Olympia SM

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The Olympia SM was a series of typewriters from the Wilhelmshaven typewriter manufacturer Olympia . The model series was built from 1948 (only from 1949 under the name SM) and ended in 1979 under this name. The production of successor models came to a standstill in the 1980s with the decline of the mechanical type lever typewriters . Due to the widespread use of the machines in this model series, together with the SG office machine series and the SF travel machine series , Olympia was one of the world's largest typewriter manufacturers.

Prehistory (1948-49)

Olympia Orbis (1950)

In 1948 the developers and management of the Olympia-Werke in Erfurt decided to flee the Soviet zone with the construction plans and set up a new company in Wilhelmshaven. However, production was also continued in the Erfurt plant, where the production tools were available. A legal dispute over the use of the name Olympia resulted in the Wilhelmshaven plant initially selling its products under the name Orbis from 1948 , while the Erfurt plant used the name Optima . After the legal dispute fell out in favor of the Wilhelmshavener Werke, they called themselves Olympia again. The first model built under this name was called the Olympia Orbis .

Technically, the Orbis or the Olympia Orbis was a successor to the Olympia Progress , which may have been developed by the engineer Johannes Krüger .

SM1 (1949-51)

The SM series was founded when the Olympia Orbis was renamed Olympia SM1 in 1949 . Technically, the Olympia SM1 is largely identical to its predecessor the Olympia Orbis and the Orbis. The machines have a carriage switch, 44 types, with a single switch so 88 characters. The buttons are made of pressed fabric and the machine has a ribbon switch. There is also a plunger button and left and right line adjusters. A tab was not available. The machines were sold with a wooden case. The SM1 was replaced in 1951 by the SM2, which was manufactured from 1950.

SM2 (1950-61)

Olympia SM2 (1951)

The Olympia SM2 was manufactured from 1950 and had a new case, the mechanics remained essentially identical to that of the SM1. The machine was briefly built in parallel with its predecessor, the SM1, but replaced it after a short time in 1951. While the keys were initially round, the characteristic trapezoidal shape was later used for the keys.

SM3 (1953-61)

Olympia SM3 (1954)

From 1953, in addition to the SM2, a tabulator variant was introduced, which was named Olympia SM3 . The SM2 and SM3 were now available in parallel. The SM3 was available with a wide wagon .

SM4 (1958-61)

The Olympia SM4 was also equipped with a set and delete key for the tabulator next to the space bar, as Olympia offered with the Elite model before the Second World War .

SM5 (1961 / 62-64)

The Olympia SM5 was the cheaper alternative to the SM7. Technically it was a mixture of SM2 and SM4 and also had its housing. The machine was only available in white. It had 44 keys, that is, 88 characters. It has a carriage switch, a triple line switch and a setting tab. The car was 24 cm wide, the roller has a diameter of 32.3 mm. It is designed for 13 mm ribbons. The machine weighs 5.8 kg without the case and 8.2 kg with the case. It measures approximately 33.5 × 31.5 × 14.5 cm. Four different fonts were available. In 1961 it cost 371 DM without a suitcase and in 1962 418 DM with a suitcase. The machine had a piercing roller, corrective space bar, roller and carriage release, two-color ribbon. Numerous specialty keyboards were available.

SM7 (1962-64)

The Olympia SM7 was introduced in 1962 and is technically identical to the SM4, but has a new, more angular housing. The machine was available in white, pink and blue. Like the SM4, it has the set and delete keys next to the space bar.

SM8 (1964-79)

The Olympia SM8 was introduced at the same time as the SM9. Both machines replaced the previously available SM5 and SM7. In contrast to all their predecessors, the SM8 and SM9 had a segment switch instead of a car switch. The SM8 has a tab.

Olympia SM9 (1967)

SM9 (1964-79)

The Olympia SM9 was introduced at the same time as the SM8. The machine is technically identical to the SM8, but also has a tab that can be set and deleted directly on the keyboard. In addition, it has an adjustment mechanism for the hardness of printing when writing.

End of the SM series

As early as 1960, simplified versions of the models were offered under the name Olympia Monica (rarely Monika). After 1979 the entire SM series was replaced by the Monica S, Monica and Monica de Luxe. These machines are partly still based on the SM8 and SM9, later Japanese typewriters as well as GDR makes from Robotron were used and provided with an Olympic case.

literature

swell

  • Leonhard Dingwerth: The history of the German typewriter factories . tape 1 , Large and medium-sized manufacturers. Kunstgrafik Dingwerth GmbH, Delbrück 2008, ISBN 978-3-921913-38-3 , p. 65 ff .

Further literature

  • Eberhard Lippmann: AEG - Olympia - Optima. Office machines from Erfurt 1924–2004. Sutton Verlag, Erfurt 2010, ISBN 978-3-86680-706-8 .

Web links

Commons : Olympia SM  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Olympia SM series (part 1, 1948-1964). Retrieved January 6, 2018 .
  2. ^ Robert Messenger: Johannes Krüger: How His Typewriters Ducked Under the Iron Curtain, to emerge as both Olympias and Optimas. In: ozTypewriter. May 23, 2012, accessed January 6, 2018 .
  3. ^ Olympia SM series (part 1, 1948-1964). Retrieved January 6, 2018 .