Typewriter Finder

Machines that were designed not to clack as loud. Think felt under wood, watchmaker's discipline, the typewriter that lets you write at 5 a.m. without waking the neighbors.

Hermes 3000 1st gen, "curvy" Swiss whisper, the writer's quiet companion. Plath's Bell Jar, Kerouac's Vanity of Duluoz, McMurtry's everything. CH · 1958–66 · 5 kg for quiet writing Hermes 3000 2nd gen, "boxy" The squared metal 3000. Same mechanism inside a flatter shell. CH · 1966–71 · 5 kg for quiet writing Hermes 3000 3rd gen, "squared" The last 3000. Plastic shell, still the Hermes mechanism, and usually the cheapest way into the family. CH · 1971–83 · 5 kg for quiet writing Remington Noiseless Portable the compact one The stenographer's whisper. Mechanically singular — uses thrust action instead of impact, so it actually delivers a quieter sound. US · 1924–50 · 6 kg for quiet writing Remington Noiseless Model 7 big brother of the Noiseless Portable The Noiseless Portable grown up: the same press-not-strike hush in a fuller body, with a paper table, a tabulator, and a speed mechanism that professionals and novelists leaned on for long quiet hours. US · 1931–41 · 7 kg for quiet writing Smith-Corona Silent-Super The Smith-Corona peak. Smooth, well-damped, refined — the American answer to the Hermes question. US · 1955–60 · 5 kg for long sessions Smith-Corona Silent American mid-century reliable. The portable that the Silent-Super refined. US · 1947–58 · 5 kg for a first machine Remington Quiet-Riter Postwar American quiet portable. Less mechanically remarkable than the prewar Noiseless, more refined as a daily-driver. US · 1949–60 · 5 kg for quiet writing Hammond Multiplex the type-shuttle No typebars and no shift in the usual sense: a swappable curved type-shuttle and a little hammer behind the paper, giving an unusually even impression and a font you could change at will. US · 1913–30 · 5 kg for looks

Springy machines that meet your fingers fast. Italian engineering and German ultraportables earn their living here.

Olivetti Lettera 32 McCarthy's machine. Light, quick, tight-wire fast. Italian compact icon. He typed five million words on one over fifty years. IT · 1963–83 · 4 kg for looks Olivetti Lettera 22 Nizzoli's design icon. The IIT named it the best-designed product of the previous century in 1959. Compasso d'Oro winner. Sculpted lightness. IT · 1950–63 · 3.7 kg for looks Hermes Baby / Rocket / Featherweight Pocketable Swiss, the traveler's machine. Tilts its keyboard to shift — clever, characterful. CH · 1935–85 · 3 kg for travel Adler / Triumph Tippa German pocket workhorse. Slightly cramped for large hands but precise as a Swiss army knife. DE · 1955–79 · 4 kg for travel Olivetti Valentine Ettore Sottsass's red object. Lettera 32 internals dressed in glossy plastic. IT · 1969–75 · 4 kg for looks Torpedo 18 The German portable people compare to the Olympia SM3, with a basket shift instead of a moving carriage. DE · 1949–60 · 7 kg for long sessions

The middle distance. These are the machines that turn out a thousand pages a year without complaint, built to outlast the room they sit in.

