Sunday 22 September 2013

The Typewriter Collection No. 14 - Olivetti Studio, Circa 1952


I'm not 100% sure, but I think this model dates back to around 1952, based on Ted's Serial Number Database.
When my wife saw this one, she said; "Oh, that looks nice. What is it, Sixties?"
"I think it's early 1950s, but it's a design from the late Thirties", I replied. It certainly does possess design elements from 1930s Remingtons to me.



The case was missing its handle, but I soon came up with something makeshift that'll do for the time being;



The keytops are in good condition. I took a toothpick and gently scraped around the inner edges of the metal rings to get rid of some built-up crud.



I popped the hood and was happy to find the original metal spools. After my Remette mistake, I've been a little cautious. And I do like how the ribbon cover lifts up like the bonnet of an Italian sports car. I was almost expecting to find a pool of oil underneath this typewriter afterwards.



The profile shot. A little bland-looking, but this strikes me as something designed to be a workhorse first, and a show-pony second. And, being a 1930s design, I can only speculate that Italy was doing it tough (again) and perhaps Olivetti was more concerned with solid build quality and no-nonsense aesthetics. Hmm, looks like I left an oily fingerprint on the side there.


The rear of the machine.



The ribbon colour indicator was filthy. The blue dot was recognisable, but the other two were a dirty grey, filled with dirt. I scraped it out and then painted them in with Liquid Paper. I scraped away the excess with an ice-cream stick and tried using a red fine-point marker. With limited results. I'll have to get hold of a Texta (Magic Marker) and have another shot at it. Unless I can convince my wife to let me use some of her red nail varnish. But the last time I did that, I spilled some on her best pair of stilettos.
Serves me right for wearing them, ha, ha!


And there you have it. While I was originally looking at Studio 42 models, this one will do just nicely, I think. When I picked it up from the seller and got back to my car, I placed the case in the back-seat and said to my kids; "I think I'm done with buying typewriters. I got enough of them now."

And I can't think of anything else that I really want. Collection's pretty solid and varied. I'm happy with how most of them type and the ones that don't type so flash are beautiful designs and worth keeping for that aspect alone.

My recent Olympia SF escapade showed me that sometimes, even if I want a typewriter for a particular reason, I should perhaps hold off on purchasing it because it may not write in a way or manner that I'd like. I've used enough of them over the past few years to know what I like from a typewriter in terms of feel, key tension, sound and overall design. Part of me still wants something like a Remington Rand KMC standard, but right now, I wouldn't know where to put the thing. And I did recently think about a Dreyfuss-designed Royal Quiet De Luxe from the late 1940s, but, while it may look different to my '47 QDL, it would probably type pretty much the same.

So, I think I'm happy with my Baker's Dozen + One collection at the moment. And I'm thinking that if I decide to go for something else, then I should get rid of something that I have. Fourteen typewriters are (barely) manageable for me and I think I'd like to keep it that way.

The only thing to do next is stock up on ribbons for these babies.
I'm kind'a partial to purple at the moment.


Thanks for reading!

23 comments:

  1. I have the exact problem with ribbons. I don't know where the all go!

    Nice Studio! I'd never seen a photo of the back of one, for shame since it's very distinctive. Also, interesting that it reminds you of an old Royal. I wouldn't have expected that.

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    1. Definitely has a similar typing feel to my 1928 Royal Portable. I think it has to do with the metal key top surrounds/bezels. Granted, my fingertips only hit them for a split-second, but the overall feel is very similar between the two machines. And the platens on both of these typewriters are very hardened.
      Meanwhile, Nick, more ribbons required!

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  2. Yep, this is a 42! When I did research on mine, I found several models with different names at the front. Mine says "Semi-Standard", but I've also seen them with just "Studio". Congratz on the find!

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    1. Spiderwebz, thanks very much! For all intents and purposes, it's a Studio 42, but it doesn't say so on the machine. I can live with that.

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  3. Dear Teeritz,

    You may remember me. Shangas :) We met at the 2012 Melbourne Pen Show. I had the portable Underwood typewriter which you had a look at.

    I recently purchased another typewriter as a restoration project, and I need to get the platen recovered with fresh rubber (or a suitable alternative). Where can I find suitable rubber tubing in Melbourne? Or is there anywhere local that I can send the platen, to have it resurfaced?

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    1. Hey Scheong. Unfortunately no one re covers them in Australia, and to have it done properly you'll have to send it overseas. That said, some people have been having great success by using a piece of bicycle inner tube of a certain width which they have pulled cover the hardened platen and trimmed to size.

