sommeregger's sammelsurium

Marvellous pencil sharpeners

noreply@blogger.com (shordzi) — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 09:03:00 +0000

Here is some pencil sharpeners from the Alfred R Wepf collection. Alfred is only the occasional pencil sharpener collector. He is more into typing.

First comes the "Jupiter" 1, produced by Guhl & Harbeck in Hamburg, Germany

Elegant and functional design

Plus it works! See more technical details at http://www.jupiter-spitzmaschinen.de/3.html

Here comes the Automatic Pencil Sharpener, made in the U.S.A.

Add caption

And here comes a Play-Me pencil sharpener from Spain!

Nice details!

they put quite some work in this side ornament

But here is the King of Kings: IDUNA, made by IDEA from Germany

IDUNA logo. The machine was made in Leipzig.

strong and solid

One can choose the fitting pencil size

The upper cylinder then moves right or left accordingly

Simply the best! Usually it is mounted on a wooden plate, which we left out from the photo.

Ein wunderbares Weihnachtsgeschenk

noreply@blogger.com (shordzi) — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 21:13:00 +0000

Stella - a lonely star on typewriter heaven

noreply@blogger.com (shordzi) — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 17:31:00 +0000

Last time we talked about Octave Rochefort's "Dactyle" typewriter. A friend just mailed me the copy of a Dactlye advertising booklet from around 1900 (the company was founded ca. 1893, and in the booklet they claim that in the past eight years, they had sold 8.000 Dactyle typewriters in France alone).

Interesting enough, the Dactyle company at that time not only sold Dactyle typewriters model 2 and 3 (equivalent to the Blickensderfer models 5 and 8), but also a typewriter called "Stella".

The ad shown below is pretty detailed and features a good photo and thorough description of what seems to be a hybridation between the Dactyle n°2 and an index machine. Bear in mind that "Stella" cost only 100 francs, as compared to 250 for a Dactyle n°2. The ad starts off admitting that "Stella" might be a good deal slower than the Dactyles. However, on the whole it would perform well, as this would be the only disadvantage. The print would be impeccable and it could manage up to 10 carbon copies easily.

Stella would use the same type wheel and carriage as the Dactyle. But then, the print was not done by keys, but in two movements using first the type wheel to choose the letter, then push to print it.

As all the other products in the Dactyle catalogue are licensed and not own developments, I supposed that also the "Stella" might be a re-brand of an original developed elsewhere. Et voilà, thanks to a mental spark connecting the right synapses, combined with information from Chuck & Rich's Antique Typewriter website and museum I could find it: NIAGARA!

According to the information given by Rich & Chuck, these are pretty rare machines, so watch out for next time it crosses your path. At that moment, flip your wallet open and smile.

Some more information: - sales price was 15 dollars in the U.S., 70 RM in Germany, and as already mentioned 100 French francs. Ernst Martin p.192 reports that the first year of production of the Niagara was 1902 (so probably the brochure presented here dates from shortly after 1902). Although sales seem to have been low, it was produced at least past 1909, when - again according to Martin - Blickensderfer introduced a Hebrew version of this machine.
- The highest serial number I could find (Niagara) is 300 (Finnish typewriter museum).
- One more name variant: a Niagara labeled "Best" is mentioned in Historische Bürowelt n°1, 1982.

Did Pétain type on this one?

noreply@blogger.com (shordzi) — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 18:05:00 +0000

Now here is something unusual, and as a historian I hope I don't fall into utter speculation with the following story. Maybe it is too good to be true, but who knows?

It started with this wooden box I received in the mail (admittedly, I knew there was a typewriter inside, but still there is always a certain thrill about opening the case, especially around Christmas).

Dactyle, from France - very nice!!!
Manufactured in its first year of production, which was 1893 (serial number 49!!).

But what about the inscription found on the left side of the case?