Hermes 3000 1st gen, "curvy" Swiss whisper, the writer's quiet companion. Plath's Bell Jar, Kerouac's Vanity of Duluoz, McMurtry's everything. CH · 1958–66 · 5 kg for quiet writing Hermes 3000 2nd gen, "boxy" The squared metal 3000. Same mechanism inside a flatter shell. CH · 1966–71 · 5 kg for quiet writing Hermes 3000 3rd gen, "squared" The last 3000. Plastic shell, still the Hermes mechanism, and usually the cheapest way into the family. CH · 1971–83 · 5 kg for quiet writing Olympia SM3 German precision workhorse. Called the Mercedes-Benz of typewriters in its day. Bulletproof. Carriage-shifted, decisive. DE · 1955–64 · 6 kg for long sessions Olympia SM9 The "plain vanilla but perfect" working writer. Olympia finally went basket-shift. It's fast with light keys that give little resistance. DE · 1964–79 · 6 kg for long sessions Olympia SM7 The SM3 polished, the SM9 not yet arrived. Transitional sweet spot for collectors who want the carriage shift with later refinements. DE · 1962–66 · 6 kg for long sessions Olivetti Studio 44 Italian semi-standard. Sometimes called the best Olivetti for writers — more substance than the Letteras, more springy than a standard. IT · 1952–68 · 7 kg for long sessions Adler Gabriele 25 / 35 German portable, often highly recommended. Overlooked because it isn't an Olympia. DE · 1955–75 · 5 kg for long sessions Erika (5, 10, Model 100) East German quality. DE (East) · 1930–79 · 5 kg for long sessions Hermes Ambassador the heaviest portable, the lightest standard the bank vault that types Switzerland (Yverdon) · 1953–72 · 22 kg Hermes 2000 the pre-3000 flagship the older, sharper sibling Switzerland (Yverdon) · 1933–62 · 7.5 kg Royal 10 the glass-paneled standard the office machine your grandfather typed his letters on USA (Hartford, CT) · 1914–32 · 16 kg Olympia Model 8 the postwar German standard the SG's quieter predecessor West Germany (Wilhelmshaven) · 1949–60 · 14 kg Adler Universal the German office standard Olympia SG's rival West Germany (Frankfurt) · 1957–73 · 15 kg Olivetti Lexikon 80 the Italian office showpiece office work as beautiful object Italy (Ivrea) · 1948–70 · 14 kg Hermes Media the mid-size Swiss between Baby and 3000 the one that gets overlooked Switzerland (Yverdon) · 1958–80 · 5.5 kg Hermes 9 the office Hermes the Ambassador's sister Switzerland (Yverdon) · 1962–72 · 14 kg Remington No. 12 the schoolhouse standard the office standard USA (Ilion, NY) · 1922–41 · 14 kg Royal Futura 600 what the QDL grew up into USA · 1958–62 · 7.0 kg for long sessions Facit TP1 the Swedish prince Swedish steel and a designer's restraint. Understated, light to the hand, and built to office standards in a portable shell. SE · 1958–65 · 7 kg for long sessions Torpedo 18 The German portable people compare to the Olympia SM3, with a basket shift instead of a moving carriage. DE · 1949–60 · 7 kg for long sessions Imperial Good Companion the British one Britain's long-running portable, named after a Priestley novel and once sold By Royal Appointment. Solid, snappy, and built to outlast its owner. UK · 1932–63 · 7 kg for long sessions Consul the Czech sleeper Made by a Czech arms factory, exported under a dozen names, and quietly better built than its price ever suggested. CS · 1953–88 · 6 kg for long sessions Olivetti Studio 46 The bigger, plainer Olivetti, a semi-standard portable for people who write a lot. IT · 1968–80 · 7 kg for long sessions Royal Aristocrat pre-war deluxe portable Royal's 1930s deluxe portable, the well-dressed older sibling to the Quiet De Luxe. US · 1932–48 · 6 kg for looks

Machines that take to a desk and refuse to leave it. Office standards, frontstroke pioneers.

