Olivetti Studio 42 1942
One of the joys of my work is to receive, in my workshop, such a beautiful typewriter as this: aged, but with grace and charm and amazing beauty. This is a lovely, Italian manufactured, portable OLIVETTI typewriter from the early years of World War II. Designed in 1935, the Studio 42 has passed the test of time as one of the most beautiful and iconic typewriters ever made. It arrived to me in fine original condition, requiring only some adjustments and a thorough cleaning. A really remarkable find!
Respected typewriter reviewers have said:
"There's only one typewriter that I think truly deserves the moniker of "The Most Beautiful Typewriter" and that is the Olivetti Studio 42..." (see link below)
"What a great typewriter!" (see link below)
This Studio 42 is fully working and looking fabulous. It has been fully professionally refurbished: cleaned, serviced, adjusted and aligned--and outfitted with a new ribbon on two original metal spools. It comes with a later vintage, Olivetti-branded brush box with two Olivetti brushes to keep your typewriter clean and working well. This typewriter has a cool, modern styling although it is nearly 80 years old. The Studio 42 model has a tabulator system.
This Olivetti typewriter comes with a 3-month mechanical guarantee and will be shipped, including full insurance, at no additional cost.
This typewriter is in overall very fine cosmetic condition. The chrome and aluminium pieces are in excellent condition except for one small spot of corrosion on the back-side of the paper release lever. The body finish is nearly perfect, although here and there one finds the tiniest blemishes, but most are nearly invisible.
Mechanically, this Studio 42 works beautifully. I have gone over everything and brought it back to full working order. The rubber on the platen roller is clean and smooth. The hardness of the platen roller is a usable 95 on the Shore A durometer scale (Ideal durometer reading is argued, but ranges between 85 and 95). Take a look at the typing sample and you can see that the imprint is fine. The paper feeder rollers are soft and grip the paper well. The feet have cork bottoms that still hold the typewriter to the desk. Overall the body finish is very fine with a uniformity of colour and finish.
The hard case is in generally fine condition although the base shows some signs of wear and use. The interior has some scratching on the sides, but nothing serious. The case comes with the original key. All the metal bits are in good condition. The leather handle is strong and handsome. The chrome on the latch and the handle is shiny and bright but is very lightly showing signs of age.
The keyboard is international QWERTY with accent keys for foreign languages.The typeface is the Olivetti Universal Pica (10 cpi) and it has a new ribbon and two vintage metal ribbon spools.
Based on the serial number (552702) this machine is from 1942.
For some discussion of the Olivetti Studio 42 typewriter, please see:
http://www.magicmargin.net/2010/12/most-beautiful-typewriter.html
https://www.printmag.com/imprint/what-a-great-typewriter/
This extraordinary example of a OLIVETTI Studio 42 will be packed and shipped with the greatest care to preserve its condition and beauty. We have a lot of experience in shipping typewriters and have an excellent track record for proper packing and safe delivery.