I read "Gl * P * PETAIN"

Now please help me to think this a bit further. Henri Philippe Benoni Omer Joseph Pétain (1856 - 1951), called Philippe Pétain, was a French military. Not any French military. Seen as hero because of his deeds in World War I, he entered politics around 1930 and became the head of Vichy France in World War II. He was already 84 years old when he assumed power in 1940. Too bad, because in the following years he awfully spoiled his reputation by collaborating thoroughly with the Germans, which cost thousands of people's lives.

source: wikimedia commons, Bundesarchiv Bild 183-H25217

After the war, he was tried for treason, sentenced to death - later on commuted to life sentence - and spent his last years in exile on a small island.
Now, why would this charming machine have belonged to Maréchal Philippe Pétain?

Here is my proposal:
In order to find out whether this typewriter could have belonged to "the" Pétain, we have to take the following elements into consideration and under scrutiny: the name inscription, and time and circumstances of use. From the previous owner I could by the way get no information other than he himself had found this typewriter on a Swiss market. So let's see:

The inscription is "Gl * P * PETAIN". "P" and "Pétain" would obviously fit, knowing that he was addressed as "Philippe", rather than with his real first name "Henri".

This is my "G" with superscript "l". Your opinion, please. I tried to find out whether there was a fixed code of abbreviations of military ranks for the French army in the early 20th century. It appears that at the time, there were no uniform rules on the topic. So "Gl" might well mean "Général".

Now, obviously, by World War II this typewriter would have been hopelessly outdated, but my assumption is that during World War I, Dactyle typewriters also of the first generation - as is the specimen in question - were still in use. Those were very functional and light portable machines and certainly came in handy in the field. I could not find many reports about Blicks in the field, but it is well known from Corona 3s that they were widely used in the armies. So, I would contend that this model could have been in use by French military in World War I.

But would the rank and the time coincide? Pétain is better known as Marshal of France, but this was a later title. On the eve of World War I, surprisingly enough, and Pétain being already in his late fifies, he still had not been promoted general. He had fallen out with his superiors on a question of military tactics, which explains. So he was close of taking his pension, when in 1914 the war broke out. He distinguished himself in a first battle, and was promoted General on 31st August 1914.

So, we have a name tag on the typewriter's case which would fit the General, also a fitting time-frame and circumstances likely to support the hypothesis that this machine was indeed General Pétain's. Now, your opinions please!

Read more on the Dactyle and its fascinating promotor Octave Rochefort on typewriters.ch.

P.S.: You might wonder about the hand with the star of David - this emblem is to be found on every Dactyle typewriter, it was put there by the manufacturer. Reason still unknown. The hand is a so-called "Hamsa", supposedly with apotropaic effect, and popular in both Islam and Judaism. Here it is combined with the Magen David, or Star of David.

Would you believe it

noreply@blogger.com (shordzi) — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 13:46:00 +0000

Would you believe it? A rare look at Friedrich von Knauss's machine, as well as Mitterhofer's typewriter. Austria erit in orbe ultima...

WOULD YOU BELIEVE IT? NO. 12

<p>&amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Your browser does not support iframes.&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;gt;</p>
click here to see the clip

Also very entertaining, a Lambert vs. Smith-Corona Electric contest:

(ELECTRIC PORTABLE TYPEWRITER (aka WORLD'S FIRST ELECTRIC PORTABLE TYPEWRITER aka REMOTE CONTROL MANIPULATOR))

<p>&amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Your browser does not support iframes.&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;gt;</p>
click here to see the clip

Hurray hurray Fraktur

noreply@blogger.com (shordzi) — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 19:56:00 +0000

see Adwoa's fraktur Senta

typewriter advent

noreply@blogger.com (shordzi) — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 21:52:00 +0000

moving the collection - part II

noreply@blogger.com (shordzi) — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 05:52:00 +0000

Gabriele and her twin sisters

noreply@blogger.com (shordzi) — Sat, 12 Nov 2011 23:47:00 +0000

There was a young woman, Gabriele by name. She called upon each customer to trust her. But she had three sisters, too. One was "Junior", one was "Mädchen", and the youngest one "J2".

