A beautifully restrained piece of late-20th-century industrial design, the Olympia Monica de Luxe is a compact manual typewriter with the crisp, functional aesthetic that made Olympia one of Europe’s most important typewriter manufacturers.
The Monica was developed from Olympia’s highly regarded SM series, with the simplified Monica range introduced in the 1960s. Following the end of the SM series, the Monica, Monica S and Monica de Luxe continued the line into the late 1970s and 1980s.
This example has the particularly good-looking off-white and black housing, complemented by Olympia’s distinctive orange logo. The chunky black keys, exposed mechanical elements and clean geometric casing give it an unmistakably period-correct character. The machine features a four-row QWERTY keyboard, adjustable margins, ribbon mechanism and manual carriage, with the de Luxe specification adding features over the standard Monica.
Olympia was based in Wilhelmshaven, West Germany, and became one of the country's leading office-machine manufacturers during the post-war period. At its peak around 1970, Olympia employed more than 20,000 people and was one of Europe's leading typewriter manufacturers. Production of Olympia typewriters eventually ceased in 1992.
A functional piece of analogue technology as much as a decorative object, this Monica de Luxe works particularly well as a desk piece, writing machine or simply as an example of the highly considered industrial design of the period.
Condition: Good vintage condition with expected signs of age and use, including light surface marks and wear to the casing and keys. Fully functioning, the typewriter includes a new ribbon.
A beautifully restrained piece of late-20th-century industrial design, the Olympia Monica de Luxe is a compact manual typewriter with the crisp, functional aesthetic that made Olympia one of Europe’s most important typewriter manufacturers.
The Monica was developed from Olympia’s highly regarded SM series, with the simplified Monica range introduced in the 1960s. Following the end of the SM series, the Monica, Monica S and Monica de Luxe continued the line into the late 1970s and 1980s.
This example has the particularly good-looking off-white and black housing, complemented by Olympia’s distinctive orange logo. The chunky black keys, exposed mechanical elements and clean geometric casing give it an unmistakably period-correct character. The machine features a four-row QWERTY keyboard, adjustable margins, ribbon mechanism and manual carriage, with the de Luxe specification adding features over the standard Monica.
Olympia was based in Wilhelmshaven, West Germany, and became one of the country's leading office-machine manufacturers during the post-war period. At its peak around 1970, Olympia employed more than 20,000 people and was one of Europe's leading typewriter manufacturers. Production of Olympia typewriters eventually ceased in 1992.
A functional piece of analogue technology as much as a decorative object, this Monica de Luxe works particularly well as a desk piece, writing machine or simply as an example of the highly considered industrial design of the period.
Condition: Good vintage condition with expected signs of age and use, including light surface marks and wear to the casing and keys. Fully functioning, the typewriter includes a new ribbon.
