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The Most Beautiful Typewriter Source: Machines of Loving Grace |
I do not have an Olivetti Studio 42, but I dream of owning one. If I found this machine (in good condition) I would stop collecting. It's that special.
To assist in proving that the Olivetti Studio 42 is "The Most Beautiful Typewriter" I will be using Dieter Rams' 10 Principles of Good Design. I really connect with Rams' aesthetic and think that the principles he created can really help prove my assertion.
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Fig. 2 Source: Machines of Loving Grace |
Good design makes a product useful. There are no unnecessary buttons or levers on the OS42 This isn't unique to this Olivetti. It seems as if typewriters of this vintage are, usually, immune to the stupid gadgetry of typewriters in the 1960s.
Good design is aesthetic. The aesthetic quality of a device is integral to it's usefulness because people use these devices every day to shape their lives. If you use it every day, then it must be beautiful. The Olivetti Studio 42 is a beautiful machine.
Good design makes a product understandable. This is an attribute common to typewriters as a whole. There is (usually) no mystery in how to use the most basic functions of a typewriter; press a button and print out a letter. Where typewriters become incomprehensible is when features are hidden. A perfect example of this is the Remington Travel-Riter. The carriage locks with a small, almost completely unnoticeable lever on the right-hand side of the spool cover. If you were unaware of this stupid little button you would, perhaps, think that the machine is broken when, in fact, the designers were merely idiots. A carriage lock should be on the carriage. That would make sense. The OS42 makes sense.
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Source: Machines of Loving Grace |
Good design is honest. When style overrides design you get products that cannot live up to our physical expectations. The perfect illustrative would be the Underwood Deluxe. The influence of automobile styling instantaneously makes this typewriter seem outdated. This, however, was the goal of the American automobile industry in the 1950s; they wanted to
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Source: Machines of Loving Grace |
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Source: Apple Computer |
Good design is thorough down to the last detail. Who hasn't been annoyed by a poorly designed latch, catch, or lever. Nothing on the OS42 seems to be left to chance. Look at the red tabulator button. Genius!
Good design is environmentally friendly. If a product is meant to last decades rather than years it is innately friendly to the environment. When something is meant to be thrown away when it is no longer fashionable, that is poor design.
Just look at it. It's gorgeous. I hope you would agree with me that the Olivetti Studio 42 is "The Most Beautiful Typewriter." I would love to hear other opinions.
My wife rolls her eyes at me because every time I get out the SM3 (mine in dark green), I comment on how beautiful it is. Yet the Silent-Super is so similar I'm actually planning a comparison typecast.
ReplyDeleteThat Olivetti is very nice, but I'd still go with the SM3. For pure aesthetics, I just love the Corona 3 but it's not the most user-friendly.
I agree that the Studio 42 is very handsome and well-designed. But I do like the curves and colors and extras on the best '50s machines. I would nominate the Voss gull-wing design if I had to pick a "most beautiful."
ReplyDeleteThe SM-3 is definitely a contender for my favorite, both in looks and function. As a general rule I tend to like machines from the late forties through the late fifties. I also have a Princess 200 and I think it looks pretty stinkin' cool.
ReplyDeleteI have long admired the Studio 42 and I very much enjoyed your reasoned argument in favor of it. I agree with you completely, just so you know :) It has clean lines and is rather striking - such a contemporary design that it is hard to believe how old it is. Unlike the Studio 46, which screams of its era and looks outdated now. The black color is what makes it classic, and it also came in taupe.
ReplyDeleteTrue story: I was touring the typewriter museum in Lausanne when the proprietor casually opened a case that his sister had brought in to the shop to get out of her house (their father had been a typewriter salesman back in the day). In it was nestled a GORGEOUS Olivetti Studio 42, in turquoise! I have not since seen another online or in person, and still kick myself for not having photographed it... another excuse to return next year.
That is an amazing story! I would have loved to been there to see a turquoise Studio 42. I've looked at Italian ebay and seen the taupe. I much prefer the black. If you are willing, keep an eye out for a nice one! It might be pricey to have it shipped, but a OS42 in nice condition - in Phoenix - would be insanely expensive anyway.
ReplyDeleteI found a black and white Olivetti Studio 42 Tipo 1 L. 2000 with Italian letters made in Ivrea. I was going to put into my yard sale this morning until I started researching. Can you help me with further information or maybe a value?
ReplyDeleteoh, look who has a studio 42
ReplyDeletePicking up an Olivetti Studio 42 tomorrow! Very excited!
ReplyDeleteHI...I am brazilian....I have a Studio 42....restored for me... See images... http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/gg204/lucasmenegat/11986546_10206665258503760_4967335502798930888_n_zpsvs71ydus.jpg and http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/gg204/lucasmenegat/11988568_10206665258583762_5390247091605830282_n_zps2anfss3y.jpg
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