Olivetti Diaspron 82 Amharic-language manual typewriter
Date: circa 1959
Inventory Number: 2011-1-0067
Classification: Typewriter
Dimensions:24.3 × 46 × 40.8 cm (9 9/16 × 18 1/8 × 16 1/16 in.)
Accessories: Black and red ribbon in place on two spools inside typewriter.
DescriptionMechanical typewriter with metal housing of a green-teal color.
Traditional platen adjustable by knobs on each side and advanced by carriage return lever. Line spacing from 0-4, with adjustment lever on the left of carriage. Spring-loaded carriage release and advance levers on left and right sides. Paper retaining bar with two rollers is marked in pica spacing 0-86. A lever to the right lifts and holds the bar away from the paper. Adjustable tab for setting left edge of paper. Rear of carriage has a swing-up clear plastic sheet holder with a sliding vertical metal scale marked 0-17.
Inked ribbon with two colors, black and red, is held on two spools. Access to ribbon and striking keys is obtained by lifting the front of the housing up and out. The housing is shaped with a forward-projecting pyramid for decorative effect. It has a slot revealing the rotating edge of a setting dial to position the ribbon up or down for printing black or red letters or making a correction with white correcting tape (supplied externally). This dial is marked blue, white, and red.
The keyboard has 45 symbolic and numeric keys with a space bar below, shift and caps lock keys on both sides, and tab set, release, and advance keys above. The design of the typewriter permits the user to see through the keyboard to the table below.
With the typewriter comes a 16-page (8.5" x 14") list of notational signs for chant from the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. (This is stored in the instrument's file.)