1050 Brands 3179 Models 21579 Galleries 13532 Typefaces 6273 Patents
Home » Olympia » SM9 » 1966 #3215653
1966 Olympia SM9 Serial # 3215653 1966 Olympia SM9 typewriter, Serial # 3215653 Brian Hagermann's 1966 Olympia SM9 typewriter. 2024-12-19 From the Virtual Typewriter Collection of Brian Hagermann: 1966 Olympia SM9 Serial # 3215653 It took Olympia until 1964 to adopt a segment shift in a portable, something much of its competition had been doing for three decades. The body strikes me as a fairly conservative modern design but the real masterpiece is underneath its white and grey skin. The last great showcase of build quality in a manual portable typewriter. This particular typewriter was made in 1966 and purchased new by the previous owner, a library sciences graduate student in Michigan. She later worked as a library in and around Baltimore, MD.

Came to me caked in dust and eraser debris. After being disassembled, cleaned, adjusted, and reassembled--it's brilliant. I can generally type fast enough on a Olympia to occasionally crowd letters, but not this one! Standard US keyboard with 11cpi Elite No. 8 typeface, which is really a lovely compromise between Pica and traditional 12cpi Elite. Ubiquitous, unassuming machines but marvels nonetheless.

1966 Olympia SM9 #3215653

Status: My Collection
Hunter: Brian Hagermann (bhagermann)
Created: 12-19-2024 at 08:22PM
Last Edit: 12-19-2024 at 08:24PM

Description Hunter 15 Photos 0 Likes  Find on Ebay #AD  Find on Etsy #AD

Description:

It took Olympia until 1964 to adopt a segment shift in a portable, something much of its competition had been doing for three decades. The body strikes me as a fairly conservative modern design but the real masterpiece is underneath its white and grey skin. The last great showcase of build quality in a manual portable typewriter. This particular typewriter was made in 1966 and purchased new by the previous owner, a library sciences graduate student in Michigan. She later worked as a library in and around Baltimore, MD.

Came to me caked in dust and eraser debris. After being disassembled, cleaned, adjusted, and reassembled--it's brilliant. I can generally type fast enough on a Olympia to occasionally crowd letters, but not this one! Standard US keyboard with 11cpi Elite No. 8 typeface, which is really a lovely compromise between Pica and traditional 12cpi Elite. Ubiquitous, unassuming machines but marvels nonetheless.

Typeface Specimen:

Photos:
















Hunter: Brian Hagermann (bhagermann)

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

Status: Typewriter Hunter
Points: 155

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 SM9 on a computer with lots of screen real estate, you may find that launching the Olympia Serial Number page and the Olympia SM9 By Model/Year/Serial page in new browser windows can give you interesting perspectives on changes throughout the model series.

Typewriter Hunter Merch!