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Wednesday 30 November 2011

Olivetti Studio Portable Typewriter: No Number but a New Look

This Olivetti Studio portable typewriter was in such poor condition it sold very cheaply on eBay. Nobody else wanted to touch it.
But I thought I'd make another attempt at refurbishing one of these, in the hope I'd get it right this time.
The last effort I considered a failure, but Richard Amery took pity on it during one of his visits from Sydney, rescued it off my front lawn, and got Terry Cooksley to give it the "Cooksley once over". Richard seems happy with it.
Anyway, I'm far happier with this latest attempt:

5 comments:

Machines of Loving Grace said...

Nice paint job! I have one, too, that is literally peeling down to the bare aluminum. Can't decide what color to make it, though. Gold looks mighty fine on it.

One of my 42s says "Studio 42" and the other says only "Studio". The one that says "Studio 42" is from the late '40s with an American keyboard; the "42" is German and from 1941. Maybe only the export models got the full designation?

Bill M said...

Great job! You have one really nice machine.

Richard P said...

I "need" one of these someday ...

Curious keyboard -- QWERTY but with Italian peculiarities, like that need to shift for a full stop;

Mariano P. said...

Hello. I'm from Argentina and just found your blog. I love it.
I wanted to ask you something. I've just bought myself a Studio 42, it's in great condition but it lacks the small silver lever on the right side (didn't check at the time of purchase), I was wondering what was the use of it?
Thank you.

Robert Messenger said...

Mariano P: If you are referring to the lever below the carriage, you are better off without it. It is a carriage lock and a design fault, as it often gets stuck in under the carriage. Presumably whoever owned this machine before you has removed it for just that reason. I have done the same on other examples of this model, for the same reason.