Olivetti M40 typewriter (1940s)

The M40 is a famous mechanical typewriter made by Olivetti sold in more than half a million copies. 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 took longer than expected due to the precision of the tooling that was to be given to the machine. When it finally went into production, despite a period of crisis such as the Great Depression, it found favor with customers, who appreciated the higher quality, speed of writing and light touch of the keyboard. After the M20, with which Olivetti had entered international markets, the M40 competed with the most renowned typewriters of the time.