Underwood No. 5 The original frontstroke standard. The model that standardized modern typewriter design. Faulkner and Fitzgerald country. US · 1900–30 · 15 kg for performance Olympia SG1 / SG3 German office tank built to outlast you. Will outwrite anything. DE · 1949–79 · 15 kg for long sessions Royal HH American postwar office, the tank that types. Firm, decisive, substantial. Magic Margin descendant. US · 1954–60 · 15 kg for long sessions Royal KMM / KMG American Magic Margin era. Prewar weight, full ringing clack. The newsroom soundtrack of the 1940s. US · 1939–49 · 15 kg for performance Optima (Elite, M10) The workhorse from the other side of the wall. Olympia-derived mechanics, less collector cachet, often better value. DE (East) · 1951–79 · 12 kg for long sessions Royal 10 the glass-paneled standard the office machine your grandfather typed his letters on USA (Hartford, CT) · 1914–32 · 16 kg Olympia Model 8 the postwar German standard the SG's quieter predecessor West Germany (Wilhelmshaven) · 1949–60 · 14 kg Olivetti Lexikon 80 the Italian office showpiece office work as beautiful object Italy (Ivrea) · 1948–70 · 14 kg Remington No. 12 the schoolhouse standard the office standard USA (Ilion, NY) · 1922–41 · 14 kg Oliver No. 9 the batwing The green machine with the wings. A down-strike standard that was among the first to let you see what you were typing, and a collector's piece more than a daily writer. US · 1915–22 · 7 kg for looks Continental the German standard Chemnitz iron in black enamel and glass keys. A heavy, handsome German desk standard, with a leather-cased portable cousin collectors chase. DE · 1904–40 · 14 kg for looks Triumph Standard 12 the Nuremberg standard A 1930s German office standard from the firm whose founder also gave the world Triumph motorcycles, and that later built its name on the Norm and Perfekt portables. DE · 1935–40 · 14 kg for looks Caligraph No. 2 the double keyboard No shift key at all: a separate key for every character, capital and lowercase, on a sprawling keyboard that competed head to head with Remington's shift for decades. US · 1882–1900 · 13 kg for looks

Ultraportables and the lightest of the portables. The ones you can pack with a notebook and carry to the kitchen table, the cabin, the train.

Olivetti Lettera 32 McCarthy's machine. Light, quick, tight-wire fast. Italian compact icon. He typed five million words on one over fifty years. IT · 1963–83 · 4 kg for looks Olivetti Lettera 22 Nizzoli's design icon. The IIT named it the best-designed product of the previous century in 1959. Compasso d'Oro winner. Sculpted lightness. IT · 1950–63 · 3.7 kg for looks Hermes Baby / Rocket / Featherweight Pocketable Swiss, the traveler's machine. Tilts its keyboard to shift — clever, characterful. CH · 1935–85 · 3 kg for travel Adler / Triumph Tippa German pocket workhorse. Slightly cramped for large hands but precise as a Swiss army knife. DE · 1955–79 · 4 kg for travel Remington Model 5 the 1937 Streamline Remington's geared-striker classic. A leveraged, snappy stroke that runs smoother than a Smith-Corona, wrapped in the prettiest streamlining the company ever shipped. US · 1937–42 · 5 kg for looks Groma Kolibri Cult flat machine. Ultra-thin profile, shallow but precise. DE (East) · 1955–66 · 3 kg for travel Corona No. 3 the folding portable the journalist's pocket machine USA (Groton, NY) · 1912–41 · 3.6 kg Olympia Traveller de Luxe the everyman ultraportable the entry point West Germany / Yugoslavia (later) · 1973–91 · 4.0 kg Hermes Rocket the U.S. Baby the journalist's Hermes Switzerland (Yverdon) · 1935–81 · 3.8 kg Royal Safari the candy-colored 60s portable the typewriter as design object Netherlands (later production) · 1965–73 · 4.5 kg Remington 3 Portable the pre-war war correspondent's portable the pre-war field machine USA · 1932–39 · 4.5 kg Smith-Corona Skyriter the carry-on Smith-Corona's flat all-metal ultraportable, named for the age when you could slide your typewriter under an airplane seat. US · 1949–62 · 4 kg for travel Blickensderfer No. 5 the typewheel An 1890s portable that does away with typebars entirely: a single interchangeable type-wheel that turns and strikes, decades ahead of its time. US · 1893–1917 · 3 kg for looks Olivetti MP1 (Ico) Olivetti's first portable Olivetti's first portable, the art-deco machine that began the line the Lettera would later perfect; the ICO on its shield stands for the founder, Camillo Olivetti. IT · 1932–50 · 5 kg for looks

The 1920s–40s American portable, when 'portable' still meant solid steel in a wood-and-leatherette case. The machines the modernists wrote on.

