Typewriters and Typecasting from Winterthur, Switzerland

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Author Archives: Stève

Olivetti Graphika – Pictures

Olivetti Graphika - Pictures

As promised in my last post, here are
some pictures of my Olivetti Graphika.
As you can see it is in a pretty good
condition with only some minor optical
flaws. The colour is the same pistachio
green as any other Graephika (unless they
are repainted).

Besides these pictures, there is also
another story involving an Olivetti to type
about. I, once again, couldn't resist to
make another addition to my collection
and I went for another Olivetti, namely
a Lettera 32.

I got interested in this specific model
when I read Richard Polt's recommendations
in "The typewriter revolution" and also the
"Top 10 Writerly Typewriters" on
typewriterreview.com

Both rated the Olivetti Lettera 32
among the best choices for portable type-
writers. As I already own a Hermes 3000
which is the third best choice according
to "Typewriter Review", the Lettera 32
which ranks second was the logical next
step. Now I only need to find an Olympia
SM9 to get to typewriter heaven.

More with and about the Lettera in
a next post.

Typed on my Olympia Graphika

Winterthur, 28. June 2019

28 June 2019 by Stève 2 Comments

The Olivetti Graphika

The Olivetti Graphika

As the summer, which already had
a difficult start here in Switzerland
this year, decided to take another
break, I finally found some time for
the long promised post on my new
Olivetti Graphika.

As I wrote earlier, I had to travel
to the other side of Switzerland to
get this machine, but it was totally
worth the effort. As you can see it
is perfectly working and even features
a fully functional royal blue ribbon,
which in my opinion is a perfect fit
for this classy typewriter.

I've got it directly from its first owner
and it included the original dust cover
and even the instruction manual (in
italian), which is really helpful as it
lists the spacing of all letters to make
corrections much easier.

Typing on this machine is quite pleasant
but requires significantly more force
compared to my Hermes Ambassador or
Hermes 3000 (and of course also than
the IBM Selectric, which is a whole
different story). But the result compensates
for all the work you have to put into it.

The typeface, referred to as "Olivetti N.82"
in the manual was designed by Imre Reiner
who was living in Lugano, just a few
kilometers away from where I've got the
typewriter, at the time when he designed
this font for Olivetti. Even if I slightly
prefer the other typeface which was
available for the Graphika, the "Olivetti
N.81" by A. M. Cassandre, this fact
makes it a perfect fit for my machine.

Winterthur, 22, June 2019

22 June 2019 by Stève 2 Comments

Win a Letter – Second Hint

Win a Letter - Second Hint

As nobody even tried to guess what
the "Bellinzona" Machine is, either
there is no interest in the price,
or the quiz was too difficult.

So, here's a new hint:
The typewriter is pistachio green.

Typed on my Hermes Ambassador.

Winterthur, 23 May 2019

23 May 2019 by Stève 5 Comments

Win a Letter

19 May 2019 by Stève Leave a comment

Photo Shooting

I finally found some time to finish my project of taking pictures of all my typewriters. I'll let the images speak for themselves today. More typing, and photos of the surprise I've got in Bellinzona, next time.
Typed on my Erika 120
Winterthur, 13 May 2019

My new lime green Hermes Baby

Hermes 3000

Erika 120

13 May 2019 by Stève 2 Comments

Old Railway Technology

Today I was travelling back home from Germany by train. The fastest connection I could find was leading me through the Black Forest region on really small railway lines.
I was just reading "The Typewriter Revolution" when I saw this strange and interesting installation at a small station. Probably strongly influenced by my reading, this sight reminded me of the wires used in the Selectrics and the type levers in mechanical typewriters.
Only that these cables were some hundreds meters long and moving railway signals instead of types.
A nice example of another technical system where the way it works is easily understood, unlike todays black boxes.
Typed on my IBM 96C (aka Selectric) Winterthur, 10 May 2019

Railway technology close to Langenbrunn, Baden-Württemberg

10 May 2019 by Stève Leave a comment

A Hermes Baby – and a nice surprise

4 May 2019 by Stève Leave a comment

Winterthype is now Monospaced Blog

Winterthype is now Monospaced Blog
With the fresh start of my typecasting activities I felt the need for rebranding my blog. The name Winterthype was starting to feel somehow too artificial.
Welcome to the Monospaced blog!
I have quite a backlog of new topics to type about, while keeping the same concept as before. So make sure to check back here soon, or even simpler, to follow this blog using the button at the end of
the page.
Typed on my Hermes Ambassador. Winterthur, 28 April 2019

28 April 2019 by Stève 1 Comment

IBM Selectric Foam Removal

25 April 2019 by Stève Leave a comment

Speed Tests

18 April 2019 by Stève 1 Comment

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