Olivetti typewriters
Wikimedia list article
Olivetti is an Italian manufacturer of computers, tablets, smartphones, printers, calculators, and fax machines. It was founded as a typewriter manufacturer by Camillo Olivetti in 1908 in the Turin commune of Ivrea, Italy.
By 1994, Olivetti stopped production of typewriters, as more and more users were transitioning to personal computers.
Mechanical models
M1 (1911)
Until the mid-1960s, the Olivetti typewriters were fully mechanical. Introduced at the World's Fair in Turin in 1911, the first Olivetti typewriter, the M1, was made of about 3000 hand made parts and weighed 17 kg. It was the first Italian typewriter and had a keyboard of 42 keys corresponding to 84 signs, 33-cm paper roll allowing for 110 characters and featured two-colored ribbon, automatic reverse direction, and return key. Heavy and massive, it was intended for professional use in offices.
M20 (1920)
In 1920 the M1 was replaced by a new model, the M20. It featured several innovations, including the trolley running on a fixed guideway. Unlike the M1, which was sold in Italy, the M20 was exported to many European and non-European markets.
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