Remington Noiseless Portable the compact one The stenographer's whisper. Mechanically singular — uses thrust action instead of impact, so it actually delivers a quieter sound. US · 1924–50 · 6 kg for quiet writing Remington Noiseless Model 7 big brother of the Noiseless Portable The Noiseless Portable grown up: the same press-not-strike hush in a fuller body, with a paper table, a tabulator, and a speed mechanism that professionals and novelists leaned on for long quiet hours. US · 1931–41 · 7 kg for quiet writing Underwood No. 5 The original frontstroke standard. The model that standardized modern typewriter design. Faulkner and Fitzgerald country. US · 1900–30 · 15 kg for performance Royal KMM / KMG American Magic Margin era. Prewar weight, full ringing clack. The newsroom soundtrack of the 1940s. US · 1939–49 · 15 kg for performance Royal Quiet De Luxe Hemingway's machine. American interwar classic. Despite the name, not the quietest in the room. US · 1939–58 · 5 kg for looks Remington Portable 1920s pioneer portable. Pop-up segment, four-row keyboard — the first truly portable typewriter for real writing. US · 1920–30 · 5 kg for looks Remington Model 5 the 1937 Streamline Remington's geared-striker classic. A leveraged, snappy stroke that runs smoother than a Smith-Corona, wrapped in the prettiest streamlining the company ever shipped. US · 1937–42 · 5 kg for looks Hermes 2000 the pre-3000 flagship the older, sharper sibling Switzerland (Yverdon) · 1933–62 · 7.5 kg Corona No. 3 the folding portable the journalist's pocket machine USA (Groton, NY) · 1912–41 · 3.6 kg Royal 10 the glass-paneled standard the office machine your grandfather typed his letters on USA (Hartford, CT) · 1914–32 · 16 kg Olympia Simplex the pre-war Olympia portable where Olympia started Germany (Erfurt) · 1933–39 · 6.0 kg Remington 3 Portable the pre-war war correspondent's portable the pre-war field machine USA · 1932–39 · 4.5 kg Remington No. 12 the schoolhouse standard the office standard USA (Ilion, NY) · 1922–41 · 14 kg Imperial Good Companion the British one Britain's long-running portable, named after a Priestley novel and once sold By Royal Appointment. Solid, snappy, and built to outlast its owner. UK · 1932–63 · 7 kg for long sessions Royal Aristocrat pre-war deluxe portable Royal's 1930s deluxe portable, the well-dressed older sibling to the Quiet De Luxe. US · 1932–48 · 6 kg for looks Oliver No. 9 the batwing The green machine with the wings. A down-strike standard that was among the first to let you see what you were typing, and a collector's piece more than a daily writer. US · 1915–22 · 7 kg for looks Continental the German standard Chemnitz iron in black enamel and glass keys. A heavy, handsome German desk standard, with a leather-cased portable cousin collectors chase. DE · 1904–40 · 14 kg for looks Blickensderfer No. 5 the typewheel An 1890s portable that does away with typebars entirely: a single interchangeable type-wheel that turns and strikes, decades ahead of its time. US · 1893–1917 · 3 kg for looks Triumph Standard 12 the Nuremberg standard A 1930s German office standard from the firm whose founder also gave the world Triumph motorcycles, and that later built its name on the Norm and Perfekt portables. DE · 1935–40 · 14 kg for looks Hammond Multiplex the type-shuttle No typebars and no shift in the usual sense: a swappable curved type-shuttle and a little hammer behind the paper, giving an unusually even impression and a font you could change at will. US · 1913–30 · 5 kg for looks Caligraph No. 2 the double keyboard No shift key at all: a separate key for every character, capital and lowercase, on a sprawling keyboard that competed head to head with Remington's shift for decades. US · 1882–1900 · 13 kg for looks Olivetti MP1 (Ico) Olivetti's first portable Olivetti's first portable, the art-deco machine that began the line the Lettera would later perfect; the ICO on its shield stands for the founder, Camillo Olivetti. IT · 1932–50 · 5 kg for looks

The Silent family and its siblings — the postwar American portable hitting its stride. Working writers' machines in painted steel and increasing amounts of plastic.

