1964 Olivetti Lettera 32 #2247925
Status: Sightings
Hunter: Julian Zadorozny (Kuliano1977)
Created: 10-27-2024 at 01:24PM
Last Edit: 10-28-2024 at 04:38AM
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Description:
This 1964 Olivetti Lettera 32 has been gifted to my twin brother. This typewriter was discovered in the barn of the local favourite Rideau Antiques in Lombardy, Ontario.
The antique shop is off Google Maps because of a fire code violation. One can still wander the property and go up those stairs into the stable where I found my 1939 Remington Remette. The main house is full of aged, ancient artifacts of yesterday, and off limits to enter except for payment.
I searched and found four typewriters of different ages and styles, but this Lettera 32 for only $45 CDN made me skip just a little to the cashier.
One will notice the Yen key, and the fact that the card manual is all in Japanese. Somehow it reached this old barn from Japan and with a QWERTY keyboard. I also found a sheet of carbon within the battered case. When pressing them to the light you see paragraphs regarding baptisms from Bethel United Church in 1979, which is located in the same neighbourhood where the Rideau Antiques is located. Perhaps.
My twin has lived in Japan on and off for almost twenty years so I thought he’d get a kick out of this particular Lettera 32. He was asking for a typewriter anyway, so why not this one?
We also discovered that Olivetti built Lettera 32’s with Japanese Katakana/English keyboards. Katakana is a term to mean, “the more angular form of kana (syllabic writing) used in Japanese, primarily used for words of foreign origin.” Those typewriters seem to have been used for telegrams. Perhaps one day that one will turn up. I’ve attached a link to this post.
This typewriter is smooth to type on and built in Ivrea, Italy. The Olivetti has a comfortable feel. Let’s see if my brother has the same opinion.
Typeface Specimen:
Links:
Photos:
Hunter: Julian Zadorozny (Kuliano1977)
Julian Zadorozny's Typewriter Galleries [ My Collection ] [ My Sightings ]
Status: Typewriter Hunter
Points: 551
I purchased my first typewriter in 2000: Brother Pro-Line 707 built in 1969.
I wrote eight hours a day, seven days a week on that tiny machine. I wrote my first unpublished novel and hundreds of short stories on the Brother.
In 2020 I decided to purchase my second typewriter. At ten and counting, I still use and collect these amazing tools for writing.
RESEARCH NOTE: When researching the Olivetti Lettera 32 on a computer with lots of screen real estate, you may find that launching the Olivetti Serial Number page and the Olivetti Lettera 32 By Model/Year/Serial page in new browser windows can give you interesting perspectives on changes throughout the model series.