Gabriele 10 20 30

Adler Junior 10 20 30

Scheidegger Typomatic-TMS

Adler J2 / J4. Picture via machinesoflovinggrace

And here is the corresponding booklet covers:

Picture via machinesoflovinggrace

Any more sister sightings? Thanks for reporting.

2011-11-11 Still Life

noreply@blogger.com (shordzi) — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 20:22:00 +0000

Still Life with Hermes 2000

Not So Still Life (with Hermes 2000)

2011-11-11 continuous moving and change

noreply@blogger.com (shordzi) — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 17:16:00 +0000

It just occurred to me I have probably waited for this 111111 at 11h11 for 33 years, or haven't I? So here goes one quick post advertising the future typewriters.ch museum at its new location. Still 2 tons of material to shift, go go go.

changing places

noreply@blogger.com (shordzi) — Sun, 06 Nov 2011 18:50:00 +0000

Typewriter genealogy Part I

noreply@blogger.com (shordzi) — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 05:25:00 +0000

In the beginning, there was the Patria.

And Patria begat Japy P6.

And Japy P6 begat Japy P68.

And Japy P68 begat Japy Script, and its twin brother Gesa.

(more information on the different models by clicking on the photos)

Vive la France!

noreply@blogger.com (shordzi) — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 20:02:00 +0000

Last weekend I attended a typewriter meeting in Nancy, situated in Lorraine, France. It was fantastic! The meeting was organized by the Association Lorraine des Collectionneurs de Machines de Bureau (ALCMB). It was great to meet new collectors friends... and of course to score some new typewriters for "la collection". These are: A Japy P6, a Rooy portable, and the one I am most happy with, a rare Etoile. Here they are:

Japy P6

The P6 is a descendant of the Swiss Patria. It was the first licence of the Patria, and produced by Japy in Beaucourt from 1937 on.

Étoile, n° 51585

The Étoile was actually made in Switzerland, by Paillard. This is to say, it is based on the Hermes 2000. According to current research, Etoiles were produced for export from 1932 to 1936. Name variant: Japy 50. Almost all currently known machines have a French keyboard.

Rooy, n° 38253

For the Rooy, see Adwoa's entries.

Nachtrag: Im Radio

noreply@blogger.com (shordzi) — Sun, 16 Oct 2011 17:26:00 +0000

Wieder mit Vergnügen im Radio DRS2, Sendung "DRS2 aktuell" vom 20. August 2011. Mit vielem Dank! Hier zur Seite auf DRS2 mit link zum Nachhören.

permalink, falls der obige link nicht mehr funktioniert.

In the media

noreply@blogger.com (shordzi) — Sun, 16 Oct 2011 16:26:00 +0000

An excellent article in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung of 16 october 2011. Typosphere conquering Germany?

Schreibmaschinen im Kino: Das Leben der Anderen

noreply@blogger.com (shordzi) — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 20:26:00 +0000

aus: "Das Leben der Anderen" / "The Lives of Others" (2006)

Spiegel Journalist: "Leider hab ich in diesem Miniformat nur ein rotes Farbband auftreiben können. Macht es Ihnen was aus, den Artikel in rot zu schreiben?"

Durch einen IM in der Spiegel Zentrale konnte eine Lichtpause des Originalartikels beschafft werden. Aufgrund des Schriftbilds soll die dissidente Schreibmaschine nun identifiziert werden. Dazu ist zu wissen, dass sämtliche Schreibmaschinen der unter Beobachtung Stehenden registriert waren. Alle, bis auf eine...

