Olivetti M40 - Typewriter - 1940-1950

The Olivetti M40/2 (second version) is one of the most famous mechanical typewriters produced by Olivetti and preserved by the National Museum of Science and Technology Leonardo da Vinci.
It was designed between 1929 and 1930 by Camillo Olivetti with the collaboration of Gino Levi Martinoli, head of the Projects and Studies Office created in 1929 itself, to replace the Olivetti M20. The design and start of production lasted longer than expected due to the precision of the tooling that was desired for the machine. When it finally went into production, even in a period of crisis such as the Great Depression, it found favor with customers, who appreciated the higher quality, typing speed, and the light touch of the keyboard. After the M20, with which Olivetti had entered international markets, the M40 competed with the then most renowned typewriters.
During its life several updates were made; the second version (unit for sale) was sold from 1938 to 1946 and the third version from 1946 to 1948. In 1942 a version was made for the German army, called M40 KR (where KR is the abbreviation of Krieg, i.e., war in German). This is an economical and lightened version; on the back is the German inscription "vereinfachte Kriegsausführung" meaning "simplified war version".
The keyboard was produced in various types, including QZERTY, as is common for Italian machines, QWERTY (unit for sale), QWERTZ and AZERTY.
The machine was sold with five different possible carriage lengths: 90 (unit for sale), 120, 160, 200 and 250 spaces.
The main differences between the first version (produced 1931-1938) and the second (1938-1946) are the change from the round foot to the square one, the addition of bobbin covers, the side closing of the chassis, the rear closing of the carriage and the modification of the drawings/inscriptions present on the chassis. Between the second and the third (produced 1946-1948) there is the cover for the rotor basket, the addition of a glass that covers the front inscriptions, the feet covered with sheet metal, all authored by Luigi Figini and Gino Pollini.
The Olivetti M40/2 for sale, after 70 years of inactivity but always well preserved, is still today in excellent condition both aesthetically and mechanically and is still perfectly functional.