At the start of the 1950s, VEB Optima Büromaschinenwerk Erfurt was asked to develop a typewriter for China as part of the socialist initiative to support allied nations.
The Erfurt manufacturers based their design on the box-type typewriter first sold in 1917 by Nippon Typewriter Co. Ltd. in Tokyo. The “Chinese Optima” made its début in 1953.
Subsequently, the Chinese bicycle factory “Flying Dove” took over production of the device, two versions of which were produced in China under the “Flying Dove” brand until the end of 1992.
Date of manufacture: 1992
Photo: Jan Braun, HNF