1938 Mercedes Deutsche Underwood #113994/1
Status: Sightings
Hunter: Brian Decker (bkdecker66)
Created: 07-04-2026 at 07:43AM
Last Edit: 09-07-2026 at 07:26AM
Find on Ebay #AD
Find on Etsy #AD
Description:
2026-SEP-06 Update. I created this gallery prior to making the arrangement with Trudy Meakin Rogers to document her father's collection on TWDB. I am updating this gallery to reflect that it is part of the Mike Meakin collection, to add links to the Mike Meakin gallery thread, and to replace some of the images with updated ones.
This typewriter is from the Mike Meakin collection. Mike was the owner of Abacus Office Machines in Spokane, WA, which he started in 1961. Mike retired in 1992, leaving the operation of the business to his children. In addition to running a successful office machine business, Mike was an avid typewriter and adding machine collector, whose collection grew to over 450 machines over time. Mike passed away in 2025, and his children are now gradually selling off his collection. His daughter, Trudy, has graciously allowed me to create TWDB galleries for Mike's machines, to add to our knowledge base.
2026-AUG-08 Update: Based on a 2024 gallery posting for a Deutsche Underwood by Paolo dal Chiele, which I had not noticed before, and comments added by James Grooms today on both galleries, I am reclassifying this as a 1938 Mercedes Deutsche Underwood.
2026-JUL-04, Original Gallery Creation. Spotted this "Deutsche Underwood" 4-bank portable on eBay this morning. Listed 7/2/26 by the "squirttrudy" seller based in Spokane, WA: $300 OBO asking price. I decided to create a gallery because I have not seen this badging for an Underwood 4-bank before, with the Gothic lettering for the word "Deutsche". Apparently sold by a Berlin-based subsidiary of Underwood Elliot Fisher, "DEUTSCHE UNDERWOOD ELLIOT FISHER G.M.B.H / BERLIN W.8". I am not sure what the "/1" in the serial number signifies. I assume the base number, "113994", indicates a 1928 manufacture date; the machine looks like a typical late-20s early-30s Underwood 4-bank portable.
Typeface Specimen:
Links:
- Paolo dal Chiele’s 1940 Mercedes Deutsche Underwood
- Previous Meakin gallery, Remington (Sperry-Rand) Monarch-2 # X 32 67 93
- Next Meakin gallery, Continental Klein Portable #R243146 (1938)
Photos:
Hunter: Brian Decker (bkdecker66)
Brian Decker's Typewriter Galleries [ My Collection ] [ My Sightings ]
Status: Typewriter Hunter
Points: 7124
My interest in typewriters started in 1997, when I was in graduate school at the University of Georgia. I purchased and read Darryl Rehr's book, joined ETC, and started reaching out to known collectors. I had several email interchanges with Richard Polt dating from that period. I also bought some of my first machines from Bob Aubert, and visited him at his home twice. After marriage and relocation to New England, I continued visiting antique shops and eBay, until other priorities put my typewriter hobby on hiatus around 2008.
In late 2024, I started up again, working on my machines and having some of them serviced professionally by New England Typewriter (NET) LLC (Merrimack, NH), until they closed their doors in December of 2025. Since mid-2025, I have been adding to my collection again, first with a Hermes 3000 purchase from NET, then with various auctions and purchases on eBay, when I find something that catches my eye.
RESEARCH NOTE: When researching the Mercedes Deutsche Underwood on a computer with lots of screen real estate, you may find that launching the Mercedes Serial Number page and the Mercedes Deutsche Underwood By Model/Year/Serial page in new browser windows can give you interesting perspectives on changes throughout the model series.
