Olivetti Lettera 22

The Olivetti Lettera 22 [oliˈvetti ˈlɛttera ˌventiˈduːe] is a portable mechanical typewriter designed by Marcello Nizzoli in 1949 or, according to the company's current owner Telecom Italia, 1950.

The Lettera 22 was rebranded and marketed in the United States as the Sears Courier and Diplomat, with red bodywork and white keys.

The Lettera 22 is quite compact compared to other 1950s portable typewriters using a basket shift, such as the Smith Corona Sterling or Remington-Rand Quiet-Riter.

[4] Also lacking are the keys for uppercase accented vowels, some of which are present in Italian; however, these characters are not typically found on modern keyboards, either.

German writer Günter Grass had three Olivetti Letteras, which he used exclusively at his homes in Portugal, Germany (Schleswig-Holstein) and Denmark.

American writer Joan Didion mentions her Olivetti Lettera 22 in her book Where I Was From (2003), recalling that she typed her first novel, Run, River (1963), on it.

[9] Austrian composer Olga Neuwirth requested an Olivetti Lettera 22 in her 2018 piece Magic Flu-idity for solo-flute (and typewriter).