The Olivetti Lexikon 80 manual typewriter was designed by Marcello Nizzoli in 1948. MoMA identifies its housing as enameled aluminum. Olivetti’s historical archive describes how the rounded die-cast shell unified the machine’s appearance while remaining removable for maintenance. The enclosure was therefore part of both the product’s visual identity and its practical construction.
A broad curved hood sits above the keyboard, while the carriage and its return lever remain visible. The machine has a substantial volume, but the continuous surfaces soften the transition between its base, working mechanism, and paper carriage. In the photographed example, the gray casing and dark keys give a small red control particular prominence.
The Lexikon 80 extends the archive’s interest in the meeting of mechanical function and sculptural form. Its larger office format offers a useful comparison with Nizzoli’s portable Lettera 22. The later Valentine takes a different direction again, using a bright plastic body and transport cover, so the three machines reveal changes in material and intended setting within one manufacturer’s output.
Olivetti Valentine portable typewriter
