Come the dawn of the electronic age, Olympia made some attempt, initially, to retain the look, if not the feel, of the typewriters that came before. Some continuity of design is evident in the "Whisperdisc" ES and ESW series of the early 1980s ... Another electronic typewriter that retained the "Olympia look" is the Compact S, … Continue reading The Electronic AEG
In the market for an electronic wedge? In the heyday of the electronic (daisy wheel) typewriter, buying the best meant buying a high-spec full-size (standard) office machine. Today however, full size or standard office electronic typewriter are too large, and personal/portable wedges too low-spec and (often) flimsy, for most collectors to consider. The obvious candidates … Continue reading The Good, the Bad, and the Compact
Goodness gracious great balls o' type, who would have thought there were so many golf ball typewriter variants? IBM were keen to develop and maintain a strong presence in Japan (a case of keeping your friends close, and your enemies closer). It's hardly surprising then, that perhaps the most Selectric-like of all the Selectric clones is … Continue reading A Whole New Ball Game
Psst. Wanna buy a great typewriter? I got one cheap! "But before you leap for your telephone, here's a little secret not too many people know. The Silver Reed EX-42 electronic typewriter is not your average typewriter." For $20 AUD, I actually got more than I paid for; and paid far less than others paid … Continue reading EX Machina
Although Sharp owed its initial success, and eventually its name¹, to the Ever-Sharp Mechanical Pencil, it was the calculator that really transformed its fortunes. In 1981 (according to Sharp's corporate history at www.sharp-world.com) the two companies that had been marketing Sharp electronic office equipment were merged to form Sharp Business, Co., Ltd. Thereafter, Sharp made its first … Continue reading The World According to Sharp
Luckily, I've never been struck by a train. I have, however, often been struck by the similarity between the train spotter and the typewriter collector. After-all, both have an interest in the movement of carriages, hopefully smooth, plus a fondness for meticulously jotting down numbers. The train spotter in me "spotted" (online) this advertising sign on a … Continue reading All or Nakajima
Matsushita Denki (the Matsushita Electric Industrial Company) is the name behind the Panasonic brand. Once the world's largest consumer electronics company and still one of the world's largest, Matsushita changed its name to Panasonic Corporation in 2008. Company founder Konosuke Matsushita "Matsushita's story is different and unique. In 1952, Matsushita arranged to acquire the technical capabilities of the Dutch … Continue reading Matsushita & the Margarita
As promised, a few comparison pictures of the Brother Super 7300 alongside the Olivetti Lexikon 82. I have to say I much prefer the Brother. Having said that, the Brother is in excellent working and cosmetic condition whereas the Lexikon 82 isn't. In fact it died. Black goo in and around the power switch indicates … Continue reading The Golf War: Olivetti vs Brother
The history of TEC (Tokyo Electric Co. Ltd.) has two strands. This is reflected by not one, but two, online company histories: https://www.toshibatec.com/company/corporate/history/https://www.toshiba.co.jp/worldwide/about/history_chronology.html The 'Toshiba' history provides a clear picture of how both the Tokyo Electric Company and Toshiba came to be: 1875 saw the establishment of Tanaka Seizo-sho (Tanaka Engineering Works), Japan's first manufacturer of … Continue reading Retro TEC
The heyday of the office electronic typewriter lasted roughly a decade, from the early '80s to the early '90s. Triumph-Adler had their SE Series, Canon had their AP series, and Olivetti had their ET series (to name but a few). In most cases these series were a mix of: Large (often very heavy) "standard" electronic typewriters. Less-fully-featured but … Continue reading Olivetti et al
E.T.ZONE 
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