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1934 Rheinmetall Portable Serial # 173190 1934 Rheinmetall Portable typewriter, Serial # 173190 Zigmund Hostutler's 1934 Rheinmetall Portable typewriter. 2025-07-28 From the Virtual Typewriter Collection of Zigmund Hostutler: 1934 Rheinmetall Portable Serial # 173190 Pica; QWERTZ modified to QWERTY layout.

The story of the Rheinmetall portable (or, Kleinschreibmaschine) really begins in the 1920s with the Stoewer-designed portables. Robert Messenger has done some excellent work researching these models, and I highly recommend reading his articles. In a nutshell, when Stoewer went out of business, Rheinmetall AG bought the design rights to their portable and made a number of modifications in the early 1930s.

The result was their own portable, debuting in 1931. These are very robust and modular machines. Like the Stoewer, the carriage is removed by releasing two levers at the back of the chassis. Typebars are easily removed without tools (see photos). The platen is removed by unscrewing both platen knbos, and the carriage is a skeleton shift with on-feet adjustments made by four accessible screws, two on either side. All of this makes for a very repairman-friendly typewriter, which is a blessing since service manuals aren't currently available.

My example has the tabulator mechanism, which isn't often found on pre-war Rheinmetalls. Tabs are set and cleared by two levers on the back of the carriage. Pulling both forward sets a tab, while pushing both back will clear it. This feature doesn't work too well on my machine. The serial number is stamped on the right side of the carriage rail bracket. Interestingly, another number is stamped on the chassis and carriage. I don't know what this second number means; at the very least, both numbers matching indicate the carriage is original to this machine.

This was one of those "happy accident" eBay finds. I was hunting for a different machine when this popped up in New Mexico, of all places. It came to me in pretty poor shape: badly faded, very dirty, smelly, and with parts missing. At some point, someone crudely swapped the Z and Y keys to convert this to QWERTY. A "frame-up restoration" in 2021 brought it around, although it's still not perfect. It writes a lot like what you'd imagine a typewriter built by an artillery company would. It's blunt, purposeful, and extremely loud. Nevertheless, I'm happy to have it in my collection and to be able to share it with the wider community.

Serial number 173 190 indicates this was built in 1934. The QWERTZ keyboard with Reichsmark symbol suggests it was originally sold in Germany.

1934 Rheinmetall Portable #173190

Status: My Collection
Hunter: Zigmund Hostutler (Qwerpty)
Created: 07-28-2025 at 08:34AM
Last Edit: 07-28-2025 at 11:38AM

Description Hunter 25 Photos 1 Like  Find on Ebay #AD  Find on Etsy #AD

Description:

Pica; QWERTZ modified to QWERTY layout.

The story of the Rheinmetall portable (or, Kleinschreibmaschine) really begins in the 1920s with the Stoewer-designed portables. Robert Messenger has done some excellent work researching these models, and I highly recommend reading his articles. In a nutshell, when Stoewer went out of business, Rheinmetall AG bought the design rights to their portable and made a number of modifications in the early 1930s.

The result was their own portable, debuting in 1931. These are very robust and modular machines. Like the Stoewer, the carriage is removed by releasing two levers at the back of the chassis. Typebars are easily removed without tools (see photos). The platen is removed by unscrewing both platen knbos, and the carriage is a skeleton shift with on-feet adjustments made by four accessible screws, two on either side. All of this makes for a very repairman-friendly typewriter, which is a blessing since service manuals aren't currently available.

My example has the tabulator mechanism, which isn't often found on pre-war Rheinmetalls. Tabs are set and cleared by two levers on the back of the carriage. Pulling both forward sets a tab, while pushing both back will clear it. This feature doesn't work too well on my machine. The serial number is stamped on the right side of the carriage rail bracket. Interestingly, another number is stamped on the chassis and carriage. I don't know what this second number means; at the very least, both numbers matching indicate the carriage is original to this machine.

This was one of those "happy accident" eBay finds. I was hunting for a different machine when this popped up in New Mexico, of all places. It came to me in pretty poor shape: badly faded, very dirty, smelly, and with parts missing. At some point, someone crudely swapped the Z and Y keys to convert this to QWERTY. A "frame-up restoration" in 2021 brought it around, although it's still not perfect. It writes a lot like what you'd imagine a typewriter built by an artillery company would. It's blunt, purposeful, and extremely loud. Nevertheless, I'm happy to have it in my collection and to be able to share it with the wider community.

Serial number 173 190 indicates this was built in 1934. The QWERTZ keyboard with Reichsmark symbol suggests it was originally sold in Germany.

Typeface Specimen:

Links:

Photos:


















Front paper feed rollers had disintegrated on this machine, which is why they are missing in this photo.
Front paper feed rollers had disintegrated on this machine, which is why they are missing in this photo.

With the carriage removed you can hold down this lever...
With the carriage removed you can hold down this lever...

... and easily remove typebars.
... and easily remove typebars.

Before restoration
Before restoration





Hunter: Zigmund Hostutler (Qwerpty)

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Been enjoying the hobby since 2015; finally getting around to sharing my collection digitally. I only keep the typewriters I use and enjoy the most, so check out my sightings to see all the machines that came and went.


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

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