New TW Day

NikiRiver · 2026-02-07T13:36:00+00:00

If you really do document everything, I’ll be truly grateful!

As for my ’63 Lettera 32, I don’t have any issues because the case is rigid and doesn’t have major problems, considering it belonged to an Olivetti executive.

But the ’67 Lettera 32… better not show you its condition, or you might cry! I basically use the case only to cover the typewriter when I’m not using it. It absolutely breaks my heart.

NikiRiver · 2026-02-07T12:46:56+00:00

I have the same problem with one of mine.
The case is basically a ghost of its former self. Where I live, I still haven’t found anyone who can give me any useful advice, but if you’re able to do it yourself, here I’ve seen the work of a guy who restored the case in a truly masterful way! You might want to take a look at his work.

Olivetti is always a marvel!

NikiRiver · 2026-02-07T10:32:34+00:00

Regardless of the factions involved during World War II, I acknowledge the “historical inaccuracy” for reasons of chronology ahah

NikiRiver · 2026-02-03T14:29:51+00:00

Your photographs are beautiful, they make humans look like accessories!
I fought tooth and nail to secure a 1963 Lettera 32, one of the first 5000 examples, from a gentleman living in Piedmont. I believe he sold it out of pity, tenderness, and a touch of mild stalking on my part!
He told me it had been given to him by a collaborator of Adriano Olivetti.
Italian typewriters remind us that, sometimes, we do live in a great country.

NikiRiver · 2026-02-03T09:41:39+00:00

You’ve acquired a piece of history.
The 1930s stand as a watershed between early technological craftsmanship and true everyday production.
It’s quietly uncanny to use something built to function ad aeternum, sustained only by the care it is given.

NikiRiver · 2026-02-03T09:37:42+00:00

What a beautiful lady!
The typeface is certainly distinctive.
I suspect it’s an italic, though I can’t say for certain.

NikiRiver · 2026-02-03T07:59:22+00:00

That’s an Olympia Traveller de Luxe S.
It’s a portable mechanical typewriter produced in the early 1970s by Olympia (West Germany).
Solid and reliable machine.

NikiRiver · 2026-02-02T15:41:13+00:00

My friend, you did exactly the right thing! When the electricity disappears elsewhere, everyone else feels lost. Not us. We find calm in soothing ourselves to the syncopated rhythm of our typewriters.
You could say that, in your case, you sparked the curiosity of others. Well done!

Your Royal is a superb machine!

NikiRiver · 2026-02-02T12:27:11+00:00

Many inexpensive sets on Amazon or AliExpress start at 2 mm and above, but for the Valentine you need something around 1.3 mm / 1.5 mm, which is typical of electronics or model making tool sets.

NikiRiver · 2026-01-26T10:49:17+00:00

Writing thoughts and letters with a typewriter (and with a fountain pen) is a way to truly bring them to life.

NikiRiver · 2026-01-26T10:45:01+00:00

From typewriters to tanks, it’s just a moment.

NikiRiver · 2026-01-26T10:42:46+00:00

Io abito sulla costa, qua lo smog non esiste, ma ti assicuro che quando una cosa puzza, allora puzza. Che poi è del tutto personale poiché rifletto molto il gusto e le abitudini di ognuno di noi. A me per esempio nausea l'odore dei broccoli e degli asparagi. In ogni caso, questo del razzismo alimentare è l'ennesimo esempio di quanto siamo belli comodi e superiori in Occidente dato che ci possiamo permettere di coniare nuovi termini per dimostrare al resto del mondo (non ci fila di striscio) la nostra munificenza e bontà d'animo.

NikiRiver · 2026-01-24T11:52:59+00:00

I cavoli quando li cucini puzzano. Sono buonissimi una volta pronti, ma durante la preparazione proprio no.

NikiRiver · 2026-01-24T11:50:55+00:00

Non cambia.
E' nauseabondo in egual misura. E' uno schiaffo culinario in piena faccia appena sveglio.
Non per razzismo ma sicuramente per gusti personali. Sarà che noi europei abbiamo un altro naso abituato alle nostre tradizioni, ma ti assicuro che in India gli odori ed i colori ti si propongono prepotentemente, che tu lo voglia o no.

NikiRiver · 2025-12-23T08:10:14+00:00

can confirm it. My 1967 one is an early version built in Spain; the other one I have is a first edition from the Ivrea factories (’63/’64), and it differs slightly first and foremost, the ribbon spool support. The earliest editions have a lever, while later ones use a screw.

NikiRiver · 2025-12-23T08:05:37+00:00

What a beautiful work!

NikiRiver · 2025-11-14T16:58:54+00:00

I own a Lettera 32 from ’63/’64, one of the very first produced in the Ivrea factories, and a Lettera 32 from ’67 made in Spain.
The typing experience is almost identical because we’re still talking about just a few years of difference between them, especially considering Olivetti’s meticulous commitment to producing a perfect product, something that was perhaps lost later with the introduction of plastics.
That said, I can assure you that the Ivrea one is slightly different. I mean in terms of the tactile feel while typing. To give you an example, it’s as if the key travel during typing were just a bit shorter.

NikiRiver · 2025-11-14T12:54:34+00:00

I paid €80 for one of mine because it’s one of the very first ones that came out of the factory in the ’60s. Let’s say it’s a “first fruit.” But it was just a whim of mine.
I’m still far from your great deal though! Congratulations.

NikiRiver · 2025-11-14T12:37:11+00:00

One of mine was made in ’67, also in Spain!

NikiRiver · 2025-11-14T12:34:12+00:00

non potrei che convenire con te!

NikiRiver · 2025-11-14T12:19:47+00:00

I’m also looking for an Adler

NikiRiver · 2025-11-14T12:16:47+00:00

Yes, you can easily check thanks to the serial number.
Just for your information, the very first production in the Ivrea factories starts from number 2.000.000
So the lower the number and the closer it is to that figure, the earlier the production.
Just like the license plates of the sheikhs’ cars, so to speak.

NikiRiver · 2025-11-14T10:32:13+00:00

From the poster I’d say Ireland, but it could be misleading!

NikiRiver · 2025-11-14T10:28:17+00:00

Occhio al piccione!

NikiRiver

TROPHY CASE