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| A second 'Euro-Portable' family? Or, the Hermes license-built family. The small, flat Hermes design originated in the middle-1930's also spread around the world in the form of license production. On this page, we'll tie together some of the examples of this phenomenon. These machines are, for the most part, covered also on my websites in appropriate sections. To start with, at left we have the most familiar body version of these machines; many consider this style the "classic" Hermes Baby. |
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| The Hermes machine was also available in a lighter version, early on, and here we see my oddly-marked Hermes Featheweight. The extra labeling appears to have been applied at the dealer level, and is a highly professional job. Below is Jim Dax's Hermes Featherweight. |
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| The Hermes design was license-made in England by British Typewriters Ltd. beginning almost immediately, and running through 1960. Here is my pre-war Empire Portable. |
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| Here are three versions manufactured in Italy by Montana SpA, with the oldest above, the intermediate at left, and newest below. Production began in 1950; end date is still not known. |
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| The two above machines are known to be Hermes-pattern machines, but carry the Olivetti brand. On the left, the Olivetti Lettera 82, and on the right, the Olivetti Tropical. This likely resulted from Olivetti having bought out Paillard, and then having placed the latest version of the latter company's small machine into Olivetti's lineup. Both photos courtesy Tilman Elster. |