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1920 PORTABLE TYPEWRITERS P I C T U R E G A L L E R Y
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GUNDKA » MW « PORTABLE ( The Character Cylinder was temporary fixed by a thread ) SN = 12433 GUNDKA (1924) Brandenburg (Havel) / Germany Index Selection pica 10 cpi; 66 cpl 5/16" (= 8 mm) Ribbon W * D * H = 10_1/4" * 9" * 4" 26 cm * 23 cm * 10 cm 3 lbs ; 1.5 kg DESIGNED AS A TOY, THE CHARACTER-SET IS INTERESTING: (1st) The amount of "Specials" is impressive ... /$£%§¼½¾1234567890&:!?"'()@_ ===>>> ZXQKJGBMPCFLD;-ETHARISOUNWYV <<<=== zxqkjgbmpcfld,.etharisounwyv ... (2nd) The arrangement is "optimized": The most used characters are in the middle !!! see down !!! THERE IS ANOTHER GUNDKA IN THE COLLECTION: »MODEL-III« / SN = 23610 Back to the Typewriter Overview |
HISTORICAL REMARKS:
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based on the book of Michael Adler »Antique Typewriters« (1997)
This cute machine was invented 1924 by Paul Muchajer and mass produced
by the toy company GUNDKA-WERKE in Brandenburg / Germany. It was NOT
SEEN AS A TOY but used for serious work. An indicator, operated by the
right hand, select the font from a curved index. Pressed down it brings
the font cylinder with its lower case letters in contact with ribbon
and paper. The carriage made one step forward when released. When the
yellow key is pressed together with the indicator, capital letters are
selected. When the blue key is pressed instead, numbers and symbols are
selected. A space is made by pressing the red key. To bring back the
carriage by hand, the red key has to be hold simultaniously. Shifting
the platform right or left makes the ribbon spool forward or backward.
Type wheel and letter index were easily interchangeable and the machine
was widely sold throughout the world under different names, eg.:
BAMBINO, FROLIO, GEFRO, G&K, GUNDKA, MW, PERLIA, SCRIPTA, WRITE EASY.
A cheaply made copy of the machine, labelled JUNIOR, was made by EMG of
Dover in England during the 1930s and marketed as a toy.
The metal toy company GUNDKA was founded ca.1900 as "Geppert & Kelch".
GUESSES: »GUNDKA« = "G._und_K." ??? »MW« = "MiniWriter"
R E M A R K S T O R E S T O R A T I O N :
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(1) Left LID-ANCHOR was missing ( see the right one dismounted, right)
2 ANCHORS (= functionality) made of WIRE HOOKS & WOOD PLUG, glued
(2) CHARACTER CYLINDER CLIP was missing - A new made of a PAPER CLIP
(3) How to get a NEW RIBBON for this old machine ???
There are cartridges for MATRIX-Printers on the market with
5/16" (= 8 mm) NYLON-Ribbons. You have to open and respool ...
