Antique Olivetti M1 Typewriter

Five of the photographs included here are of the actual typewriter for sale. This antique is one of the first manufactured by Olivetti.

Under soft natural lighting the typewriter looks polished but under closer scrutiny it is dusty and dirty.. It needs professional cleaning and  restoration and repair to get it in working order. I am reluctant to try to clean it not wanting to further damage the patina. If any of the keys are pressed each of the arms still rise and the paper roller still rolls if turned. The ribbons are absent but the ribbon spools are intact and still turn as they should. There seems to be no serial number on the typewriter, but there is a very small plaque that reads "Interlineatura 1234" The machine is very heavy at 17kg and it is attached to a board.

If you look carefully at the right hand side of the typewriter in the advertizing poster for Olivetti (with the red background) you will notice that there is no small lever - this probably indicates that it is a later model than the one for sale. The one for sale has the small lever below the red and black indicators.

Please note that the lemons and the cat depicted in one of the photographs are not for sale.