Photo via Wikimedia Commons
One example. Colors, sub-models, and production years vary; the machine you find may differ.
Olympia SM3
sprung level keys, decisive, carriage shift, soft landing
Early-SM precision: sprung keys that stay level, decisive, a carriage shift. A touch heavier and a touch more cushioned than the SM9, and not quite as precise — the SM9 is the vault-tight one.
The SM3 is what most collectors mean when they say "Olympia portable." Carriage-shifted, smooth, decisive, with a chrome-wrapped base and a centered Olympia logo. Built to outlast its case. Comes in a hard formed case painted silver. The model that established Olympia's reputation among portable typewriters in the 1950s, and the one most often recommended as a first serious machine.
What people say
frequently called the Mercedes-Benz of portable typewriters
— period press
one of the top writerly typewriters
Used by
See & hear it for yourself
Manuals & repair
All sources
External, in their original form. The people who know these machines best — click through to read and watch.
Where to find one
Listings come and go. These show whatever Olympia SM3 machines are on the marketplace right now.
See Olympia SM3 listings on eBay marketplace
Some links here are affiliate links. If you find a machine through one I get a small share at no cost to you, and it doesn't change which machines I point to.
Specifications
- Manufacturer
- Olympia
- Origin
- West Germany
- Years
- 1955–1964
- Form
- Portable
- Mass
- 6 kg
- Shift
- carriage