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1948 Olivetti MP1 Invicta Serial # 119508 1948 Olivetti MP1 Invicta typewriter, Serial # 119508 Saul Bryan's 1948 Olivetti MP1 Invicta typewriter. 2025-07-14 From the Virtual Typewriter Collection of Saul Bryan: 1948 Olivetti MP1 Invicta Serial # 119508 Purchased from an auction house in Melbourne, Victoria in Feb 2025. This stayed with a good friend until he came to Sydney, and I got it at last a few days ago, July 2025. It was a long wait, but it was worth it! These "Invicta" MP1's seem to come in a vast array of colours. At the time of writing this, there are six examples on the TWDB, and all are different! As the bright red one, I think mine is the best, but I'm biased. It does go faster though.

This machine has a few quirks and features. The first one is the way you get to the underside of the machine. You lift it from the front, where it should in theory be resting on two rubber feet. One of mine had melted with time and took a bit to get unstuck. I have replaced that one. It pivots on the back hinges and is quite a neat solution compared to bolting it permanently to the base. The case is very compact and overall it takes up surprisingly little space. The segment is a high chrome affair, and it looks wonderful. There is quite a bit of chrome elsewhere, but it isn't too blingy. On the paper table at the back the OLIVETTI is embossed (raised) on the metal, and the paint is just shy of it. I think it looks very cool and stylish. The nameplate on the front is a bit wordy and less impressive, but ok.

Initially this typed well but the spacebar was crashing on the baseplate. This was due to the squashed rubber, and once those front feet were replaced it worked fine. The backspace sometimes returns to the start position, which is a bit annoying. Also, the bell can ring very faintly as you type, and the caps lock is a little reluctant to disengage. The return is a little grindy, I'm not sure if it is supposed to be silenced or not. Despite these things, it types very nicely, and you can get up a good rhythm with it, and it feels good. The pica typeface is mostly fairly standard, but I would draw your attention to the 3, which I think is quite nice. And would you just look at it?! I think it almost blew the sensor on my iPhone camera, so much red. Forget the Valentine, this is the red Olivetti to get. Good luck finding one though.

1948 Olivetti MP1 Invicta #119508

Status: My Collection
Hunter: Saul Bryan (Saulysw)
Created: 07-13-2025 at 10:15PM
Last Edit: 07-14-2025 at 12:07AM

Description Hunter 22 Photos 0 Likes  Find on Ebay #AD  Find on Etsy #AD

Description:

Purchased from an auction house in Melbourne, Victoria in Feb 2025. This stayed with a good friend until he came to Sydney, and I got it at last a few days ago, July 2025. It was a long wait, but it was worth it! These "Invicta" MP1's seem to come in a vast array of colours. At the time of writing this, there are six examples on the TWDB, and all are different! As the bright red one, I think mine is the best, but I'm biased. It does go faster though.

This machine has a few quirks and features. The first one is the way you get to the underside of the machine. You lift it from the front, where it should in theory be resting on two rubber feet. One of mine had melted with time and took a bit to get unstuck. I have replaced that one. It pivots on the back hinges and is quite a neat solution compared to bolting it permanently to the base. The case is very compact and overall it takes up surprisingly little space. The segment is a high chrome affair, and it looks wonderful. There is quite a bit of chrome elsewhere, but it isn't too blingy. On the paper table at the back the OLIVETTI is embossed (raised) on the metal, and the paint is just shy of it. I think it looks very cool and stylish. The nameplate on the front is a bit wordy and less impressive, but ok.

Initially this typed well but the spacebar was crashing on the baseplate. This was due to the squashed rubber, and once those front feet were replaced it worked fine. The backspace sometimes returns to the start position, which is a bit annoying. Also, the bell can ring very faintly as you type, and the caps lock is a little reluctant to disengage. The return is a little grindy, I'm not sure if it is supposed to be silenced or not. Despite these things, it types very nicely, and you can get up a good rhythm with it, and it feels good. The pica typeface is mostly fairly standard, but I would draw your attention to the 3, which I think is quite nice. And would you just look at it?! I think it almost blew the sensor on my iPhone camera, so much red. Forget the Valentine, this is the red Olivetti to get. Good luck finding one though.

Typeface Specimen:

Photos:



The OLIVETTI logo on the paper table is raised and the paint is perfectly filled around it.
The OLIVETTI logo on the paper table is raised and the paint is perfectly filled around it.

The ribbon spool covers clip on and just pull off.
The ribbon spool covers clip on and just pull off.



Quite a big chip on the ribbon spool cover where the return arm can hit. Ouch.
Quite a big chip on the ribbon spool cover where the return arm can hit. Ouch.


LOVE the high chrome segment!
LOVE the high chrome segment!

I repainted the colour plots, as they were empty and you could not tell what colour was what.
I repainted the colour plots, as they were empty and you could not tell what colour was what.

Close up of vibrator.
Close up of vibrator.

Front plate
Front plate

Sorry for the glare. This shows how the machine tilts up on the back pivots while still being attached to the base.
Sorry for the glare. This shows how the machine tilts up on the back pivots while still being attached to the base.


Found underneath on the left side of the frame.
Found underneath on the left side of the frame.

This is some foam I have added to improve the height and reduce rattle and stop the spacebar crashing on the base.
This is some foam I have added to improve the height and reduce rattle and stop the spacebar crashing on the base.

Original dealer painted on decal, which proves this is NOT a repaint!
Original dealer painted on decal, which proves this is NOT a repaint!

Original manufacture decal.
Original manufacture decal.




It is a very neat and compact case.
It is a very neat and compact case.

Hunter: Saul Bryan (Saulysw)

Saul Bryan's Typewriter Galleries [ My Collection ] [ My Sightings ]

Status: Typewriter Hunter
Points: 531

I live in Sydney, Australia. I've been collecting typewriters since about October 2020.


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