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1952 Olympia Elite Serial # 716492 1952 Olympia Elite typewriter, Serial # 716492 Jerry Himes's 1952 Olympia Elite typewriter. 2024-07-18 From the Virtual Typewriter Collection of Jerry Himes: 1952 Olympia Elite Serial # 716492 This machine is in excellent condition. Reads Olympia, but the serial number and the grey paintjob tells that it was manufactured by Optima. I'll still list it as an Olympia for now. More about this at the end.

It was very dusty inside from sitting decades on a shelf as a decoration piece, but after cleaning it up, it's a wonderful machine to type with, with a sharp and brisk feel to it, making fast typing feel very easy and natural. There is no carriage lock. The tabulator works nicely, and there is a lever behind the machine you have to flip if you want to delete your tab settings; a system which I have not seen before.

The carrying case is currently missing, but the nice middle-aged couple who sold the machine to me said they should have it somewhere, and promised to let me know if they find it later.

Standard Pica typeface and the old Finnish Standard keyboard with Finnish language keys:
REUN = reunustavasteen vapauttaja = margin release
LUKKO = LOCK
VAIHTO = SHIFT
ASETT = perhaps from "aseta tab" (set tab)?

Interestingly, the Olympia logo is colored in the same way as the Optima logo would have been: silver with red edges. I have not yet seen another example of this, and if this is a result of a redecaling/refurbishment process, this is probably the time when the Elite logo disappeared from the ribbon cover. Perhaps the original owner wanted the logo changed out of sympathy towards Optima, the original Olympia in Erfurt, which was forced to change their name by a court order?

Could also be that the machine came out of the Optima factory looking like this, but I find this rather strange as there are older Elites which already have the Optima logos on them, and as I mentioned above, I've yet to see another machine with a similar red and silver Olympia logo on it. Perhaps the original buyer had contacts in the factory, and it was made for him as a custom job?

1952 Olympia Elite #716492

Status: My Collection
Hunter: Jerry Himes (JJH)
Created: 06-01-2024 at 09:08PM
Last Edit: 07-18-2024 at 05:53AM

Description Hunter 8 Photos 2 Likes  Find on Ebay #AD  Find on Etsy #AD

Description:

This machine is in excellent condition. Reads Olympia, but the serial number and the grey paintjob tells that it was manufactured by Optima. I'll still list it as an Olympia for now. More about this at the end.

It was very dusty inside from sitting decades on a shelf as a decoration piece, but after cleaning it up, it's a wonderful machine to type with, with a sharp and brisk feel to it, making fast typing feel very easy and natural. There is no carriage lock. The tabulator works nicely, and there is a lever behind the machine you have to flip if you want to delete your tab settings; a system which I have not seen before.

The carrying case is currently missing, but the nice middle-aged couple who sold the machine to me said they should have it somewhere, and promised to let me know if they find it later.

Standard Pica typeface and the old Finnish Standard keyboard with Finnish language keys:
REUN = reunustavasteen vapauttaja = margin release
LUKKO = LOCK
VAIHTO = SHIFT
ASETT = perhaps from "aseta tab" (set tab)?

Interestingly, the Olympia logo is colored in the same way as the Optima logo would have been: silver with red edges. I have not yet seen another example of this, and if this is a result of a redecaling/refurbishment process, this is probably the time when the Elite logo disappeared from the ribbon cover. Perhaps the original owner wanted the logo changed out of sympathy towards Optima, the original Olympia in Erfurt, which was forced to change their name by a court order?

Could also be that the machine came out of the Optima factory looking like this, but I find this rather strange as there are older Elites which already have the Optima logos on them, and as I mentioned above, I've yet to see another machine with a similar red and silver Olympia logo on it. Perhaps the original buyer had contacts in the factory, and it was made for him as a custom job?

Typeface Specimen:

Photos:









Hunter: Jerry Himes (JJH)

Jerry Himes's Typewriter Galleries [ My Collection ] [ My Sightings ]

Status: Typewriter Hunter
Points: 664

I have been looking for ways to spend less time on electronic devices, and because of this I started doing my writing and translation work with pens and pencils, and now on typewriters as well.

I will probably start selling and giving away some of my machines after I figure out which ones are most useful to me. Some people have asked me for a working typewriter, so I have been on the lookout for machines purely for that purpose as well.

Machines sold/given away:
Triumph Gabriele 20
Hermes 3000 (3rd gen., French)
Student (Brother) Deluxe 850TR
Optima (Zentronik) Mod. 42
Scheidegger (Olivetti) President

Reviews done so far:

Erika Daro Model 41
Hermes 3000 (3rd gen.)
Olivetti Lettera 32


RESEARCH NOTE: When researching the Olympia Elite on a computer with lots of screen real estate, you may find that launching the Olympia Serial Number page and the Olympia Elite By Model/Year/Serial page in new browser windows can give you interesting perspectives on changes throughout the model series.

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