https://typewriterdatabase.com/1969-olivetti-valentine.24573.typewriter via James Grooms
- Jun 2026
- Apr 2026
-
www.reddit.com www.reddit.com
-
I've always wanted an Olivetti Valentine and recently purchased one. To my surprise, there is a metal commemorative marker on the back that reads, in English, "Commemorative Edition. 31st Anniversary. 1965-1996. Special Anniversary Edition. 179/250". This was surprising because 1) the Valentine was released in 1969 and 2) production ended in 1975. From the reading I've done online, it seems like production lingered in Mexico, but 1996 seems very late.
https://www.reddit.com/r/typewriters/comments/1sg32qw/help_with_olivetti_valentine_mystery/
-
- Aug 2025
-
www.reddit.com www.reddit.com
-
It's an Olivetti Valentine. An iconic piece of design with mechanicals almost identical to the Lettera 32. Its designer, Ettore Sotsass, was apparently not fond of it ("I worked as an architect for sixty years of my life and all people know is this fucking plastic machine" - or something to that effect) and its first production run was not particularly popular.
source for this?? interesting, if true
https://www.reddit.com/r/typewriters/comments/1mxxqkl/dieter_rams_typewriter_model/
-
- Jul 2025
-
www.metmuseum.org www.metmuseum.org
-
Sottsass, Ettore, and Perry King. Valentine Portable Typewriter. 1968. Acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) plastic, synthetic chloroprene rubber, metal, 2017.169a- typewriter: 3 7/8 × 12 3/4 × 13 1/2 in., 9.3 lb. (9.8 × 32.4 × 34.3 cm, 4.2 kg)2017.169b- cover: 4 3/8 × 13 1/2 × 13 7/8 in., 2.4 lb. (11.1 × 34.3 × 35.2 cm, 1.1 kg). https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/739409.
-
Sottsass transcended the sameness of typewriter design to give it an endearing personality. He tuned into Pop art, citing the orange nipples and pink breasts in Tom Wesselman’s nudes as inspiration for the orange scroll caps.
Photo still from A Clockwork Orange (1971) combining a Valentine and a Wesselman

-
The Valentine never reached mass audiences, despite the iconic advertising campaign he conceived.
-
-
-
https://www.moma.org/collection/works/4576
Acquired 1969
-
-
www.reddit.com www.reddit.com
-
www.reddit.com www.reddit.com
-
https://www.reddit.com/r/typewriters/comments/1lvzn34/say_hello_to_the_monpti/
The Montpi typewriter in 1968 presaged the Olivetti Valentine.
-
- May 2025
-
www.reddit.com www.reddit.com
-
https://www.reddit.com/r/typewriters/comments/1kppij9/blue_olivetti_valentine_how_rare_is_it/
In increasing order of rarity, the Olivetti Valentine was made in red, white, green, and blue.
-
- Oct 2024
-
www.reddit.com www.reddit.com
-
I consider Valentines 'designer' typewriters, and generally overrated. If you want to write on an Olivetti, I'd go for the Lettera 22/32/DL. The Valentine is based on the Lettera 32, so the mechanical part is solid, but the Valentine is not as well-balanced as the 32. And about ten times more expensive.
Me starts thinking about cornering the market in Lettera 32s and 3D printing Valentine cases to put onto them...
-