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07-11-2019 08:11:51  #1


Rare Olympia SM 7?

Hello everyone, I have two questions about my recently acquired Olympia SM 7.
See the bottom of this post for some images.

1) The serial is 1839589.
However, the TWDB states the SM 7 begins at 1949310.
That's a difference of 109721 machines.
It suggest the first SM 7 hit the market before 1962.
Mine is not the only machine from 1961, xoverit.blogspot.com shows images from two pre 1961 machines...
Any thoughts?

References:
http://xoverit.blogspot.com/2015/02/olympia-sm-series-part-1-1948-1964.html
https://typewriterdatabase.com/olympia.61.typewriter-serial-number-database

2) The machine comes with the #91 Congress Modern Pica (10 cpi) typeface.
Occasionally I see typewriters with script typefaces and once in a while a machine with a Senatorial square/techo typeface.
I've never seen a typewriter with a Congress font.
How rare is a typewriter like my SM 7?

Reference:
https://www.laurenzvangaalen.nl/olympia-traveller/downloads/olympia-typeface-leaflet-de.pdf

Thanks,
Lau










 

 

07-11-2019 12:29:32  #2


Re: Rare Olympia SM 7?

First and foremost, it's important to remember that the TD is not an absolute reference, but rather a well-organized compilation of the information that is known to us. As such it does contain errors. You need only to pick out a list of model names from a manufacturer to see that. This problem is in part because its members are able to contribute such things and the accuracy of what they report isn't always verified.

The SM7 made its debut in 1961 - not 1962. Also, SM serial numbers are not based on individual models, they are one continuous number sequence for all of the Schreibmaschine Mittelgroß (SM=medium size=portable) models but are divided by manufacture year. The SM serial number range for 1961 is 1,731,685 to 1,949,309.

In short, what you have isn't a rare SM7; however, it is one from the first few months of its production run.

As for the typeface, it's difficult to say how "rare" it is as I've never seen any published numbers indicating how many machines were shipped with each available typeface that Olympia offered (there were a LOT of them). I know that I have at least one Olympia with #91 Modern Congress (see below) and would suggest that it's a typeface that is less frequently found rather than it being rare.



 


The pronoun has always been capitalized in the English language for more than 700 years.
 

07-11-2019 15:59:36  #3


Re: Rare Olympia SM 7?

Thanks for your comprehensive reactrion.

     Thread Starter
 

16-1-2021 10:51:06  #4


Re: Rare Olympia SM 7?

I thoroughly enjoy using my 1961 Olympia SM7.  Very comfortable for me to use with long typing work...even with its carriage-shifting.

Bought it from a family member out of Canada.  1-owner machine.

Case needed repair and rework and a new paint job.
.

 

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