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1954 Olympia Robust Serial # 471372 1954 Olympia Robust typewriter, Serial # 471372 Brian Hagermann's 1954 Olympia Robust typewriter. 2024-03-18 From the Virtual Typewriter Collection of Brian Hagermann: 1954 Olympia Robust Serial # 471372 In the 1950s, Olympia marketed this especially rugged variant of its SM typewriters as the “Robust” to, as a contemporary ad states, “armed forces, police, expeditions [and] building & construction units in the field.” Olympia sold SM2, SM3 and SM4 Robust models. This is a particularly early wide-carriage SM3, with two paper bail rollers (versus the later three) and the angled plexiglas card holders.

Literally a more robust version of the venerable SM3–all chrome plated surfaces on a normal SM3 are nickel plated and heavily coated with a black enamel on this machine, reducing glare and the likelihood of corrosion. The typewriter shares its model name with a WWII cousin and has a nearly identical case, wood construction, reinforced with metal and advertised as “waterproof and shockproof” by Olympia. All together this ensemble weighs about 28 lbs.

I found this collecting dust (and some abuse) in the corner of a consignment shop outside Richmond, Virginia and sadly I know nothing about its history. It does appear to have been made for the American market with its US QWERTY keyboard. It did see lots of use--several typebars have been peened to precisely align them and one or two have been outright replaced. Some bored soul traced around the Olympia logo on the ribbon cover with a graphite pencil and a few other surfaces. It's quite a handsome typewriter with the blackened hardware--I especially love the painted carriage end caps, normally chrome on the SM series.

Left my collection in 2024.

1954 Olympia Robust #471372

Status: My Collection
Hunter: Brian Hagermann (bhagermann)
Created: 03-18-2024 at 06:47AM
Last Edit: 03-18-2024 at 06:49AM

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Description:

In the 1950s, Olympia marketed this especially rugged variant of its SM typewriters as the “Robust” to, as a contemporary ad states, “armed forces, police, expeditions [and] building & construction units in the field.” Olympia sold SM2, SM3 and SM4 Robust models. This is a particularly early wide-carriage SM3, with two paper bail rollers (versus the later three) and the angled plexiglas card holders.

Literally a more robust version of the venerable SM3–all chrome plated surfaces on a normal SM3 are nickel plated and heavily coated with a black enamel on this machine, reducing glare and the likelihood of corrosion. The typewriter shares its model name with a WWII cousin and has a nearly identical case, wood construction, reinforced with metal and advertised as “waterproof and shockproof” by Olympia. All together this ensemble weighs about 28 lbs.

I found this collecting dust (and some abuse) in the corner of a consignment shop outside Richmond, Virginia and sadly I know nothing about its history. It does appear to have been made for the American market with its US QWERTY keyboard. It did see lots of use--several typebars have been peened to precisely align them and one or two have been outright replaced. Some bored soul traced around the Olympia logo on the ribbon cover with a graphite pencil and a few other surfaces. It's quite a handsome typewriter with the blackened hardware--I especially love the painted carriage end caps, normally chrome on the SM series.

Left my collection in 2024.

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Hunter: Brian Hagermann (bhagermann)

Brian Hagermann's Typewriter Galleries [ My Collection ] [ My Sightings ]

Status: Typewriter Hunter
Points: 33

I found my first typewriter, a 1949 Smith-Corona Clipper, in a dumpster in 2004. I've been fascinated by typewriters ever since--though it took quite a long time to accept the label "collector". I am mostly interested in typewriters that are linked to a place and/or a person and the research into their own histories is half the fun. Collecting typewriters remains a net-zero hobby for me, meaning I repair and resell to fund further purchases without (in theory) spending my own salary.


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.

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