From Iceland to Norway: Rare Nordic Keyboards, Volcanic Views, and Dinner with Friends
From Iceland to Norway: Rare Nordic Keyboards, Volcanic Views, and Dinner with Friends
When you combine dramatic landscapes with rare vintage typewriters and incredible people, a trip becomes unforgettable. We recently returned from a 7-day journey across Iceland and Norway, and we wanted to share a few highlights with our community—along with a handy collector’s quick reference for identifying Nordic typewriter layouts!
Meeting Our Typewriter Collectors (Now Dear Friends!)
One of the absolute highlights was connecting face-to-face with a group of our long-time typewriter collectors, including close friends who flew in from The United States of America. Over the years, we’ve exchanged hundreds of emails & 16 quality restored typewriters from us, but meeting in person over authentic Icelandic cuisine for the first time took those friendships to another level.
The Mission: Sourcing Rare Icelandic & Anglo-Saxon Keyboards
Beyond sightseeing, we had a clear goal. A collector/friend in the US asked us to hunt down a typewriter featuring an Icelandic layout—specifically to source rare historical Anglo-Saxon and Old Norse symbols. Because native Icelandic typewriters are virtually impossible to find in the UK, we used this trip to track them down directly at the source.
This is the only Anglo Saxon keyboard on a typewriter we ever restored and it was and Olivetti Studio 44 typewriter.
On our trip, we managed to acquire two typewriters with genuine Icelandic layouts! ( shared a video on Instagram and below is the final product of the Icelandic keyboard Imperial good companion typewriter after restoration.
Bargain Finds: Norwegian & Danish Typewriters
While in Norway, our luck continued. We picked up a budget-friendly machine fitted with native Norwegian and Danish characters for a reasonably good price. Best of all, we managed to arrange local shipping from Norway to our UK workshop. Can't believe how connected we are right now to anywhere around the world as we only need to ask the shop owner to pack it in a certain way and they did a great job.
🔑 Quick Reference: Decoding Nordic & Scandinavian Typewriter Layouts
If you are hunting for rare Scandinavian typewriters or trying to identify an unusual European keyboard layout on an online listing, use this quick direct reference guide:
| Region / Language | Exclusive Character Keys | Key Placement & Identification Tips | Historic / Linguistic Significance |
| Icelandic Typewriters |
Þ / þ (Thorn) Ð / ð (Eth) Æ / æ Ö / ö |
• Þ (Thorn) sits where the English • Ð (Eth) replaces the • Accented vowels ( |
Essential for typing Old English, Old Norse, Anglo-Saxon, and modern Icelandic text. |
| Norwegian Typewriters |
Æ / æ Ø / ø Å / å |
• Ø is positioned to the left of Æ (next to • Å sits on the top letter row where |
Features the slashed Ø specific to West Scandinavian linguistic tradition. |
| Danish Typewriters |
Æ / æ Ø / ø Å / å |
• Æ is positioned to the left of Ø (swapped relative to Norwegian layouts due to higher letter frequency). • Å sits on the top row. |
Identical letters to Norwegian, but reversed placement for Æ and Ø. |
| Swedish Typewriters |
Ä / ä Ö / ö Å / å |
• Uses umlauts (Ä and Ö) instead of the slashed • Ö sits next to |
Standard layout for modern and vintage Swedish literature and correspondence. |
| Finnish Typewriters |
Ä / ä Ö / ö Å / å |
• Uses the exact same character set as Swedish (Ä, Ö, Å). • Often shares a identical dual-use keyboard layout labelled as Swedish/Finnish. |
The Å key is preserved for official bilingual Swedish-Finnish usage in Finland. |
What’s Next at the Workbench?
These unique Nordic gems are currently making their way to our restoration workbench. Once fully overhauled, chemically flushed, tuned, and fitted with fresh ribbons, they’ll be ready for new homes.
