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1955 Optima Elite 3 Serial # 912389 1955 Optima Elite 3 typewriter, Serial # 912389 Dimitris Nikou's 1955 Optima Elite 3 typewriter. 2022-03-17 From the Virtual Typewriter Collection of Dimitris Nikou: 1955 Optima Elite 3 Serial # 912389 Optima Elite 3 with Greek keyboard, made in 1955 in the GDR, or East Germany.

I instantly nicknamed it "Tiramisu", because of its colors - the light brown of the frame that in a way reminds me of the biscuits dipped in espresso coffee mixed with liqueur and the darker color of the keys, like the chocolate or cocoa powder topping . I found the machine on a Facebook Marketplace ad. The previous owners had it in their vintage furniture shop just for decoration, until they decided to sell it. In the last picture, you can see the Optima as they had it on display.

Besides the obvious beauty of this classic design, it's a really great machine to use and type on. Of all my typewriters, till now, this one has the best touch and it works flawlessly - I dare to say, like new. I would compare it only with my Olympia SG3. I have heared and read a lot about the quality of the Optima machines of that era, but still I was not expecting it to be that good. The only "problem" I can mention is the platen, which tells a story on its own. Numerous customers or maybe kids, in the store, just playing with the typewriter by pressing keys over and over again, slowly destroying the platen surface. You can see it in the pictures. Even in this condition, it's fine, but I would prefer to recover or replace it sometime in the future. It also misses its travel case cover and has some ware on parts of the frame - I don't really mind about that, I consider it part of its charm.

So, all I had to do is treat the "Tiramisu" with a good cleaning, in order to remove lots of dust, dirt and cat hair (the store has two cats that are actually in charge of the whole place), also gave the typebars a good clean with white spirit, oiled it of course and thanked God that there is no rust in it.

1955 Optima Elite 3 #912389

Status: Sightings
Hunter: Dimitris Nikou (dimnikou)
Created: 08-28-2020 at 12:35AM
Last Edit: 03-17-2022 at 09:37AM

Description Hunter 16 Photos 1 Like  Find on Ebay #AD  Find on Etsy #AD

Description:

Optima Elite 3 with Greek keyboard, made in 1955 in the GDR, or East Germany.

I instantly nicknamed it "Tiramisu", because of its colors - the light brown of the frame that in a way reminds me of the biscuits dipped in espresso coffee mixed with liqueur and the darker color of the keys, like the chocolate or cocoa powder topping . I found the machine on a Facebook Marketplace ad. The previous owners had it in their vintage furniture shop just for decoration, until they decided to sell it. In the last picture, you can see the Optima as they had it on display.

Besides the obvious beauty of this classic design, it's a really great machine to use and type on. Of all my typewriters, till now, this one has the best touch and it works flawlessly - I dare to say, like new. I would compare it only with my Olympia SG3. I have heared and read a lot about the quality of the Optima machines of that era, but still I was not expecting it to be that good. The only "problem" I can mention is the platen, which tells a story on its own. Numerous customers or maybe kids, in the store, just playing with the typewriter by pressing keys over and over again, slowly destroying the platen surface. You can see it in the pictures. Even in this condition, it's fine, but I would prefer to recover or replace it sometime in the future. It also misses its travel case cover and has some ware on parts of the frame - I don't really mind about that, I consider it part of its charm.

So, all I had to do is treat the "Tiramisu" with a good cleaning, in order to remove lots of dust, dirt and cat hair (the store has two cats that are actually in charge of the whole place), also gave the typebars a good clean with white spirit, oiled it of course and thanked God that there is no rust in it.

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Photos:

















Hunter: Dimitris Nikou (dimnikou)

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Status: Typewriter Hunter
Points: 1162

Writer and blogger from Athens, Greece. I own a small collection of typewriters, most of my machines are functional and I try to repair any with problems that keeps it from typing. For me, it is important for a typewriter not just to sit on a shelve for display, but to be able to type when I want to. On the links below you will find my blogs and social media profiles. Feel free to follow me and get in touch if you want. I am always happy to communicate :)


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