1046 Brands 3090 Models 20120 Galleries 12403 Typefaces 6273 Patents
Home » Olympia » Splendid 33 » 1961 #427172
1961 Olympia Splendid 33 Serial # 427172 1961 Olympia Splendid 33 typewriter, Serial # 427172 John Munroe's 1961 Olympia Splendid 33 typewriter. 2019-08-27 From the Virtual Typewriter Collection of John Munroe: 1961 Olympia Splendid 33 Serial # 427172 "Merlot"
Nice solid typer, a few flecks of white paint on the keys. Plate on the side reads in Japanese: Kusuda Jimuki (Business Machines), March 1962 (Showa 37/3), Osaka / Tokyo / Nagoya. Cleanest type of all my typers to date. Import date was March 1962; Typewriter Database confirms manufacturing year as 1961.
Sold to Josh Kessler in Tokyo Aug. 28, 2019. Enjoy it Josh!

1961 Olympia Splendid 33 #427172

Status: Sightings
Hunter: John Munroe (jamunroe)
Created: 07-30-2015 at 08:39PM
Last Edit: 08-27-2019 at 09:53AM


Description:

"Merlot"
Nice solid typer, a few flecks of white paint on the keys. Plate on the side reads in Japanese: Kusuda Jimuki (Business Machines), March 1962 (Showa 37/3), Osaka / Tokyo / Nagoya. Cleanest type of all my typers to date. Import date was March 1962; Typewriter Database confirms manufacturing year as 1961.
Sold to Josh Kessler in Tokyo Aug. 28, 2019. Enjoy it Josh!

Typeface Specimen:

Photos:

Case and ancient typing sample.
Case and ancient typing sample.

Felt pad courtesy of Richard Polt. Wonderful! 
This typer reads Made in Germany unlike others that read Western Zone or Western Germany - this was probably made before the Berlin Wall went up in August 1961. (Just a guess.)
Felt pad courtesy of Richard Polt. Wonderful! This typer reads Made in Germany unlike others that read Western Zone or Western Germany - this was probably made before the Berlin Wall went up in August 1961. (Just a guess.)

Everything appears to work fine. Changed the ribbon. Such clean type.
Everything appears to work fine. Changed the ribbon. Such clean type.

Kusuda Jimuki (Kusuda Business Machines) March, 1962 (Showa 37 / 3)
Kusuda Jimuki (Kusuda Business Machines) March, 1962 (Showa 37 / 3)

Opened it up to find only one of two original metal spools (left) intact.
Opened it up to find only one of two original metal spools (left) intact.

Nice faux croc case. Light and ergonomic compared to many others.
Nice faux croc case. Light and ergonomic compared to many others.

S/N 427172
S/N 427172

Love these wine-colored keys!
Love these wine-colored keys!

Josh, meet Merlot. :-)
Josh, meet Merlot. :-)

Hunter: John Munroe (jamunroe)

John Munroe's Typewriter Galleries [ My Collection ] [ My Sightings ]

Status: Typewriter Hunter
Points: 4151

Sphinx of black quartz, judge my vow.

From Toronto Canada. Tokyo-based entrepreneur since 1998 and meditation teacher since 2000. Learned to type in Grade 9 following mind-altering lunches and still experience flashbacks while typing. Mother did shorthand and typed 90 wpm as stenographer, dad pecked out haiku on his old typewriter as long as I remember. Moved to thermal printing, 8-character display CanoWord Pen 24 in 1986 when my typewriter broke, then to FujiXerox, Mac and iPhone. Bought my first typewriter of the new millennium (a Lettera 32) in March 2015. Muscle memory has graduated to neural reboot--every moment at the typewriter brings back fresh memories of type-happy childhood and visions of literary grandeur. Use typewriter for inspiration/rough drafts and computer/iPhone (Scrivener/Evernote) for polishing.



RESEARCH NOTE: When researching the Olympia Splendid 33 on a computer with lots of screen real estate, you may find that launching the Olympia Serial Number page and the Olympia Splendid 33 By Model/Year/Serial page in new browser windows can give you interesting perspectives on changes throughout the model series.