Lettera DL Typewriter by Ettore Sottsass for Olivetti, Italy, 1965

Details

Description

The letter dl, where dl stands for de luxe, was designed above all for a female clientele, a lover of … Read more The letter dl, where dl stands for de luxe, was designed above all for a female clientele, a lover of elegance.

designed in 1965 by the architect and designer ettore sottsass. It takes up mechanically the letter 32, released in 1963 designed by marcello nizzoli


keyboard:

the italian version of the machine uses the qwerty layout, although versions with different key layouts have been produced depending on the language they were addressed to. There are 43 alphanumeric keys for a total of 86 signs. In addition to these, the keyboard includes a space bar, two keys to set capital letters, a capital lock key, a lever to be able to go over the set margins, a key to go back one character, a lever to set the tab stops and a key (red) to switch from one tab to another.

the set of characters available has obvious shortcomings: there is no key with the number 1 which is obtained using the lower case letter l (elle) or capital i (i); in the same way there is no zero, which is obtained by typing the capital o (o); also missing are the keys for accented capital vowels used in the italian language, which had to be replaced by the normal letters followed by the apostrophe.

this type of solution was quite common in typewriters of the time.

the machine is complete with a dust cover and a carrying case for easy transport, which acts as a lid when not in use.
the typewriter is in perfect condition, is in working order and the vinyl cover is intact and unbroken. This piece has an attribution mark,
i am sure that it is completely authentic and take full responsibility for any authenticity
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