Description

Fabulous iconic 1960s typewriter, designed by Ettore Sottsass, which is also a work of art!
It is in very good condition, but will need a bit of a clean., and a new ribbon, – available on Ebay!
We have left the used typewriter ribbon to show that it is working, but it will need to be replaced..
Made in Barcelona, Spain.
The Valentine – created for the Italian brand Olivetti – was designed in collaboration with the British designer Perry King and entered production in 1969.
They can be found in the permanent collections of London’s Design Museum and MoMA, the typewriter being accepted into the latter just two years after its launch.
“Dear Valentine, this is to tell you that you are my friend as well as my Valentine, and that I intend to write you lots of letters,” says the user guide of the familiar red typewriter.
“When I was young, all we ever heard about was functionalism, functionalism, functionalism,” said Sottsass. “It’s not enough. Design should also be sensual and exciting.”
The Valentine was available in white, green and blue, but its most famous form was red: lipstick-bright ABS plastic casing, with black plastic keys and white lettering. “Every colour has a history,” said Sottsass, “Red is the colour of the Communist flag, the colour that makes a surgeon move faster and the colour of passion.
The red colour was calculated to bring vibrancy and fun into the office world of the 1960s. Sottsass said that the Valentine “was invented for use any place except in an office, so as not to remind anyone of monotonous working hours, but rather to keep amateur poets company on quiet Sundays in the country or to provide a highly coloured object on a table in a studio apartment.”