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Home » Olympia » SM9 » 1968 #3502999
1968 Olympia SM9 Serial # 3502999 1968 Olympia SM9 typewriter, Serial # 3502999 David Smith's 1968 Olympia SM9 typewriter. 2022-04-18 From the Virtual Typewriter Collection of David Smith: 1968 Olympia SM9 Serial # 3502999 One of the earlier Olympia SM9s, probably made in 1968. This one is quite special to me. I won it in a Goodwill auction in which the photos were so blurry and overexposed that you couldn't quite tell what shape the machine was in. I went all in on the auction because it was local to me, so I could avoid shipping charges and potential damage. When I picked up the machine I found that it was practically brand new. It still had the original price sticker on it, listing it for $129.50 back in 1968. It has all metal parts and is built very similar to the SM4s, with the tab set/clear keys along side the space bar. Furthermore, and perhaps most interesting, the type face turned out to be a very rare Olympia Elite No. 60, which is a 12-pitch type face, but here it is installed on an 11-pitch escapement, giving a very clean 11 cpi font that closely resembles the popular Prestige Elite that we all know from IBM. This machine really shines with a silk ribbon, which allows the fine features of the 12 cpi type face to be cleanly imprinted. For the specimen here I have used a black silk ribbon from Ribbons Unlimited that brings out the details the best.

1968 Olympia SM9 #3502999

Status: My Collection
Hunter: David Smith (davidsmith)
Created: 04-18-2022 at 10:34AM
Last Edit: 04-18-2022 at 11:22AM

Description Hunter 8 Photos 0 Likes  Find on Ebay #AD  Find on Etsy #AD

Description:

One of the earlier Olympia SM9s, probably made in 1968. This one is quite special to me. I won it in a Goodwill auction in which the photos were so blurry and overexposed that you couldn't quite tell what shape the machine was in. I went all in on the auction because it was local to me, so I could avoid shipping charges and potential damage. When I picked up the machine I found that it was practically brand new. It still had the original price sticker on it, listing it for $129.50 back in 1968. It has all metal parts and is built very similar to the SM4s, with the tab set/clear keys along side the space bar. Furthermore, and perhaps most interesting, the type face turned out to be a very rare Olympia Elite No. 60, which is a 12-pitch type face, but here it is installed on an 11-pitch escapement, giving a very clean 11 cpi font that closely resembles the popular Prestige Elite that we all know from IBM. This machine really shines with a silk ribbon, which allows the fine features of the 12 cpi type face to be cleanly imprinted. For the specimen here I have used a black silk ribbon from Ribbons Unlimited that brings out the details the best.

Typeface Specimen:

Photos:









Hunter: David Smith (davidsmith)

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By day I'm a scientist, and by night typewriters and reading dead trees are my favorite way to unplug.


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