1941 Olympia Robust #332328
Status: My Collection
Hunter: Paolo Dal Chiele (pdcox)
Created: 02-08-2020 at 07:53AM
Last Edit: 02-08-2020 at 08:26AM
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Description:
Olympia Robust serial number 332328 produced in the first quarter of 1941 with Romanian keyboard.
This machine is part of the military supplies that Germany gave to Romania following its accession to the Axis alliance in November 1940 and in preparation for its participation in the Barbarossa attack on the Soviet Union, which started in June 1941.
The machine was non-functional, incomplete, with the mechanics blocked and an unusually large number of missing, damaged or broken parts. Among the unusual breaks that confirm the extent of the shocks suffered by the machine in the past is the cracking of the cast iron front comb frame bar, the breakdown of the B letter lever and of several lever links (which have been replaced with formed steel wire).
The Robusts that were used after the war often lack specific parts considered useless in peacetime, and which were eliminated during routine maintenance operations such as the protective plate below the carriage, the front flaps or the rear transverse body fairing. Flaps and fairing are present in this machine, while the plate is missing, as is the top cover.
The decision was to make a conservative restoration, bringing the machine back to working conditions but limiting the replacement of the original parts to a minimum, repairing everything that could be repaired. For me, this machine has above all a historical rather than a collectible value; respect for its originality in the form in which it was found therefore prevails over all other considerations.
As normally happens in the case of typewriters in an advanced state of degradation and long neglected, I prefer to proceed in two phases: in the first phase I proceed with the disassembly, the detailed cleaning and the solution of the obvious problems, then reassembly and make the first tests of operation. In the second phase I disassemble the machine again and proceed to the solution of all the problems identified during the writing tests.
The cleaning technique is the classic one and involves four successive full immersion baths: degreasing, washing, removal of the oxidation patinas and finally protection and lubrication with a classic mixture 9 part naphta : 1 part Marvel Mystery Oil (the same oil that I use to lubricate the Judson compressor of my VW Beetle).
The machine is now functional, most of the repairs having been completed, and I am waiting to find a scrap Olympia Progress of the period to source the parts still missing or beyond repair.
Typeface Specimen:
Photos:
Hunter: Paolo Dal Chiele (pdcox)
Paolo Dal Chiele's Typewriter Galleries [ My Collection ] [ My Sightings ]
Status: Typewriter Hunter
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Interested in historic motoring and vintage cars, I received a typewriter as a bonus when I bought and old off-road car. The previous owner had found somewhere a typewriter produced for the German army and when he sold me the car he gave me the typewriter too. As I learned later, it was a1961 Olympia SM7 Robust..
Of the typewriters I value more character than perfection, the signs that time has left and the stories - or fragments of stories - of those who used them ...
RESEARCH NOTE: When researching the Olympia Robust on a computer with lots of screen real estate, you may find that launching the Olympia Serial Number page and the Olympia Robust By Model/Year/Serial page in new browser windows can give you interesting perspectives on changes throughout the model series.
