Talk:Olivetti Valentine

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Reference ideas for Olivetti Valentine

The following references may be useful when improving this article in the future:

Typewriter Museum, Parcines, Italy (Valentine features in collection)
Domus Magazine (see p. 014/019 – text succinctly validates a number of claims)
Museum of Design in Plastics (good detailed photographs)
ArtNet (poster by Graziella Marchi)
Type design for typewriters: Olivetti (academic paper by María Ramos Silva)
1969. Olivetti formes et recherche, una mostra internazionale (exhibition overview)
Typewriterspotting (non-RS site with photo of Dieter Rams and his Valentine)
Corriere della Serra (exhibition at the Museo Nazionale Scienza e Tecnologia Leonardo da Vinci)

A fact from Olivetti Valentine appeared on Wikipedia's Main Page in the Did you know column on 14 March 2024 (check views). The text of the entry was as follows:

Did you know... that Ettore Sottsass's design of the Olivetti Valentine typewriter (example pictured) was inspired by the pop-art nudes of Tom Wesselmann?

A record of the entry may be seen at Wikipedia:Recent additions/2024/March. The nomination discussion and review may be seen at Template:Did you know nominations/Olivetti Valentine.

Lead: "world's first" claim?

The lead makes the claim that the Valentine was the "world's first plastic-bodied typewriter", however, the "Design and history" section mentions the Monpti (1968) and the Starfire (c. 1963) typewriters – both of which have (ABS?) plastic body shells. Perhaps "one of the world's first" or "one of the earliest and most iconic" would be more accurate? -- Cl3phact0 (talk) 11:26, 29 January 2024 (UTC)[reply]

This is a great suggestion. I'm thinking that if it truly were the first, there would be more sources leading in that direction. Having studied numerous sources originally written in Italian, the declaration that it was the first does not come up repeatedly. In this case it helps to back off the hyperbole. Edit made. 842U (talk) 19:39, 12 February 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Did you know nomination

The following is an archived discussion of the DYK nomination of the article below. Please do not modify this page. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as this nomination's talk page, the article's talk page or Wikipedia talk:Did you know), unless there is consensus to re-open the discussion at this page. No further edits should be made to this page.

The result was: promoted by PrimalMustelid talk 02:57, 7 March 2024 (UTC)[reply]

(

Comment or view
Article history

)

Olivetti Valentine typewriter (1969)

~~... that in 2016, David Bowie's Olivetti Valentine typewriter (pictured) was sold at auction by Sotheby's London for £45,000 – in spite of a presale estimate of £300–£500?~~ Source: "A red Olivetti Valentine typewriter, designed by Sottsass ... sold to a telephone bidder for £45,000 pounds."
The Telegraph (UK): https://www.telegraph.co.uk/luxury/art/david-bowie-auction-sale-of-late-artists-personal-collection-put/
See also: https://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/2016/bowie-collector-part-iii-design-ettore-sottsass-memphis-group-l16149.html
- ALT1: ... that Ettore Sottsass's design of the Olivetti Valentine typewriter (pictured) was inspired by the pop art nudes of painter Tom Wesselmann? Source: "Sottsass transcended the sameness of typewriter design to give it an endearing personality. He tuned into Pop art, citing the orange nipples and pink breasts in Tom Wesselman's nudes as inspiration for the orange scroll caps."
  The Metropolitan Museum of Art: https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/739409
- Reviewed: Template:Did you know nominations/Patricia Davies (cryptographer)
- Comment: I'm indifferent as to which hook would be preferable. Open to others' preferences and/or suggestions for improvement! Cheers, Cl3phact0 (talk) 22:53, 29 January 2024 (UTC)[reply]
- Comment: There have been many typewriters that have sold for a lot of money, but likely only one typewriter inspired by nude paintings. I strongly prefer the Wesselmann hook.842U (talk) 19:35, 12 February 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Created by 842U (talk). Nominated by Cl3phact0 (talk) at 13:14, 29 January 2024 (UTC). Post-promotion hook changes for this nom will be logged at Template talk:Did you know nominations/Olivetti Valentine; consider watching this nomination, if it is successful, until the hook appears on the Main Page.[reply]

General: Article is new enough and long enough
New enough: Long enough:

Policy compliance:

Adequate sourcing: - n
Neutral:
Free of copyright violations, plagiarism, and close paraphrasing:

Hook: Hook has been verified by provided inline citation
Cited: Interesting:

Image: Image is freely licensed, used in the article, and clear at 100px.
Freely licensed: Used in article: Clear at 100px:

QPQ: Done.