Smith-Corona Silent-Super The Smith-Corona peak. Smooth, well-damped, refined — the American answer to the Hermes question. US · 1955–60 · 5 kg for long sessions Smith-Corona Silent American mid-century reliable. The portable that the Silent-Super refined. US · 1947–58 · 5 kg for a first machine Smith-Corona Sterling / Clipper Silent's working siblings. Same core, slightly different feature sets and finishes. US · 1950–60 · 5 kg for a first machine Smith-Corona Galaxie / Galaxie Deluxe The 60s American workhorse. Lighter, more plastic, less prestige — but a good first machine and frequently undervalued. US · 1962–72 · 4 kg for a first machine Remington Quiet-Riter Postwar American quiet portable. Less mechanically remarkable than the prewar Noiseless, more refined as a daily-driver. US · 1949–60 · 5 kg for quiet writing Smith-Corona Corsair the sturdy 1960s portable the dependable middle child USA (Cortland, NY) · 1961–73 · 5.5 kg Olympia Splendid 33/66 the SM's budget sibling the cheaper Olympia that types like the expensive one West Germany · 1956–73 · 5.5 kg Royal Diana the trans-Atlantic Royal Royal in a German accent West Germany · 1960–72 · 6.5 kg Royal Futura 600 what the QDL grew up into USA · 1958–62 · 7.0 kg for long sessions Facit TP1 the Swedish prince Swedish steel and a designer's restraint. Understated, light to the hand, and built to office standards in a portable shell. SE · 1958–65 · 7 kg for long sessions Torpedo 18 The German portable people compare to the Olympia SM3, with a basket shift instead of a moving carriage. DE · 1949–60 · 7 kg for long sessions Smith-Corona Skyriter the carry-on Smith-Corona's flat all-metal ultraportable, named for the age when you could slide your typewriter under an airplane seat. US · 1949–62 · 4 kg for travel

When industrial design and writing-machine engineering shook hands. Olivetti hired Nizzoli, then Sottsass, and turned the typewriter into a piece of mid-century fashion you happened to be able to write on.

Olivetti Lettera 32 McCarthy's machine. Light, quick, tight-wire fast. Italian compact icon. He typed five million words on one over fifty years. IT · 1963–83 · 4 kg for looks Olivetti Lettera 22 Nizzoli's design icon. The IIT named it the best-designed product of the previous century in 1959. Compasso d'Oro winner. Sculpted lightness. IT · 1950–63 · 3.7 kg for looks Olivetti Studio 44 Italian semi-standard. Sometimes called the best Olivetti for writers — more substance than the Letteras, more springy than a standard. IT · 1952–68 · 7 kg for long sessions Olivetti Valentine Ettore Sottsass's red object. Lettera 32 internals dressed in glossy plastic. IT · 1969–75 · 4 kg for looks Olivetti Lexikon 80 the Italian office showpiece office work as beautiful object Italy (Ivrea) · 1948–70 · 14 kg Olivetti Praxis 48 Sottsass's electric the design-museum portable Italy (Ivrea) · 1964–70 · 7.5 kg Olivetti Studio 46 The bigger, plainer Olivetti, a semi-standard portable for people who write a lot. IT · 1968–80 · 7 kg for long sessions Olivetti MP1 (Ico) Olivetti's first portable Olivetti's first portable, the art-deco machine that began the line the Lettera would later perfect; the ICO on its shield stands for the founder, Camillo Olivetti. IT · 1932–50 · 5 kg for looks

Paillard's machines. Watchmaker discipline applied to writing tools. Quiet, smooth, expensive.

