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1973 Olympia Report electric Serial # 9-31211 1973 Olympia Report electric typewriter, Serial # 9-31211 James Grooms's 1973 Olympia Report electric typewriter. 2026-01-09 From the Virtual Typewriter Collection of James Grooms: 1973 Olympia Report electric Serial # 9-31211 Not to be confused with the later Nakajima models.

Olympia's counter to Smith Corona for 1971. This is aimed directly at the 210/220 lineup.

I am on a quixotic quest to figure out these Olympia models. Here you go. First, there was Report Electric. These are 9 and 46 (black cover) prefix machines. It is confusing from the start in 1971 because they also call the Report Electric the SKE, or use both terms in the ads. Then the 46 (black cover) prefix machines are Report and Report Deluxe.

Both these were built by Olympia and are miniature versions of the office compact series SGE-35/45s. They are much more robust, complex, and feature-rich than the later Nakajima models that exterior-wise are very similar in appearance to the 46 pre fix machines.

On the main page, I think that where it is currently "Report (Electric)", it would clarify much if it were "SKE, Report electric and Report de Luxe (Electric portable)". These are all used interchangeably in ads. The early all white body ones are Report electric. I think all of them have the SKE label on the back or the electrical port. The SN sequence early on used a 9 prefix. Then they switched to 46. If you remove the 00 or 0 from the SN, the data lines up with the main page info. However, it starts with 1973 and here we have a 1971 ad intro.

Also on the main page, the "SKM (Electric Compact)". This is definitely a manual machine.

By the ads-
71-74 is the white bodied SKE Report Electric (9 and 46 prefix SNs).
75-76 the 46 black top SKE Report de Luxe and by early 77 the ads stop for SKE (possibly from here they are all 46 prefix SNs).
78 it is the Report de luxe (aka SKE) and to avoid confusion (ha!), the Nakajima is simply the Report Electric. And the budget manual return model is the SEP (Silver Seiko).

Through the 60s Olympia, arguably, has the best manual portable ever made in the SM-9. The SGs have their niche, but IBM is taking everyone to the woodshed. The dealers were demanding a compact electric, so you get the SKE Report Electric aimed directly at Smith Corona's dominance. See the last ads.

1973 Olympia Report electric #9-31211

Status: My Collection
Hunter: James Grooms (jgrooms)
Created: 01-08-2026 at 04:06PM
Last Edit: 01-09-2026 at 08:54AM

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Description:

Not to be confused with the later Nakajima models.

Olympia's counter to Smith Corona for 1971. This is aimed directly at the 210/220 lineup.

I am on a quixotic quest to figure out these Olympia models. Here you go. First, there was Report Electric. These are 9 and 46 (black cover) prefix machines. It is confusing from the start in 1971 because they also call the Report Electric the SKE, or use both terms in the ads. Then the 46 (black cover) prefix machines are Report and Report Deluxe.

Both these were built by Olympia and are miniature versions of the office compact series SGE-35/45s. They are much more robust, complex, and feature-rich than the later Nakajima models that exterior-wise are very similar in appearance to the 46 pre fix machines.

On the main page, I think that where it is currently "Report (Electric)", it would clarify much if it were "SKE, Report electric and Report de Luxe (Electric portable)". These are all used interchangeably in ads. The early all white body ones are Report electric. I think all of them have the SKE label on the back or the electrical port. The SN sequence early on used a 9 prefix. Then they switched to 46. If you remove the 00 or 0 from the SN, the data lines up with the main page info. However, it starts with 1973 and here we have a 1971 ad intro.

Also on the main page, the "SKM (Electric Compact)". This is definitely a manual machine.

By the ads-
71-74 is the white bodied SKE Report Electric (9 and 46 prefix SNs).
75-76 the 46 black top SKE Report de Luxe and by early 77 the ads stop for SKE (possibly from here they are all 46 prefix SNs).
78 it is the Report de luxe (aka SKE) and to avoid confusion (ha!), the Nakajima is simply the Report Electric. And the budget manual return model is the SEP (Silver Seiko).

Through the 60s Olympia, arguably, has the best manual portable ever made in the SM-9. The SGs have their niche, but IBM is taking everyone to the woodshed. The dealers were demanding a compact electric, so you get the SKE Report Electric aimed directly at Smith Corona's dominance. See the last ads.

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First ad Mar 1971. SKE electric portable, but has Report electric on cover.
First ad Mar 1971. SKE electric portable, but has Report electric on cover.

Hunter: James Grooms (jgrooms)

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Typewriters are the perfect blend of using one's technical skills, history and functional purpose. My goal is type tested machines. My interests are not isolated to anyone area. For example, I am a big fan of Smith Corona electrics, mid century electrics and all things Royal.


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