“Imagine that everything you are typing is being read by the person you are applying to for your first job. ... Imagine that it’s all going to be seen by your parents and your grandparents and your grandchildren as well.”

Sir Tim Berners-Lee (source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7299875.stm)

"We don't see things as they are, we see things as we are." Anais Nin

lies weiter...

Continental typewriter, X-large

Continental typewriter, originally uploaded by shordzi.

If you have more information on this exact model, please contact me (see "contact" on top of this blog).

Factsheet	Continental Standard
Manufacturer	Wanderer Werke AG,formely Winklhofer&Jaenicke, Sigmar-Schönau, Germany.
Model	Continental Standard (large carriage)
Serial number	440166 (produced in 1929)
Special features	Swiss (German) keyboard; long carriage (ca.16 inches)
Originally sold by	"J.F. Pfeiffer, Basel"

This machine comes from a private sale near Basel in July 2009, independent from our recent other Continental Standard typewriter, which we bought in a second hand shop. However, both typewriters were originally sold by the same shop, "J.F. Pfeiffer, Basel", and also stem from the same period, as can be deducted from the closeness of the serial numbers.

This typewriter cost 50 CHF and came in ok, but not neat condition. A bit of dusting and oiling, as usually, did the job, it now writes very neatly, and I can assure you it's good finger training to type on it!


The serial number is 440166, which, according to the Typewriter Serial Number Database would fall in the production year 1929, IF it really is a Continental Standard model. The base of the typewriter clearly looks like a Continental Standard, the carriage however is very large.

lies weiter...

Hermes 3000 typewriter

Hermes_3000_6, originally uploaded by shordzi.

Yet another portable typewriter, this time from Switzerland!

Fact sheet:
Model: Hermes 3000
Manufacturer: Paillard S.A., Yverdon, Switzerland
Serial number: 3109005 (year of production 1962)

The Hermes 3000's design changed several times over the years, starting with the classy rounder shape at first production in 1958 (various sources on the internet). Our machine is from that time. In the late 1960s, a new design was introduced (source: mrmartinweb.com), with at least two slight variations yet again in the 1970s and 1980s (see mrtypwriter.tripod.com for details & pictures). Read more on Hermes typewriters on Will Davis' site.


more photos here

lies weiter...

Continental typewriter

Continental typewriter, originally uploaded by shordzi.

The new member of our collection - Continental Standard, welcome!

Factsheet:
Model: Continental Standard
Manufacturer: Wanderer-Werke, formerly Winklhofer&Jaenicke, Sigmar-Schönau, Germany.
Special features: Swiss (German) keyboard
Serial number: 438669 (from 1929)
Weight: heavy!

We bought this nice typewriter for 65 Swiss Franks at Heilsarmee Brockenstube (a second hand shop) in Basle, Switzerland. A little plate reading "J.F.Pfeiffer, Basel", and which is attached to the front display, indicates that the typewriter was also originally sold in Basel. From the serial number 438669 we can deduct it was manufactured in 1929 (cf. the Typewriter Serial Number Database). The keyboard layout is Swiss, which means it features all Umlaut needed for German, but also the complete French accents.

The Continental came not in neat, but in ok condition. You could see it had been stored in some forgotten dusty place for decades. The carriage and some keys wouldn't move properly at first trial. A bit of dust cleaning and oil on carriage and the type mechanism, however, did the trick and restored the basic functions, i.e., we could type our first letter within a day.

The first Continental typewriter was built in 1904. Its design remained very much unchanged over the years of production (2, at p.53). The Wanderer Continental was probably the most sold German typewriter of its time (2, at p.53).



Literature:
(1) Leonhard Dingwerth, Die Geschichte der Deutschen Schreibmaschinenfabriken- Band 1: große und mittlere Hersteller, BoD – Books on Demand, 2008 (ISBN 3921913381, 9783921913383).
(2) Leonhard Dingwerth, Historische Schreibmaschinen: Geschichte, Technik und Faszination. Sammlerträume, Verlage Battenberg und Gietl, 2008 (ISBN 3866460414, 9783866460416).

lies weiter...

Sommeregger Stammbaum

Woher kommt der Name Sommeregger? Für das Projekt eines Meta-Stammbaums, siehe http://sommeregger.at/sommeregger/index.html.

Zur Darstellung der geographischen Verteilung des Familiennamen Sommeregger, siehe das GEOGEN Programm auf:
http://christoph.stoepel.net/geogen/en/Default.aspx .

Es gibt mehrere Sommeregger Stammbäume auf RODOVID.ORG, z.B. diesen hier.

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Andreas/Andrés Sommeregger

Andreas/Andrés Sommeregger (1887-1935)

Andreas Sommeregger (9.V.1887 - 1935)
Place of birth: Oberdorf bei Spittal, Kärnten
Father: Andreas Sommeregger (1850-1924)
Mother: Maria née Ertl (1859-1931)

Known lifeline:
Wanderte nach Südamerika aus.¹

notes:
1. Information CE

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Remington Portable #2

Fact sheet:
Manufacturer: Remington Rand
Model: Remington Portable #2
Serial number: V150477
Keyboard: German
Purchased in Basel, Switzerland, in Autumn 2008.

This Remington Portable has a rather small font, a lovely feature - you can fit many words, tighly written, in one page.

When was it made? Usually, a typewriter is easy to date with the help of the Typewriter Serial Number Database. This time, however, we cannot be so sure. According to Richard Polt's Remington Portables' page, #2 production started in February 1925, SN V131518 was made in December 1928. Our #2 with the SN V150477 is thus post-1928 produced. Should you have any information which would allow for more precise dating (such as - ideally - original manufacturer's lists), please share them with us!

lies weiter...