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1888 Kosmopolit Kosmopolit Serial # none 1888 Kosmopolit Kosmopolit typewriter, Serial # none Martin Howard's 1888 Kosmopolit Kosmopolit typewriter. 2025-01-14 From the Virtual Typewriter Collection of Martin Howard: 1888 Kosmopolit Kosmopolit Serial # none The Kosmopolit (Cosmopolitan) is a sophisticated, beautifully engineered linear index typewriter introduced in 1888 by sewing machine manufacturer Guhl & Harbeck of Hamburg. It succeeded their first typewriter, the Hammonia (1884), Europe’s first commercially successful typewriter.

Unlike machines designed for speed, the Kosmopolit focused on producing high-quality, print-like writing. It achieved precise alignment through an impressive curved segment comb and typed directly onto paper using an ink pad. Its versatility stemmed from thirteen interchangeable rubber index plates (six were provided with each new machine), easily swapped by loosening a single screw. These plates allowed users to change fonts and type in different languages by pairing the rubber index plate with a corresponding paper index. Seen below is the rubber index plate from this typewriter. After 140 years, the rubber is usually missing from this part but remarkably it is still present.

Typing involved using the black knob on the lever: swinging it to select a character, then pressing it down into the segment comb. Switching between cases and characters required moving the lever forward or backward, aligning the second row of rubber characters and shifting the paper index, which displays one row of characters at a time.

The Kosmopolit was Guhl & Harbeck’s final typewriter. The company later produced the well-crafted Jupiter pencil sharpeners. While the Kosmopolit was exported across Europe, it found limited success, with advertising ceasing by 1903.

To learn more about the Kosmopolit, please visit my website antiquetypewriters.com

1888 Kosmopolit Kosmopolit #none

Status: My Collection
Hunter: Martin Howard (MartinHoward)
Created: 01-14-2025 at 04:10PM
Last Edit: 01-14-2025 at 04:17PM

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Description:

The Kosmopolit (Cosmopolitan) is a sophisticated, beautifully engineered linear index typewriter introduced in 1888 by sewing machine manufacturer Guhl & Harbeck of Hamburg. It succeeded their first typewriter, the Hammonia (1884), Europe’s first commercially successful typewriter.

Unlike machines designed for speed, the Kosmopolit focused on producing high-quality, print-like writing. It achieved precise alignment through an impressive curved segment comb and typed directly onto paper using an ink pad. Its versatility stemmed from thirteen interchangeable rubber index plates (six were provided with each new machine), easily swapped by loosening a single screw. These plates allowed users to change fonts and type in different languages by pairing the rubber index plate with a corresponding paper index. Seen below is the rubber index plate from this typewriter. After 140 years, the rubber is usually missing from this part but remarkably it is still present.

Typing involved using the black knob on the lever: swinging it to select a character, then pressing it down into the segment comb. Switching between cases and characters required moving the lever forward or backward, aligning the second row of rubber characters and shifting the paper index, which displays one row of characters at a time.

The Kosmopolit was Guhl & Harbeck’s final typewriter. The company later produced the well-crafted Jupiter pencil sharpeners. While the Kosmopolit was exported across Europe, it found limited success, with advertising ceasing by 1903.

To learn more about the Kosmopolit, please visit my website antiquetypewriters.com

Typeface Specimen:

Hunter: Martin Howard (MartinHoward)

Martin Howard's Typewriter Galleries [ My Collection ] [ My Sightings ]

Status: Typewriter Hunter
Points: 259

I am a collector of 19th century typewriters and have built a collection that shows the remarkable ingenuity and beauty of the world's first typewriters. I have always been interested in the beginnings of a machine when there is an eruption of approaches to making it. Early typewriters are an exceptional example of this incubation period.

My collection can be seen at antiquetypewriters.com


RESEARCH NOTE: When researching the Kosmopolit Kosmopolit on a computer with lots of screen real estate, you may find that launching the Kosmopolit Serial Number page and the Kosmopolit Kosmopolit By Model/Year/Serial page in new browser windows can give you interesting perspectives on changes throughout the model series.

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