Olivetti Studio 46 Typewriter Ribbons
date: label: Date
content: Late 20th century
notes: label: Caption
content: As a writer strikes keys on a typewriter, an inked, nylon ribbon turns, moving from a full spindle onto an empty one. When the ribbon reaches its end, the typewriter must be opened, and the ribbon replaced. These replacement ribbons fit the Olivetti Studio 46 typewriter in the Anacostia Community Museum’s Collection that once belonged to science fiction writer Octavia E. Butler (1947-2006). It appears that Butler, a Los Angeles native, purchased the ribbons locally. The office supply company listed on the boxes had locations in Los Angeles and nearby Beverly Hills, California. Butler’s novels focus on the future, so it seems apropos to imagine what could be written with the six replacement ribbons accompanying the typewriter. The exhibition, All the Stories Are True: African American Writers Speak, featured the typewriter ribbons in 2004.
setName: label: See more items in
content: Anacostia Community Museum Collection
creditLine: label: Cite As
content: Anacostia Community Museum, Smithsonian Institution
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: Anacostia Community Museum
identifier: label: Accession Number
content: 2004.0007.0002
objectType: label: Type
content: typewriter ribbon
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: CC0
physicalDescription: label: Medium
content: cardboard, plastic, ink
label: Dimensions
content: 2 1/2 × 2 9/16 × 7/8 in. (6.4 × 6.5 × 2.2 cm)