Raymond Chandler’s Typewriter

Raymond Chandler, one of the progenitors of American hard-boiled detective novel, wrote on an Olivetti Studio 44 typewriter from cerca 1955 until his death in 1959, a period that included composition of his last published novel, Playback (1958), the last Philip Marlowe short story, titled variously, “Marlowe Takes On the Syndicate”, “Wrong Pigeon”, “Philip Marlowe’s Last Case” or “The Pencil” (1959), and the first few pages of an unfinished novel with the working title The Poodle Springs Story, later completed by Robert B. Parker as Poodle Springs at the request of the Chandler estate in 1989.

In December 2024, I was fortunate enough to acquire the typewriter at a sale of Chandler estate goods managed by the distinguished auction house Doyle New York. On this page, I’ll describe what I’ve learned about the Studio 44—both the model in general and Chandler’s example in particular—the steps I’ve taken to repair and refurbish the machine, and what use I’ve put the Olivetti to since I’ve owned it.

Chandler’s typewriter with my work in progress, “Mockingbird”

The Olivetti Studio 44

The Studio 44 was designed in 1952 by award-winning architect, industrial and graphic designer Marcello Nizzoli in collaboration with engineer Giuseppe Beccio. It replaced the Olivetti Studio 42 and was intended to fill the gap between a robust office machine and a personal portable machine. Thus, the ideal customer would be likely be a self-employed type who made extensive use of a typewriter in his or her job (e.g., a crime fiction writer like Raymond Chandler). The machine was produced in four different versions:

• Series I with a beige body and black round keys borrowed from its more portable sister machine, the Olivetti Lettera 22
• Series II with beige body and black ergonomic keys intended to conform better to the user’s fingers
• Series III with light blue body, grey-blue keys and knobs
• Studio 44 L with body from former competitor Underwood (Olivetti bought a controlling interest in Underwood in 1959, and completed a full merger in 1963)

The Studio 44 and the Lettera 22 (which was also designed by Nizzoli), were much admired for their modern, streamlined designs, and both machines are present in the collections of modern art museums. It’s rumored that Steve Jobs owned an Olivetti typewriter, but whether or not that is actually the case, there is no question that he was influenced by Olivetti design sensibilities in the creation of Apple products.

Chandler’s Machine

Serial Number 788236

The machine owned by Chandler—a Series I—was most likely purchased in the UK, most likely in 1955. I base my conclusion for the year and country of purchase on the fact that Chandler made a trip there in 1955 after his wife Cissy passed, and the fact that there is a key on the machine for the UK pound symbol. There is also a key for the dollar sign, but it is not in the usual place above the number 4. In any case, the machine could not have been purchased earlier than 1953 because its serial number, 788236, is in the range of machines that were manufactured that year.

In addition to the pound symbol, the machine has keys for Spanish punctuation, including a tilde, accent marks, and an upside down question mark. In the auction catalog description, Doyle suggested that Chandler specially ordered the keys. It’s possible, as he often included Spanish dialog in his work, but I think it just as likely he purchased a factory machine with that character set.

Chandler had previously used an Underwood typewriter. What did he think of his new machine? On May 21, 1955, lonely and bereft after the death of his wife, he wrote to a fan from his flat in London:

Please, if you at all care, write to me and tell me about yourself. I may in return send you some ribald nonsense I have been writing over here, mostly in the middle of the night, just to get over the St John’s Wood-Chelsea hyperthyroid method of talking. I sleep very little, unfortunately. I am apt to get up around 4 a.m., take a mild drink of Scotch and water and start hammering at this lovely Olivetti 44, which is far superior to anything we turn out in America. It is a heavy portable and put together like an Italian racing car, and you mustn’t judge it from my typing.

Speaking of Chandler’s typing, Sybil Davis—who put the machine up for auction after receiving it from her mother, Jean Vounder-Davis—shared this with me in e-mail correspondence after the auction:

He was not a “touch typist.” He preferred the “hunt and peck” system using only his two index fingers

I … observed him using it on a daily basis. I even have some of his stories, letters and poetry that were typed on the Olivetti.

As suggested by the above, Sybil and her mother Jean were often with Chandler in the last two years of his life. After initially being hired as Chandler’s secretary, Jean and her children became more than that—companions, caregivers and quasi-family. It was Jean who arranged for his funeral after his passing on March 26, 1959, and Jean who inherited the typewriter and a number of other personal possessions, manuscripts and papers. There is evidence of her ownership of the typewriter on the undercarriage, where I found her initials written in red nail polish:

JVD, initials of Jean Vounder-Davis

Repair and Refurbishment

After I received the machine from Doyle, I discovered that, through lack of use, the mechanism was pretty thoroughly gummed up. In addition, a number of rubber parts, including the feet, had degraded, and the carriage return lever had broken off. Fortunately for me and the typewriter, I found Ole Kehlet of Kehlet Typewriter in Sacramento. With his expertise, a lot of elbow grease and a few parts scavenged from a “donor” machine of the same vintage I located, Ole was able to restore Chandler’s machine to full working order. Here is the invoice for his work, typed out on the very same keyboard as Chandler used to write Playback:

Kehlet Typewriter Invoice

And here’s a picture of Ole in his shop posing with the repaired machine:

Ole Kehlet

In case you are wondering, we were careful to save the small number of broken parts removed from Chandler’s machine, which consisted of a few rubber feet, a pin used to retain the carriage return lever and a the tiny margin stop that rings the warning bell as you approach the right margin. It also interesting to note that loss of the carriage return lever is apparently a common problem on Studio 44 Series Is and Series IIs. This video describes the repair of the same problem on a machine that looks to be a Series II, although it is done with new fabricated parts rather than parts from a vintage machine. Perhaps as a way to improve the design, the lever for later machines was connected with a different sized pin, which makes finding donor machines challenging as pins from the more common newer machines won’t fit the older ones.

My Plans

I have the typewriter on the desk where I do my writing and I use it occasionally to draft a paragraph or two of works in progress. The picture at the top of the page shows the first paragraph of “Mockingbird,” a short story I’m working on at the time of this writing. You’ll see I used a half sheet of yellow paper as Chandler did when he composed The Long Goodbye.

Ultimately, however, I would like to donate the machine to an institution that can preserve it and enable others to see it. I’m already in discussion with the Bancroft Library.

More Reading for Typewriter Buffs

If you’ve come to this page because you are a typewriter enthusiast or collector, you might enjoy my novel The Dead Beat Scroll, in which typewriters—and Beat writer Jack Kerouac’s typewriter in particular—take center stage.