Makes all hearts beat faster
The alternative to red roses, rosé champagne and chocolate hearts: a few lines written by hand or typed on the Olivetti Valentine.
The Valentine typewriter is cult
It is in the Museum of Modern Art in New York, David Bowie wrote many lyrics on it and design lovers guard their Olivetti Valentine like a treasure.
Ettore Sottsass, the Austrian-Italian designer, designed the Valentine travel typewriter for the Olivetti company in 1969. In bright colors, like bright red, it can be easily transported with an equally red narrow case,.
In ABITARE magazine, Ettore Sottsass wrote about it:
“The object is called Valentine and is intended for all places except the office, because it is not meant to remind us of monotonous working hours, rather it keeps hobby poets company on quiet Sundays in the countryside or stands as a brightly colored object on a table in a studio apartment.”
I love you very much
Courses in Vancouver or Brooklyn, where you can type on mechanical typewriters, are fully booked.
Often surrounded by beautiful papers, typewriters are set up on a long table in the store for these coveted courses. There you can not only type your texts but also receive support when the ribbon needs to be changed.
The keyboard of a mechanical typewriter does not allow swiping but wants to be operated with a solid stroke. This is a bit unusual at first. In return, you are rewarded with a characteristic typeface whose charm is something very special.
The sentence “I love you very much” is probably one of the sentences that is written most often in the popular courses.
Who writes, who stays
A card or letter written on a mechanical typewriter has a special value for the recipient with a sense of style.
The concentration required for error-free writing gives the message something special, and mechanical typewriters are rare these days.
So some heartfelt lines would be our recommendation, and not just for Valentine’s Day.
Of course, you can also give an Olivetti Valentine as a gift, which can still be found on some antique and design portals.
An Olivetti Valentine adds just the right touch of retro Italian extravagance to any minimalist furnished office.
Royal blue instead of red
If there is not enough time to research and purchase the Olivetti Valentine, a handwritten letter for Valentine’s Day, written in fine ink, is also a beautiful gift that will not fade, be drunk or eaten, but, with a little luck, will last for many decades.
So tender heart to heart
If you need inspiration for your Valentine’s Day lines, “So tender heart to heart” is the title of a collection of Heinrich Heine’s love poems published by Hoffmann und Campe.
If not Heinrich Heine, then perhaps Rainer Maria Rilke or Rose Ausländer.
Amanda Gorman and her poem “The hill we climb” was a highlight at the inauguration of American President Joe Biden and helped poetry to gain a little more attention.
Want to read more poetry? On the portal Lyrikline gibt es 13.285 Gedichte in 88 Sprachen, jeweils von ihren Autoren gelesen, zu hören.
Good design hits the heart
The Vitra Museum in Weil am Rhein dedicated an exhibition to Ettore Sottsass, one of the most important designers of the 20th century and head of the designer collective Memphis, on the occasion of his 100th birthday. An exhibition on the occasion of its 50th birthday in 2017. The poster for the exhibition shows the Olivetti Valentine.
The Olivetti company was far ahead of its time in terms of the importance of the design of the products, the architecture of the company and the corporate values lived, creating a strong loyalty and enthusiasm that can still be seen today in many former employees of the Olivetti family senses.
Your lines written on the Olivetti Valentine can have many years of meaning. Hard disks are usually erased quickly.
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Photocredits © fig. Original Olivetti Valentine, Wolfgang Bergmann | fig. in Perinaldo, Günter Greff