Schriftxperte (vor einer Wandtafel mit den vergrösserten Schrifproben): "...und so komme ich zu dem Schluss, dass die Schreibmaschine nur eine für den Export bestimmte heimische Reiseschreibmaschine mit ganzer Ausführung sein kann, mit grösster Wahrscheinlichkeit ist mit der Kolibri der VEB Groma Büromaschinen ... wäre die Vorlage in schwarzer Tinte gewesen könnt ich's noch bestimmter sagen."

"Und wer hat so eine Schreibmaschine?"

"So eine Maschine ist in unserer Republik nirgends erfasst."

"Was soll denn das heissen? Worauf schreibt denn zum Beispiel... Hauser?"

"Der Journalist Paul Hauser schreibt auf dem Modell Valentino [sic akkustisch] des Olivetti Betriebes. Bei diesem Modell wäre der Einschlagswinkel wesentlich horizont..." (wird unterbrochen)

"Jajaja, und Wallner?"

"Schreibt auf einer heimischen Optima Elite."

"Georg Dreyman?"

"Georg Dreyman schreibt seine ersten Entwürfe per Hand und die Reinschrift dann auf einer original Wanderer Torpedo (sic!), er hat noch nie auf irgend was anderem geschrieben."

"Wie gross wäre denn diese Kolibri Schreibmaschine?"

"Sie ist eine der kleinsten industriell hergestellten Maschinen: 19,5 cm x 9 cm x 19,5 cm"

"Mhm... also nicht schwerer zu schmuggeln als ein Buch?"

(nickt schweigend)

"Danke, Sie können gehen."

(nimmt die Wandtafel)

"Wiedersehen Genosse."

5 great 1950s portable typewriters

noreply@blogger.com (shordzi) — Sun, 09 Oct 2011 21:48:00 +0000

Picking up from Robert here... hi there way West and Down Under. This is five of my nicest portables, and they are all from the 1950s. They also type fine, with the exception of the Brosette maybe, which I don't value very highly for practical writing after all. This post is in memory of Leopold F. Pascher, the Viennese engineer who had designed what would become the Groma Gromina already by 1938. He died in unfortunate circumstances in the immediate post-war. His prototype was only put into production in 1951.

The Groma Gromina is a recent acquisition (thanks again, German ebay), the Groma Kolibri is a family heirloom from the typewriter collector's wife (I always wanted to use the word 'heirloom' in one of my posts). The abc look familiar? Yes! The Brosette is in need of more attention, whereas the Calanda S is spoiled and prominently put on display in my house.

You will find some more information by clicking on the pictures, or on typewriters.ch.

Groma Gromina

Groma Kolibri

abc

Brosette

Calanda S

That's all folks - wishing you a good week.

5 great typewriters from the Alfred R. Wepf collection

noreply@blogger.com (shordzi) — Sat, 01 Oct 2011 18:09:00 +0000

These are from my friend Alfred's collection:

Olivetti Lettera DL

Olivetti Graphika

Mercedes Elektra

IBM 72

The Noiseless Typewriter, Mod. 4

Be careful out there

noreply@blogger.com (shordzi) — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 10:26:00 +0000

"Typewriter bites girl!" source: http://www.archive.org/details/safety_in_offices

Calanda K51

noreply@blogger.com (shordzi) — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 17:31:00 +0000

Calanda K51, originally uploaded by shordzi.

Cats just LOVE typewriters!

Via Flickr:
Portable typewriter Calanda K51, serial number 33531-K-51, from 1951. Made in Switzerland.