Overall: I agree that ALT1 is the preferable hook. Nice article, but there a couple of sourcing issues that need to be addressed: I have added one citation needed tag, and have tagged three unreliable sources (blogs and Tumblr) which should probably be removed. ~~ AirshipJungleman29 (talk) 14:51, 15 February 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Comment: Thanks, AirshipJungleman29! I'll have a look at the tags (as I'd guess will 842U) and try to help resolve any sourcing issues. I've also ~~struck out~~ the first hook above for clarity, as ALT1 seems to be the preferred option. Cheers, Cl3phact0 (talk) 15:17, 15 February 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Comment: I've resolved 2 of the 3 unreliable sources and am wondering if we should somehow preserve the third, as it contains a photograph of Dieter Rams actually typing on his Valentine (or if not, whether it's possible to upload the image to Commons for posterity)? I'm also wondering if there's a better way to resolve the advertising spot references (most of which are on youtube) – perhaps a notelist that groups these together? -- Cl3phact0 (talk) 09:41, 17 February 2024 (UTC)[reply]

@AirshipJungleman29: Is this ready for approval? If not, what else needs to be done? Z1720 (talk) 02:27, 1 March 2024 (UTC)[reply]
- The unreliable sources have been removed, so approved. ~~ AirshipJungleman29 (talk) 22:42, 1 March 2024 (UTC)[reply]

"Valentine" name origin/inspiration

The Italian publication Rivista Studio [it] makes the claim that in choosing the name "Valentine", Sottsass was inspired by the song My Funny Valentine (see last paragraph).^[1] [NB: Source also reiterates/validates other statements and claims.] -- Cl3phact0 (talk) 13:54, 14 March 2024 (UTC)[reply]

PS: Adding another source that mentions the song.^[2] -- Cl3phact0 (talk) 18:26, 14 March 2024 (UTC)[reply]

References

^ "Perché Valentine è l'oggetto di design assoluto" [Why the Valentine is the ultimate design object]. Rivista Studio (in Italian). 12 April 2018. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
^ "1969, odissea nel design: così Olivetti inventò la tecnologia che ha stile" [1969, odyssey in design: so Olivetti invented technology that has style]. La Stampa (in Italian). 6 December 2018. Retrieved 14 March 2024.

Dimensions

The Smithsonian has measurements for the Valentine both with and without the case:
H x W x D: 10.3 x 33 x 34 cm
H x W x D: 11.5 x 34.5 x 35.5 cm (with case)
Perhaps we can use these for the Specifications infobox? -- Cl3phact0 (talk) 09:34, 23 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Compasso d'Oro claim

Did the Valentine actually win the Compasso d'Oro in 1970 as is claimed in our article? Domus magazine makes the claim that it did not, while several of our published references and several museum entries say that it did (see Museo Omero and Kirkland Museum). The Italian Wikipedia article about the 1970 award mentions the Olivetti Summa 19, but not the Valentine. Most tellingly, the ADI itself doesn't mention the Valentine on its page about the of the award (see 1970 - X EDIZIONE). [NB: I'm mindful not to fall into the WP:OR trap here, but we may be promulgating erroneous information on this point.] -- Cl3phact0 (talk) 18:40, 23 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]

I've blanked the claim until it can be verified or disproven (the latter seems more likely). -- Cl3phact0 (talk) 07:07, 20 July 2024 (UTC)[reply]

The book "Olivetti Podium 16: Olivetti's Compasso d'Oro Awards" would likely resolve this question. -- Cl3phact0 (talk) 11:22, 21 July 2024 (UTC)[reply]

This page from the Olivetti archive site lists the 16 awards (and makes no mention of the Valentine). Sadly, it seems we were wrong here. -- Cl3phact0 (talk) 17:42, 21 July 2024 (UTC)[reply]

[1] "Perché Valentine è l'oggetto di design assoluto" [Why the Valentine is the ultimate design object]. Rivista Studio (in Italian). 12 April 2018. Retrieved 14 March 2024.

[2] "1969, odissea nel design: così Olivetti inventò la tecnologia che ha stile" [1969, odyssey in design: so Olivetti invented technology that has style]. La Stampa (in Italian). 6 December 2018. Retrieved 14 March 2024.

[1]

[2]