Tag: Frank Navasky

Acquired 1977 Olympia Report de Luxe Electric Portable Typewriter (SKE Model) (Olympia-Werke AG)
Serial Number: 46-0171787
Olympia Pica No. 12 typeface, 10 pitch, 2.6m/m, 6 lines/inch, keyset tabulator, half-space spacing, vertical spacing, portable, bichrome, segment shift, American keyboard, 44 keys, 88 characters, white and gray plastic body with grey hood and gray plastic keys with white characters
Manufactured in Wilhelmshaven, Germany
Along with Ron Rosenbaum, Steven Levy, Patricia Highsmith, and the fictional Frank Navasky of You’ve Got Mail fame, I have joined the Quiet Cult of the Olympia Report de Luxe Electric Typewriter.

I acquired this at thrift for $21.95 on 2026-05-10 for Mother’s Day in immaculate condition! It’s as if someone used it to type up a few essays then put it in the case for 49 years. Other than some minor wear, this may be the singularly cleanest typewriter I’ve ever purchased. As my first typebar electric Olympia, I was so looking forward to taking it apart and giving it a full clean, oil, and adjust, but beyond wiping off some exterior dust, this machine really needs no work. I’m both disappointed and elated at the same time. 

A frontal view of 1977 Olympia Report de Luxe typewriter sitting on an oak library card catalog next to a bowl of pink decorative balls

Typesample of a frontal view of 1977 Olympia Report de Luxe typewriter on a yellow manilla tag

Close up view of the keyboard of a Olympia Report de Luxe typewriter. Several of the keys like the x, -, and / are in red to indicate that they auto-repeat.

View down onto the carriage of a Olympia Report de Luxe typewriter

Close up of a sales and service sticker on the hood of a Olympia Report de Luxe typewriter. In gray with gold lettering it reads "J&H Office Equipment, 119 E. Main | PH 587-7104 | Bozeman

Oblique view from the left side of a Olympia Report de Luxe typewriter. In the front left corner of the keyboard is a switch for setting and clearing tabs.

“Now listen to this. 
The gentle and soothing lullaby of a piece of machinery so perfect –”
—Frank Navasky, YOU’VE GOT MAIL (Warner Bros., 1998)

Close up of the line selector mechanism on a Olympia Report de Luxe typewriter

Silver paper support with a gray plastic extender sticking up out of the back of an Olympia Report de Luxe typewriter

Angle view from the front right corner of a Olympia Report de Luxe typewriter

View of the right side of a Olympia Report de Luxe typewriter at table height.

Close up of a model sticker on the lower right side of a Olympia Report de Luxe typewriter next to it's power cord. We see that it's listed as "typewriter model SKE" and that it uses 115V, 60Hz, 50 Watt power and is UL listed.

Plastic gearing in the ribbon cup area of a Olympia Report de Luxe typewriter

Rear view of a Olympia Report de Luxe typewriter with the words Olympia International imprinted on the white part of the main body.

View from the rear of a Olympia Report de Luxe typewriter toward the keyboard, of which we can only see two rows of keys

View down onto the typebasket of a Olympia Report de Luxe typewriter with the hood removed.

Close up of 9 of the gleaming slugs on a Olympia Report de Luxe typewriter with the foundry marks "12" | "66" in their middles.

Bottom of a Olympia Report de Luxe typewriter featuring a small window with the serial number, the typewriter's rubber feet, and a small sticker indicating the importer.

A small window in the bottom of the Olympia Report de Luxe typewriter shows the serial number stamped on the metal chassis beneath the plastic cover.

Distributor sticker on the bottom of a Olympia Report de Luxe typewriter indicating that it's "Distributed by Olympia USA, Inc., Box 22, Sommerville, NJ