1941 Groma S #140311
Status: My Collection
Created: 09-28-2016 at 11:13AM
Last Edit: 10-12-2016 at 04:08AM
Description:
I need help with this one.
I spotted this huge beast several months ago, and last week it was my birthday, so I thought it would be a great auto-gift. So far so good.
The monster arrived inside a dense package, extremely well protected. Flawless shipping, and that´s no small feat for such an enormous typewriter which is almost 90 cm long (3 feet!). So far, so good.
It works fine. It needs cleaning, oil and a new ribbon, but it definitely works pretty nicely. It´s ultra stable and reliable. So far, so good.
But here comes trouble...
I don´t know what typewriter I am looking at. I´m just guessing this is a modell S by looking at the dates, and that leads me to the second problem I have:
I can´t find the serial number.
And I can´t find anything about standard sized Gromas. The only thing I´ve found is at Scott Kernaghan´s blog (see links), and there it says I´ve bumped into Hitler´s typewriter. Well, a typewriter of the same model as the one found in Hitler´s bunker. That´s good for giving it a bit of... I don´t know what. I guess I can put it next to my Adler 7, which was the typewriter model they had at the first nazi party headquarters in the 30´s... (fact taken from a British WWII encyclopedia)
But the real problem is that there seems to be very little info about larger Gromas. This is a typewriter I know nothing about, and any kind of help would be much appreciated.
--- UPDATE ---
Finally found the s/n with the aid of a flashlight and a magnifying glass. And typeface added, of course.
Typeface Specimen:
Links:
Photos:
Hunter: Javier Vazquez del Olmo (Javi)
Javier Vazquez del Olmo's Typewriter Galleries [ My Collection ] [ My Sightings ]
Status: Typewriter Hunter
Points: 5721
The first typewriter I saw was my grandpa´s Olivetti Linea 98 at the office. It was just a curio for me. Then I was given a Nakajima, which I didn´t use and my grandfather took it from me because it was easier to handle than the bulky Linea 98. Now I own that typewriter, and I started a little collection in Valladolid, Spain. The Nakajima, which is "my" typewriter only returned home in 2017, almost 20 years later, when he wanted a better typewriter.
A collection that started small grew into something bigger, a nuisace for my family and a great source of satisfaction for me.
RESEARCH NOTE: When researching the Groma S on a computer with lots of screen real estate, you may find that launching the Groma Serial Number page and the Groma S By Model/Year/Serial page in new browser windows can give you interesting perspectives on changes throughout the model series.