Impressions from our All-Swiss type-in

noreply@blogger.com (shordzi) — Sun, 11 Sep 2011 05:27:00 +0000

We had a fantastic day! Adwoa, in company of Mr. J., Florian of maschinengeschrieben.blogspot.com, and the author of this blog met in Berne yesterday, Sept. 10th, 2011 A.D. It was September, yet it was summer, with temperatures reaching in the 30 degrees (celsius, of course). We had planned this event a bit in advance. Next to the local "Brockenstuben", or thrift-stores, a visit to the Museum of Communication was on our wish-list. As it often happens with dreams, this latter venture had to be dropped, as it turned out that the museum's vast collection is not on display. There is a possibility to browse the excellent on-line database, though. This being said, we got largely recompensed by the wealth of typewriters we found in the various "Brocki" we visited. According to the protocol, 20 typewriters or so were spotted by the all-Swiss typosphere delegation. In the first neighbourhood we visited, Lorraine, there were four thrift-stores within walking distance, all of them interesting. Florian got lucky with a Hermes 3000 in mint condition and a very interesting "director" typeface. Moving around the city was easy in public transport, combined with GPS help via a very very smart phone. Heat was rising, but nothing could stop the flow of good energy on our typewriter-hunt. Having seen two more places on the other end of town (Bümpliz), we returned to the center - Florian by now carrying the Hermes plus a Swissa, Mr. J. Adwoa's shiny Remington Junior. The author came in second every time and only carried his pride. The grande finale was our type-in in a café in Gurtengasse, very close to the city centre. We had planned to type right in front of the most honorable Bundeshaus, or Federal Palace, seat of the Swiss Parliament, but the fact that a certain Swiss political party was meeting there the very same day prevented us from doing so. There was heavy police protection and access to the square was barred. So we changed plan and settled for a nice lounge-style café, which turned out to be a nice thing. We attracted quite a few looks and comments, as we were typing for peace, democracy, and the glory of the typosphere. Just before leaving again to our three corners of Switzerland, some obscure typewriter-swapping took place at the lockers of the Berne train station. Here is a few impressions from this great day. I salute the typosphere, and thank Adwoa, J., and Florian for making this such a Lou Reed perfect day.

getting there - Remington!

the first store, inviting for the treasure hunt

A phone in the shape of Ireland!

some places were more crowded than others

one splendid Hermes Media

This is a special sheet for platen protection. It feels like a thick shower curtain. Perfect to type on a hard platen.

scientific methods to determine the exact typeface

Adwoa, Florian, Georg

THE LOCKERS

Agent S. and Agent A. hostage exchange

going home - ABC!

See also the summaries of Florian at maschinengeschrieben and Adwoa.

Historic type-in

noreply@blogger.com (shordzi) — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 11:41:00 +0000

see for yourself:

Vintage Advertisement, originally uploaded by Lee Sutton.

plus, a new flickr group: Vintage Typewriter Advertising

plus, never get bored: http://flickriver.com/photos/tags/typewriter/interesting/

My favourite Stoewers

noreply@blogger.com (shordzi) — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 06:38:00 +0000

Recently, Stoewer typewriters caught my eye. I have had two in my collection for some time, first a Stoewer Elite, then a Stoewer model 4. These do look special, the number 4 for its elegant shape and beautiful decoration resembling Art Nouveau; the Elite for its extravagantly placed ribbon spools.

Stoewer 4, ca. 1908

Stoewer Elite, ca. 1913

Then I discovered the Stoewer portable, which was placed on the market in 1926. Apparently only 7800 of these nice 4-bank portables were made. I had spotted them occasionally on ebay, and got lucky a couple of weeks ago. When it arrived by mail, I discovered it was not in good shape at all: dirty, feet missing, no pulling cord for the carriage. I could replace the feet with perfectly fitting items sold as door stoppers at a local warehouse. The cleaning was quickly done - at this occasion I discovered the carriage could be taken off very easily by opening two latches on the back of the typewriter. Replacing the drawing cord was a bit of an exercise, fiddling around to find the good length for the string (I used a very thin metal string used in ship model making) and the right tension for the spring. Et voilà:

Stoewer portable typewriter n° 124002

door stoppers as new feet. notice also the latch on the outer corner, easy release for the carriage

