The Olivetti Lettera 22 Typewriter
JA
September 02
The Olivetti Lettera 22 Typewriter was invented by Marcello Nizzoli in 1949 or 1950 (depending who you talk to). It proved to be hugely popular in Italy and still has a large following today.
According to the trusty Wikipedia entry:
The Lettera 22 is an oblique frontstroke typebar typewriter. The typebars strike a red/black inked ribbon, which is positioned between the typebar and the paper by a lever whenever a key is pressed; a small switch located near the upper right side of the keyboard can be used to control the strike position of the ribbon, in order to print with black, red, or no ink (for carbon copies).
The images below are from the beautiful accompanying instruction manual, via the New Yorker and Swissmiss.
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Comments
02 Sep 09 at 11:30
Sigh. You've just given me an almighty flashback. My (slightly eccentric) grandfather used to write me letters from France on his Olivetti, but he would write them from the perspective of the typewriter. Olivetti would always be complaining about how bad a typer my grandfather was, and that perhaps he'd had 'too long a lunch' leading up to the letter writing, the subtext of which was completely lost on me at the time, but which I now understand relates to be a healthy amount of Burgandy being consumed. The letters would always start, 'Dear Zo Zo', and were signed, yours, Olivetti.
...02 Sep 09 at 11:41
tear
...02 Sep 09 at 13:12
Lovely stuff, Zoe.
...03 May 10 at 23:59
I own and love a Lettera 32, but I know, the 22 is the Ur Olivetti portable. Somebody gave me one, a week ago. Total loss, needs major fixing; can’t wait till my repairman raises it from the dead. @sophie, thanks for your poetic comment. Do you use a typewriter yourself?
...24 Nov 10 at 1:41
i have a 1942 underwood olivetti lettera 22 typewriter want to price it
...08 Mar 11 at 20:11
Ihave a Lettera 22 and it is in reasonable condition,however I don’t know know where to buy a new reel to reel ribbon tape. I’m in Sudney,can anyone help please.
...12 Apr 11 at 15:33
Con Asper I too have an Olivetti Lettera 22 with a totally dry ribbon. Have you found a supplier of the reel-to-reel ribbon?
...10 Jul 11 at 7:11
you can find ribbon on Ebay. You may have to transfer/ rewind the new ribbon onto the spools on you machine.
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