MY STORY ABOUT THE WRITING MACHINE
As a child, in my great-aunt's tales,objects related to the Italian post-war period often appeared.
Just finished her studies, is hired at the Pirelli headquarters
in Bicocca, as an engineer's business secretary. Very precise and very fast as a shorthand typist, (she had finished first in the competition)
they entrust her with the retyping of the contract, for the construction of the Pirelli skyscraper. She told me with a touch of pride, of the sound that was perceived in the air, a frenetic and pressing symphony that the fingers created on the keyboard of the typewriter. Her boss's office was a pilgrimage destination for colleagues who used every excuse to see the young woman at work. Her typewriter, it required considerable keystroke for the result to be as desired; different from the touch screen !!!
Obviously growing up in the shadow of certain stories,I was naturally interested in this particular object; given that in the global imagination it fascinates and attracts young people and adults alike.
THE FIRST IS MADE IN ITALY
The first device that anticipated the creation of the future typewriter, was invented in 1575 by the Venetian Francesco Rampazetto.
Publisher and printer by profession, developed a system for the blind with raised characters. In the centuries that followed,other Italians gave birth to new devices increasingly similar to the typewriter; but we have to wait for the Americans to move on. In fact it was Remington,a military industry to understand the potential of this object.
In 1874 put the first typewriter into production,thanks to journalist Christopher Latham Sholes. He understood the need to change the position of the most used keys to avoid jamming of the levers. This model was called Qwerty, the name derives from the first six letters that appear on the keyboard starting from the left. This wonderful item though, it did not allow the typist to see any typos,because the keyboard was placed under the roller. But it is in the Underwood plant,well known for the manufacture of ink ribbons, the real industrial revolution was born. They buy the patent of the German engineer Franz Xavier Wagner, previously rejected by Remington. The peculiarity of the invention is in the frontal position of the keyboard, clearly visible for typing. So over the course of three decades,the models like the famous number 5, they are produced on a large scale and arrive all over the world.
A YOUNG ITALIAN AND HIS DREAM
In Chicago in 1893, Camillo Olivetti follows his teacher Professor Galileo Ferraris. Fascinated by new inventions, Camillo will spend the next two years studying at the faculty of electrical engineering at Stanford University. After gaining great experience abroad, is ready to make a change in Italy.
Upon returning home,the young Piedmontese engineer immediately sets to work. In 1908 the factory “Ing. C. Olivetti & C.” in Ivrea. With stubbornness and great ingenuity, he began the design and construction of the first Italian branded typewriter.
And so at the Turin Universal Exposition of 1911, the first "M1" produced in the Ivrea factory is presented to the public. Adriano Olivetti, son of Camillo,he started working in the factory as soon as he graduated in chemical engineering. After a long time, becomes director of the company in 1932
and a few years later in 1938, he is ready to take the baton from his father to become president.
This young man will be remembered as a great innovator of the 20th century. Under his personal imprinting, the Olivetti company will become unique and unrepeatable in all its facets. There have been many collaborations that have made these typewriters unique and desirable.
At the MOMA in New York you can admire a dozen objects that have made the history of the "Olivetti Style" thanks to the dream of the engineer Adriano.
THE FUTURE WITH A WINK TO THE PAST.
My generation grew up on snacks and bricks, spending free time with friends inventing constructions. This year, looking for a particular gift,I discovered a typewriter made entirely of bricks! Thanks to Steve Guinnes,an eclectic Englishman with a nice air and creator of incredible creations, an object was born out of the Lego universe. Now the curious and nostalgic can build a typewriter whose shape recalls the 50s 50. The chosen color is also a nice green, like the fabulous laptops of that era in the "Lettera 22" style by Olivetti.
The amazing thing is that since 1874 year of creation of the first Qwerty, almost all of these machines have maintained the same position of the keys including the tablet where I write.
HERE COMES THE HAPPY END
And so, while my overjoyed great-aunt moved into the Pirelli skyscraper,an American of his age Jerry Lewis was moving to Hollywood; what types are the boys of the 1926 ! Enterprising,dynamic,funny but also serious and altruistic; an endangered species. craftsmans of their destiny armed only with courage,will and optimism. In 1963 while the young secretary works in the clouds, Jerry Lewis gives the world his personal typewriter. In the movie “Who’s minding the store ?” the incredible representation made of gestures and attitudes, will make a scene of a few moments absolutely "mythical". Seated at a empty desk, begins typing on an invisible typewriter. Thanks to fantastic music created a decade earlier by Leroy Anderson and his talent, still today we have "The Typewriter" a decidedly unique model that gives everyone a smile .
