Kurt Ryba is the »father« of the typewriters on display. He says about himself that he was born with two passions, one for collecting and one for computers. After a long period of study and work abroad he returned to Bolzano in 1984 to direct a small IT company. From this rather silent and adventurous start developed one of the leading lights of the Italian IT business.
The exhibition in this museum is the result of his continuous and passionate worldwide search.
The collection increases continuously not only through regular acquisitions made by Kurt Ryba, but also thanks to many other donations, for which we would like to express our gratitude.
The collection increases continuously not only through regular acquisitions made by Kurt Ryba, but also thanks to many other donations, for which we would like to express our gratitude.
With over 2000 objects the museum gives a good understanding of 150 years of technical history, as some particular highlights show very impressively: the Danish “Writing Ball” Malling Hansen (1867), the first commercially sold typewriter, the Olivetti Valentine, that became a cult object due to its particular design, the legendary cipher machine Enigma, whose decoding shortened the Second World War for two years as well as the typewriter of the known American inventor Thomas Alva Edison.
Not less important is the American Sholes & Glidden (1874) with which typewriters started their worldwide circulation, the gold-plated Princess Praesent, symbol of the economic growth in post-war Germany and last but not least the Crandall, often called the most beautiful antique typewriter.
The collection of typewriters is completed by a voluminous archive of historical material on typewriters.
The collection of typewriters is completed by a voluminous archive of historical material on typewriters.