197X Olivetti Linea 98 #XXXXXXXXXXX

Status: Sightings
Hunter: Javier Vazquez del Olmo (Javi)
Created: 03-14-2019 at 07:53AM
Last Edit: 03-14-2019 at 10:23AM

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Description:

It's good to have a typewriter maniac around (like me) when you need a typewriter, and that's what happened at my village's town hall.

Up until now they've been using a Hispano Olivetti Lexicon 80 (see links), but catastrophe happened. The G typeslug vanished, quite an annoying issue. They needed a typewriter to finish a report which had to be typewritten and sent to Switzerland by the end of the week, so they borrowed one of my typewriters to meet the deadline. Then it was a matter of decicing what to do: borrowing a typewriter when needed, fixing the Lexicon 80 or getting a new one. Finally they decided the fastest and less invasive course of action was having me find a substitute, and while I failed on the first try (the Facit TP1 I got doesn't work yet), I chose a personal favourite to be on the safe side: this Olivetti Linea 98.

Inexpensive, very common, really fast... I know the general consensus is that the Linea 98 is nothing to cheer about, but I find it extremely competent. The touch isn't as crisp as in an Olympia, but the stroke is shorter, the machine is lighter than the SG3 and the keytops are more comfortable, at least for me.

A final note: I think this is the first typewriter I find whose serial number has been intentionaly destroyed. I don't know why, because the previous owner just told me it had been stored at home for a long time.

Typeface Specimen:

Links:

• Change with time: This Lexicon 80 has been replaced with the Linea 98

Photos:

That weird shape on the back is my reflection. Ugly, right?

The s/n should be on the plate to the right, but it's been scraped

Hunter: Javier Vazquez del Olmo (Javi)

Javier Vazquez del Olmo's Typewriter Galleries [ My Collection ] [ My Sightings ]

Status: Typewriter Hunter
Points: 6476

The first typewriter I saw was my grandpa´s Olivetti Linea 98 at the office. It was just a curio for me. Then I was given a Nakajima, which I didn´t use and my grandfather took it from me because it was easier to handle than the bulky Linea 98. Now I own that typewriter, and I started a little collection in Valladolid, Spain. The Nakajima, which is "my" typewriter only returned home in 2017, almost 20 years later, when he wanted a better typewriter.

A collection that started small grew into something bigger, a nuisace for my family and a great source of satisfaction for me.