Lambert

I recently joined Frank in the Lambert Club. His is a model 1, mine (serial number 4329) a model 2. Ever since I started collecting, this machine has exerted a strange fascination over me. I find it incredibly beautiful, and the life story of Frank Lambert is testimony of genius inventorship. We still know little about the likely co-developer, Eugène R. Pastre.

So I finally jumped on an occasion to buy one. A particularly well-preserved specimen. I preferred to see it with my own eyes before buying, so this was no e-bay transaction. I had seen Lamberts in the wild before, and very early on in my collecting career even passed on a (seen in retrospect) very good offer at a French collectors meeting. Prices for Lamberts are quite stiff, which on the one hand can be explained by the fact that is commonly agreed that the Lambert is a sought after model. But then, if it is true that 30.000 units were produced (cumulative US, GB and French production), and if the price is a function of the offer available, I cannot but reiterate the question Peter Muckermann asked 20 years ago: what happened to all those Lamberts? They fetch high prices at auctions, maybe a bit less so compared to 10, 15 years ago. Price lists like the one available for members of the IFHB confirm high level prices. Then again, there is other auction results where the Lambert scored much less.

Be it as it may, here it is, at my home. I attach some pictures as preview. My new pet project now it to  restore the writing function to a good level. The machine in the state it arrived did print, some letters better than others, but ok in general. Upon closer inspection of the manual and the actual ink-pad, I concluded that it is seriously worn out. As I haven't found original new old stocks of Lambert ink-pads, I am currently carefully experimenting with replacement material, and ink. To be continued...