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The Valentine was a portable typewriter launched by the Italian firm Olivetti in 1969. Its glossy red plastic body slid into a matching case with a handle. Designed by Ettore Sottsass with Perry King, it turned a piece of office equipment into a colourful personal object.

Valentine portable typewriter

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The story behind the card

Olivetti presented the Valentine on Valentine's Day 1969. Inside was the proven mechanism of the company's Lettera 32 portable; what was new was the body of tough, coloured ABS plastic and a case that became part of the design rather than just a box. At a time when most typewriters were black, grey or beige, it was meant to feel like a personal belonging, not office furniture. Olivetti hoped to sell millions, but sales reached only a few tens of thousands. Even so, it became a design classic, held today by MoMA in New York and the V&A and Design Museum in London. Sottsass, who later founded the Memphis group of designers, came to resent being remembered mainly for this one red machine.

Türkçe oku
Valentine, İtalyan Olivetti firmasının 1969'da çıkardığı taşınabilir bir daktiloydu. Parlak kırmızı plastik gövdesi, saplı ve aynı renkteki kutusuna kayarak yerleşiyordu. Ettore Sottsass'ın Perry King'le birlikte tasarladığı Valentine, bir büro aletini renkli ve kişisel bir eşyaya dönüştürdü.

Olivetti, Valentine'ı 1969'da Sevgililer Günü'nde tanıttı. İçinde firmanın sağlamlığı kanıtlanmış Lettera 32 daktilosunun mekanizması vardı; yenilik, dayanıklı ve renkli ABS plastikten gövdesiyle tasarımın parçası hâline gelen kutusundaydı. Daktiloların çoğunun siyah, gri ya da bej olduğu bir dönemde Valentine, büro eşyası gibi değil, insanın kendine ait bir eşyası gibi hissettirmek için tasarlanmıştı. Olivetti milyonlarca satmayı umuyordu, ama satışlar ancak birkaç on bine ulaştı. Yine de bir tasarım klasiği oldu; bugün New York'taki MoMA'nın, Londra'daki V&A ve Tasarım Müzesi'nin koleksiyonlarında yer alıyor. Sonradan Memphis tasarım grubunu kuran Sottsass, zamanla adının hep bu kırmızı makineyle anılmasından yakınır oldu.

Sources and further reading

Background reading: Olivetti Valentine
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