Antique Mercedes Typewriter. Working. Germany, Circa 1930

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Antique Mercedes Typewriter. Working. Germany, Circa 1930

Antique Mercedes typewriter made in Germany circa 1930, in amazing condition and very good working order. This item shows a classic and solid design – the body has straight lines and is made of black-enameled metal, while the keyboard has German black symbols on ivory-white background. The decals with the brand name Mercedes over the carriage and at the front are original and remain very well preserved, just like the ones at the back side of the typewriter. All the component parts and pieces are in good condition and make it possible type documents fluidly, with clear and neat results. The keys have the typical nickel-plated reinforcement rings, a feature which makes a fine contrast with the matt black enameled finish.

This antique Mercedes typewriter is a wonderful piece, almost one century old and in excellent working order.

Mercedes Typewriters - History

The Mercedes Büromaschinen-Werke AG was founded in 1906 by Gustav Mez in Berlin, and from the beginning they focused their production in office machines. With the intention of designing a typewriter, Mez hired the engineer Franz Zühler and in 1907 they launched their first model, the Mercedes No. 1. The typerwriter had several malfunctions and had to be improved, so in 1907 Carl Schlüns designed a new model, the Mercedes No. 2. In those days the company only employed 120 workers and could just produce four typewriters a day, so Mez decided to move the factory to Thüringen Wald, a place where experienced mechanics could be hired. In the two following decades, different models were launched and over 300000 typewriters were manufactured. The company also produced calculators and an electric typewriter. After the Great Depression the firm started to decay and was acquired by Underwood. When World War II came to an end, production continued in East Germany. The firm ceased in 1990.