1899 Diskret code typewriter #594
Status: My Collection
Hunter: Martin Howard (MartinHoward)
Created: 05-06-2022 at 06:17PM
Last Edit: 12-03-2022 at 05:52PM
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Description:
The Diskret is a beautifully designed index typewriter with a special ability, the means to send a coded or cyphered message in addition to operating as a regular typewriter.
To send a coded message the sender and receiver offset the inner index on their Diskret machines by the same amount by rotating it against the outer stationary index. Then one types using the inner index, scrambling the typed message as the characters on the outer index are typed. To read the cyphered message one looks for the characters in the cypher, one by one, on the outer index and then looks at the paired character on the inner index. One is not able to directly type out the uncoded message but one could write the message out on a piece of paper.
To type one simply selects the characters with the rotatable central handle and then one pushes the lever down on the left hand side of the wooden base which causes the carriage assembly, with the vertical typewheel, to descend and print on the paper. Inking is achieved with two ink rollers.
The Diskret is lavishly adorned with cast Art Nouveau motifs. In Germany the Art Nouveau movement was called Jugendstil (youth – style) and combined floral ornaments and flowing lines. The members of the movement were reacting against the neo- classicism of the official art and architecture. Art Nouveau artists sought to integrate art with the everyday, producing beautiful objects to elevate people’s lives. With these Jugendstil decorations adorning the Diskret, the Diskret is elevated to an exceptional object of functionality and art.
To learn more about the Diskret 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: 255
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 Diskret code typewriter on a computer with lots of screen real estate, you may find that launching the Diskret Serial Number page and the Diskret code typewriter By Model/Year/Serial page in new browser windows can give you interesting perspectives on changes throughout the model series.