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    2. Hey Shangas, hope you're well. Like Scott says below, nobody here in Oz does platen recovering, but if the machine is worth restoring, then perhaps you should consider sending the platen to the States to get it recovered. Some Typospherians have reported excellent results and it's something that I may consider getting done to a couple of my typewriters at some point down the track.

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  4. You got it! I was watching this guy, and said 'no, I have too many', and just let it go. I'm glad it went to someone worthy. Enjoy that beautiful machine.

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  5. Happy to know you finally found a Studio 42, I know you've been trying to search for one. I quite disagree that it's more a workhorse than a looker, it's an elegant example of understated bauhaus.

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    1. Ton, I stand corrected. Of course! Bauhaus design! I should've known, considering I have a pair of glasses that make me look like Le Corbusier whenever I wear them.

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  6. Congrats on the lovely machine Mr. T! Like Scott I had it on my watch list, and was very tempted to buy it. I'm just glad it went to you in the end! :D

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  7. I enjoyed reading about your steps in the cleanup and maintenance process. That's a good tip; using a toothpick to clean around the edges of the key tops - I'll use that on my recently acquired Underwood, which really needs it. A baker's dozen; surely a decent number for any reasonable collector. Trouble is, there is always that one more "must have"; an addition to a series, interesting color, or, most devastating to my resolve, finding one available that a respected blogger has just admired! Congratulations on the good find - it certainly puts out a decent looking page of typing.

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  8. @ Scott, this auction moved slowly all week until the final ten minutes. I set myself a limit on price and was very glad that it fell well within my limit. Doesn't happen often, and I've missed out on some other machines as a result, but I'm pretty content with my collection at the moment.

    @ Nat, yes, it's a nice typewriter. Solid feel, and once I get a new ribbon onto it, it should type very nicely and consistently.

    @ TonysVision, yessiree, toothpicks ain't just for Martini olives! And there are always "one more" machines out there, but with a hefty collection of wristwatches (my main thing) and fountain pens, not to mention half a dozen cameras (35mm), finding the space to store these can get pretty tricky. And typewriters aren't exactly lightweight, as you know.

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  9. Nice! A Studio 42 has long been on my want list. The closest I've come was a dropped beater that someone misrepresented on the Bay of Evil. It is sitting forlornly in the garage waiting for me to start trying to bend some aluminum. Glad you got a good one!

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    1. Thanks, Dwayne. Shame that your ones bent. Adwoa had a machine that had a misshapen frame around the keys/space bar. I suggested two car jacks and a strong doorway, with the typewriter in the middle. I don't think she tried it, but I've sometimes wondered if it would even work?

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  10. Red white and black model paint beats a spouses nail polish I reckon. That Studio 42 is beautiful, very good job!! I also agree 14 is a pretty nice comfortable number to own. I've got 16 but two are parts machines

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  11. Or maybe I've got 17........? See much over 14 and you start losing count!

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    1. I've actually got 19 machines, but two plastic Brother typewriters are used by my kids, so, for all intents and purposes, they belong to them, and three others are due to go onto eBay very soon.
      When you start losing count, that's when you know you've got too many!

      And I agree about the model paint, Steve, but the gag worked better with nail polish. Besides, I may be able to get away with using a Texta. Failing that, then it's gonna require a trip to the hobby store for a small can of red.

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  12. you found one of my favorites! well done!

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  13. Ah, NA, all I did was press the 'Place Bid' button. Of course, I've spent too much time today thinking about JJ Short and their platen recovering service. Now that I've got enough typewriters, I think maintenance and some mild restoration may be the next things to worry about. But first, some new ribbons!

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  14. I've been admiring that design since Ton posted on it on his blog. It's very distinctive! Alas, for all intents and purposes, Olivetti started selling machines in Mexico in the mid-1950s or so, so it is quite unlikely I'll ever see a Studio 42 listed around here. That said, I had never seen the big Lexikons around here, and turns out I managed to buy one of them, so...

    ... A baker's dozen. I like that term. And yes, I suffer from the same problem. Started losing count of the machines, so I'm in the process of trimming the collection a bit.

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  15. That's a really nice Studio 42. I have one, but mine is in poorer conditions, yet working good anyway.
    It has a spring that comes out from the rear-right side of the carriage and it's unattached in one end. If you can help me figure out where the spring should go by looking at yours, i would really appreciate it! Here you find some photographs http://theresnothingtosay.blogspot.it/2013/09/three-new-typers.html

    Congrats from Italy!

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