Now, the fate of the Stoewer factory was somewhat unfortunate. As of 1926, the Bernhard Stoewer A.G. met with economic difficulties. Although the typewriter production was doing well, with high demand especially for the Kleinschreibmaschine - the portable -, sales of sewing machines and bicycles sharply declined, so that the overall economic situation of the entreprise was gloomy. A rescue attempt in 1929 did not yield success, and in August 1930 production came to a halt, followed by the liquidation of the company in 1931.
This was unfortunate, as by this time, Stoewer had developed a successor model of the Stoewer Portable, which was essentially ready for production. This improved model was designed by the prolific Viennese engineer Leopold Ferdinand Pascher (1896 - ca. 1945).
At this point, Rheinmetall, a German guns and artillery producer who had started producing typewriters in an attempt to diversify production after World War I, bought the new typewriter and equipment. It was placed in production as Rheinmetall portable in 1931.

Rheinmetall portable, n° 258439

The two models are quite similar, already from the outside. Notice the ribbon selector button, the overall shape, and the equally detachable carriage.

This is it (for today).

Besuch der Schreibmaschinensammlung Egarter

noreply@blogger.com (shordzi) — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 13:49:00 +0000

English summary: Visit to the private collection of H. Egarter in Baldramsdorf, Austria. It's great!!

Nach unserem Treffen im Appenzell war es mir eine grosse Freude, auch persönlich bei meinem Sammlerfreund Helmut in Baldramsdorf vorbeizuschauen und die Schreibmaschinensammlung Egarter in Augenschein zu nehmen. Baldramsdorf liegt bei Spittal an der Drau im südlichsten österreichischen Bundesland, Kärnten.

Helmuts Sammlung ist wunderschön präsentiert und umfasst neben Schreibmaschinen auch Rechenmaschinen, Farbbanddosen, umfangreiche Literatur, Serviceanleitungen, und andere Kuriositäten. Eine kleine Werkstatt ist in die Sammlung integriert.

Neben vielen "antiken" Maschinen findet man auch die eine oder andere "moderne" Schreibmaschine.

Einen besonderen Ehrenplatz haben die Blickensderfer Schreibmaschinen, von denen Helmut eine Vielzahl von Varianten versammelt hat:

Auch die Portable Maschinen (Kleinschreibmaschinen) kommen nicht zu kurz, hier wiederum mit Hauptaugenmerk auf Remington.

Bei dieser Erika "M" - die ich persönlich für die beste aller Kleinschreibmaschinen halte - gibt es ein sehr interessantes Accessoire, nämlich Aufsätze für Spezialzeichen, z.B. aus der Mathematik. Dadurch musste man sich nicht gleich eine extra Schreibmaschine kaufen, um Sonderzeichen tippen zu können.

Auch die "Typsonne" ist ein recht exotisches Zubehör. Sie diente dazu, die Lichtstrahlen auf die gerade geschriebenen Buchstaben zu lenken und somit die Sichtbarkeit des Geschriebenen zu erhöhen. Nice to have, weite Verbreitung hat sie aber nicht gefunden.

Hier ein buntes Sammelsurium an Farbbanddosen, aus Metall wie auch Bakelit oder Pappe.

Ein weiteres Highlight ist diese fantastisch erhaltene Williams Schreibmaschine, deren "Grashüpfermechanismus" immer aufs Neue fasziniert.

Im Anblick von Schreibmaschinen für japanische Schriftzeichen bin ich immer sehr dankbar, dass unser Alphabet auf 26 Buchstaben begrenzt ist. Untenstehendes Modell erinnert von der Funktionsweise an die Zeigerschreibmaschine a la Mignon. Mit dem Hebel wird die Suchöse auf die gewünschte Position gebracht (also über das gefragte Schriftzeichen) und dann die Letter gedruckt.

Sollten Sie in oder in der Nähe von Kärnten weilen, dürfen Sie sich einen Besuch dieser schönen Sammlung nicht entgehen lassen. Ich zog erfreut und um eine feine Schreibmaschinenerfahrung reicher von dannen.