without the benefit of any electronic chips, I think it may have been designed by Piranesi.

This typewriter was manufactured in at least two countries: in the Olivetti hometown of Ivrea, Italy, and (in the case of my machine) in the Olivetti-Underwood factory in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, U.S.A. Olivetti made a strong effort to crack the dominance of IBM. Did it work?

As of today, there are over 100 IBM Selectric IIIs for sale on eBay, and one (nonfunctional) Lexikon 94C.

A Lettera with ALL the trimmings

At the antique mall today, there was nothing rare—just a few Underwoods, a KMM, and a Lettera 22.

But this is a very special Lettera 22—or Lettera 22 package. I didn't buy it, as I really don't need it, but I documented it, because it looks like this machine comes with all the ephemera and accoutrements you could get. Thanks to a meticulous owner who purchased it around the time I became an embryo, it is a true time capsule from 1964.

The little metal stand is included. In its plastic drawer is a Smith-Corona typewriter brush.

The typewriter comes with a cover adorned with the Olivetti logo:

The carrying case is still in great condition. Often the zipper is broken on these.

Here is a little plastic case containing two brushes, an eraser, and an eraser shield.

Underwood-Olivetti Lettera 22 #1435435 was made in Ivrea, Italy, probably in 1964. It types nicely and everything seems to work smoothly. Olivetti had factories in many countries, but typewriter lovers tend to swear by the machines from the original Ivrea plant.

The factory tag is stamped with the serial number and indicates the "100" US keyboard (tastiera), the blue (azzurro) color, the "007" typeface (caratteri) (it's elite—and James Bond's favorite?), and the "AZ 60 AM" carrying case (valigetta). Is Maurer the name of the original owner? I can't say.

Before we get to more Olivetti ephemera, there's this Smith-Corona typing chart with exercises, dated 1925:

The typewriter must have been fresh off the boat from Italy when it was purchased at Shillito's on Monday, March 9, 1964. Shillito's was a major downtown Cincinnati department store, now converted to loft apartments.

Inside this Shillito's paper bag is the original Olivetti paper bag ...

... and some rubber pieces ("wedges" and "washers") that were used to protect the typewriter during shipping ...

... as explained in these instructions.

Here's a label used for shipping from the Underwood warehouse on Long Island to an Underwood dealer in "Cincinatti" (sic). The number 420 7140 doesn't match the serial number on the Lettera, so I'm not sure what's going on here.  

Olivetti bought a controlling interest in Underwood in 1959 and discontinued the Underwood portables. Imported typewriters were branded Underwood-Olivetti (like this one) for a few years, and then Olivetti-Underwood. The full merger was completed in October 1963.

There are two copies of a promotional leaflet. (You can click on all these images for a closer view, by the way.)

Here's the guarantee.

And of course, there is a user's manual. This charming little book doesn't exactly match the various Lettera 22 manuals on my website.

The selling price of $68.00 in 1964 is worthly roughly ten times as much now. I wonder which typewriter was traded in for $28; that was a valuable trade-in!

The price today for this "1950's [sic] Olivetta [sic] Tyrewriter [sic] & Stand" is $225, which I consider a nice deal. If you decide you want to grab it, it's at the Ohio Valley Antique Mall in Fairfield, Ohio, in the "Iowa Ave." aisle.

I hope you've enjoyed this time capsule. Reviewing all these objects gave me an appreciation for the entirety of the experience of buying and using typewriters in their heyday—and for the care shown by the owner of this Lettera 22, who clearly loved and respected this little writing machine.