Olympia SM9 (1967)

$325 (plus shipping if outside of the Detroit area)

Meet “Patrick,” a working 1967 Olympia SM9 typewriter originally owned by a Toronto discount store manager at a huge mall.

Made in Germany, this Olympia portable typewriter is a creamy white-painted steel with a shiny silvertone Olympia badge. Its keys all strike fluidly, and its distinct little bell rings clearly at the end of each line.

The typeface on this stylish machine is the kind of standard serif font you think of when you think “typewriter.” It is a comfortable 10 characters per inch, (a size called “pica.”) Please see photos for a type sample.

It will arrive with a brand new black ribbon already installed, so you’ll be ready to type hundreds of pages the moment you open the box. If you are more of a two-color ribbon fan, this vintage typewriter is equipped with a ribbon selector mechanism so you can use bi-color ribbons easily. And yes, this Olympia uses standard-sized universal ribbons.

Olympia SM9s are solidly built workhorses crafted for decade-after-decade of heavy use. This machine is a great example of that workmanship.

This typewriter is good cosmetic condition, with just a couple of very slight blemishes on the left of the top panel that are not very noticeable. Look through the pictures to see more detail of the visual condition of this typewriter. Don’t hesitate to ask if you have any questions.

Preserving a fun bit of the machine’s history, you can still see the original manufacturer’s decal on the back panel of the machine which lists “Western Germany” as the place where it was made, and an Olympia Canadian distributor location in Don Mills, Ontario.

Please note that “Patrick” does not come with a case.

This Olympia SM9 is a work of art, waiting for its next adventure inspiring you to write out yours.