1921 Adler Klein Adler #185090
Status: My Collection
Hunter: Reinier Verkleij (DonaldDutchie)
Created: 06-15-2023 at 11:17AM
Last Edit: 11-15-2023 at 08:31AM
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Description:
The Adler Klein-Adler or Adler Adler! Not sure why some of the machines made around 1917-1921 had "Adler" written on it instead of "Klein-Adler". If you know more about this, I would love to know!
The Klein Adler is one of few typewriters I own that use a peculiar mechanism to put writing on paper. When pressing the keycap down, a small arm pushes forward. The letterarm has a small hook that slots in the small arm, putting the letter on paper. The letterarm has three characters on it, and is 4/5th of an inch high. In another typewriter I have, the ribbon vibrator would push the ribbon up higher to accommodate the elevated position of the character. This typewriter has a ribbon as wide as the letterarm. The machine uses a carriage-shift to change the letter, and the carriage moves down.
(Tdlr at the bottom)
As you may have been able to tell, the Adler I have does not have the usual decal on it reading “Adlerwerke …” etc. This typewriter has “L Fles & Co Amsterdam - Rotterdam - Groningen - Arnhem - Utrecht” decaled on the top of the machine. The wooden case I have for it says “L Fles & Co Amsterdam - Rotterdam - Den Haag - Arnhem - Zwolle”.
Not knowing anything about the company, I tried researching the company’s name on the internet, and I found some advertisements and one picture of a storefront.
The first advertisement I found, made by J. H. Morien read:
‘N Adler voor iedereen
66 cent per dag
Grootst aantal doorslagen
5 jaar garantie
Meer dan 200.000 in gebruik
L Fles & Co
Which translates to:
An Adler for everyone
66 cents per day
Highest number of carbon copies
5 years of warranty
Over 200.000 in use
L Fles & Co
66 guilder cents a day in 1921 would equate to 5,20 eur or about 6 dollars a day. In 1930 this would have been 6,50 or about 7 dollars a day. Deflation after the first world war explains the increase in value of the guilder.
This advertisement suggests that the company used to both rent them out and sell them. The reason why the name of the company is inscribed on the typewriter and the wooden case is likely due to a sizable order being placed, along with a special request for the change in decal.
The second advertisement I found reads:
Het eenige speciale adres voor
RECLAME
Billetten, affiches, kaarten,
kalenders en toegiftartikelen is
L Fles & Co
(Address) Amsterdam
Succursale te Antwerpen:
(Address)
Monsters FRANCO op aanvrage
Which translates to:
The only dedicated address for
ADVERTISEMENTS
Billets, posters, cards,
calendars and encores is
L Fles & Co
(Address) Amsterdam
Branch in Antwerp:
(Address)
Samples POSTAGE PAID per request
The address in Amsterdam that is printed on the advertisement leads to a decommissioned warehouse on the Amstel(Now a canal house). Sadly, there is no picture I could find to compare with. The address in Antwerp also exists, but like the address in Amsterdam, there is no picture from back then, nor any signs of an office or warehouse at the location.
I did manage to find a picture of one of their stores in the Netherlands, which is the one stationed in The Hague. The picture shadows the storefront, with the old address plate on the side, beautiful wood accents, and some text written on the glass, the wooden frame, and sign inside the store. Two signs stand out; one mentions “Linten” or “ribbons” and another partial sign that reads “ler schr” which I assume actually read “Adler schrijfmachines” which translates to “Adler typewriters”.
The names painted on the wooden accents of this storefront read “Batava Soerabaya Arnhem ‘s Gravenhage Rotterdam Amsterdam”. “‘s Gravenhage” would be Den Haag or The Hague. The first two names, “Batava” and “Soerabaya” are Jakarta and Surabaya, two cities in Indonesia. This means they set up shop in the (former) Dutch East Indies.
I managed to find this store on Google maps as well as the one in Antwerp and Amsterdam. With the picture, I was able to compare and see what has changed since then. The storefront has been changed completely; now made of black marble/granite. The street sign has been removed. Either the sidewalk was lowered or the road was elevated(probably the latter). Pillars on the apartments above were altered; traces of this change can be found where the paint has chipped.
Tldr: An advertisement store that also sold and rented out Adler typewriters.
Typeface Specimen:
Photos:
Hunter: Reinier Verkleij (DonaldDutchie)
Reinier Verkleij's Typewriter Galleries [ My Collection ] [ My Sightings ]
Status: Typewriter Hunter
Points: 1754
22 year old Dutch collector. Interested in any era of typewriters except for most post 1980's machines.
RESEARCH NOTE: When researching the Adler Klein Adler on a computer with lots of screen real estate, you may find that launching the Adler Serial Number page and the Adler Klein Adler By Model/Year/Serial page in new browser windows can give you interesting perspectives on changes throughout the model series.