Hermes 3000 1st gen, "curvy" Swiss whisper, the writer's quiet companion. Plath's Bell Jar, Kerouac's Vanity of Duluoz, McMurtry's everything. CH · 1958–66 · 5 kg for quiet writing Hermes 3000 2nd gen, "boxy" The squared metal 3000. Same mechanism inside a flatter shell. CH · 1966–71 · 5 kg for quiet writing Hermes 3000 3rd gen, "squared" The last 3000. Plastic shell, still the Hermes mechanism, and usually the cheapest way into the family. CH · 1971–83 · 5 kg for quiet writing Hermes Baby / Rocket / Featherweight Pocketable Swiss, the traveler's machine. Tilts its keyboard to shift — clever, characterful. CH · 1935–85 · 3 kg for travel Hermes Ambassador the heaviest portable, the lightest standard the bank vault that types Switzerland (Yverdon) · 1953–72 · 22 kg Hermes 2000 the pre-3000 flagship the older, sharper sibling Switzerland (Yverdon) · 1933–62 · 7.5 kg Hermes Rocket the U.S. Baby the journalist's Hermes Switzerland (Yverdon) · 1935–81 · 3.8 kg Hermes Media the mid-size Swiss between Baby and 3000 the one that gets overlooked Switzerland (Yverdon) · 1958–80 · 5.5 kg Hermes 9 the office Hermes the Ambassador's sister Switzerland (Yverdon) · 1962–72 · 14 kg

East German engineering — Erika, Optima, Groma. Less English-language key layouts, but often Olympia-quality at a fraction of the asking price.

Groma Kolibri Cult flat machine. Ultra-thin profile, shallow but precise. DE (East) · 1955–66 · 3 kg for travel Erika (5, 10, Model 100) East German quality. DE (East) · 1930–79 · 5 kg for long sessions Optima (Elite, M10) The workhorse from the other side of the wall. Olympia-derived mechanics, less collector cachet, often better value. DE (East) · 1951–79 · 12 kg for long sessions Consul the Czech sleeper Made by a Czech arms factory, exported under a dozen names, and quietly better built than its price ever suggested. CS · 1953–88 · 6 kg for long sessions

Japanese-made portables from the 1960s onward, often dismissed by collectors as plastic also-rans. A few are genuinely excellent. Most are honest, agreeable, and cheap.

Hermes 3000 3rd gen, "squared" The last 3000. Plastic shell, still the Hermes mechanism, and usually the cheapest way into the family. CH · 1971–83 · 5 kg for quiet writing Brother JP-1 / JP-7 / Deluxe Underrated late-era Japanese. Often light, occasionally plasticky, sometimes surprisingly good. JP · 1962–85 · 4 kg for a first machine Olympia Traveller de Luxe the everyman ultraportable the entry point West Germany / Yugoslavia (later) · 1973–91 · 4.0 kg Royal Safari the candy-colored 60s portable the typewriter as design object Netherlands (later production) · 1965–73 · 4.5 kg Olympia Monica Electric S the German electric portable Olympia plugged in West Germany · 1972–81 · 6.5 kg

A different beast entirely. The golf-ball-element electrics gave you keyboard-like speed with mechanical print, and one of them sits at the root of the word-processing tree.

IBM Selectric I / II The ancestor of word processing. Golf-ball type element, keyboard-like touch, hum underneath everything. The office sound of the late 20th century. US · 1961–86 · 15 kg for long sessions Olivetti Praxis 48 Sottsass's electric the design-museum portable Italy (Ivrea) · 1964–70 · 7.5 kg Olympia Monica Electric S the German electric portable Olympia plugged in West Germany · 1972–81 · 6.5 kg