Ing. C.Olivetti &  Co.,S.p.A., Ivrea, Italy

The founder of the company, Camillo Olivetti (1868-1943), received a degree in electrical engineering.  On his first trip to the United States in 1892 he probably saw a typewriter. Upon his return to Italy he established an electric factory in his home town Ivrea. In 1908 he made a second trip to the United States in order to familiarize himself with the production of typewriters. In 1909 he established the company Ing.C.Olivetti & Co. In the Turin World’s Fair in 1911 he presented his first typewriter Olivetti M1. About 6000 M1 typewriters were produced until 1920, when its successor M20 was introduced. Olivetti M1 is a collector’s piece, as only a few are known to exist. There are two M1 typewriters in our collection. In 1932 Camillo Olivetti’s son Adriano Olivetti (1901-1960) became General Manager of the company.  Under his leadership the company expanded into new fields. In 1948 the company introduced an electric calculator named Divisumma. The first computer was introduced in 1959. The same year Olivetti purchased Underwood. At the end of 1970s the company had financial troubles. In 1978 Olivetti and Casio Co introduced the world’s first electronic typewriter. In 1999 Olivetti ceased to exist as an independent company as ownership changed to a holding company. In 2003 Olivetti became a part of Telecom Italy and continued to operate under the name Olivetti  Tecnost.