Antique Hispano Olivetti Typewriter. Spanish Keyboard. Circa 1930

Antique Hispano Olivetti M40 typewriter with Spanish keyboard, made circa 1930 and in perfect working order. This piece stands out for its remarkably sober design, so simple and entirely functional. The metal body bears a hammered black finish that provides the typewriter with a great industrial style which matches perfectly with current decorative trends. The finish is somewhat worn at some points, but still this typewriter is a magnificent piece which remains in great working order too. In fact, it can be perfectly used to type documents with the charming lettering typical of these old-time machines. At the front side, just over the keyboard we can see two slightly-worn inscriptions, still legible. To the left there is a square with the companys initials, HO, and to the right we can see the model: M40. Under the left decal there is a color selector with red, white and blue enameled dots, greatly preserved. The Spanish keyboard is composed of simple circular black keys with white symbols. The rest of the typewriter bears no printed inscriptions or decals at all: its great look is provide mainly by its functional design and sober aesthetic. Every lover of old-time machines will find a treasure in this antique Hispano Olivetti M40 typewriter with Spanish keyboard, an attractive and very special piece.Olivetti Typewriters History The famous Olivetti typewriter was born when Camillo Olivetti founded the Ing. C. Olivetti & C.S.p.A. in Ivrea, Italy, in 1908. The factory occupied a space of 500 square meters and employed a sum of 15 workers, and was able to produce an average of 20 typewriters a week. The first model launched was the M1 which was introduced in the Universal Exposition that took place in Torino in 1911. From then on the company grew rapidly and started to diversify its offer, opening branches in different places all around the world. In the following years Olivetti also manufactured calculators, printers, computers, etc., as well as office furniture and equipment. The company settled in Barcelona, Spain in 1929 under the name Hispano Olivetti.