Antique Continental Typewriter. Germany, Circa 1915

Superb antique Continental typewriter, made in Germany circa 1915 and in really good condition. The piece mounts a solid cast-iron body with a fine shiny black-enameled finish. The body shows off the classic side and rear openings which make the machine lighter and let us see the intricate inner mechanism that makes it work. This mechanism is in very good condition too so the typewriter works perfectly and can be perfectly used to type documents. It mounts German keyboard with indications in that language and letters with umlaut, as well as German letters too. The black enamel that covers the iron body is greatly preserved, regular, shiny and with no remarkable traces of rust. The typewriter preserves the original decals, images and inscription in fine condition. The image located over the keyboard is the most remarkable one: it is a big-sized antique sepia-colored engraving which depicts an image of the German Wanderer-Werke factory. This image is surrounded by a green frame with the brand name CONTINENTAL printed in capital letters. Over the carriage there is another antique sticker in red and white colors, slightly worn. At the back of the typewriter we can see the complete patent list, printed in golden lettering. The chome-plated mobile component parts and the keyboard (composed of black keys with ochre symbols) are also finely preserved and provide a fluid and soft operation. Every lover of antique mechanical pieces will with find a real pleasure in typing documents with this antique Continental typewriter.Continental Typewriter - HistoryContinental typewriters were manufactured and sold by Wanderer-Werke, a German company founded in 1896 as Winklhofer & Jaenicke by J. B. Winklhofer and R. A. Jaenicke. In the beginning the business made bicycles and machinery tools, but in the early 20th century they started to manufacture typewriters, cars and military vehicles. In 1911 the company adopted the Wanderer name; this word means rover, which was the name of the first bicycle designed by John Kemp Starley (credited as the inventor of this vehicle). The first Continental typewriter was launched in 1903; in the following decades, the company produced different models of the series. Probably the most famous one was the Klein-Continental, a functional portable model sold between 1929 and 1948.