1965 Adler Tippa 1 #4580688
Status: My Collection
Hunter: Fumitaka Hayashi (fhayashi)
Created: 10-23-2026 at 06:40PM
Last Edit: 10-23-2026 at 06:44PM
Description:
An Adler Tippa 1.
An unexpected find at a local antique store.
I had been meaning to visit this local antique store - Awesome Antiques in Pearl River, NY, which is just over the state border from where I live in northern New Jersey. The owner is a very nice gentleman, and the store is *absolutely* full of stuff. He has all sorts of things, from vintage toys, to art, to what I think is is main interest - military antiques.
I asked if he had any typewriters, and he said he did. It took a few minutes to dig out from under the other antiques, and he pulled out an ultraportable that I did not initially recognize. Upon opening it, I saw that it was an Adler Tippa 1. The price was fair, and it looked to be in good condition, without any broken or missing parts, so I purchased it.
It cleaned up rather nicely, and the sticky keys responded well to mineral spirits. The typeface is a very pretty 10 cpi typeface, called Esquire in the Adler typeface catalog, but called #88 Bruxelles in the RaRo catalog.
The typewriter is pretty smooth, especially the carriage slide. There is a ribbon color selector, but no touch adjust or tab feature. Like many ultra-portables, the 'case' is just a lid, and the bottom of the typewriter has a cover which serves as the bottom of the case. The case lid and the body shell are plastic, and the bottom cover is metal. One positive thing about plastic bodies is that it is relatively easy to polish with the right products. There are some scratches, likely due to the carriage return lever, but otherwise I have been able to polish the plastic back to being shiny. There is a hairline crack on the ribbon cover - I have put some crazy glue on the back of the crack in an attempt to prevent any further cracking.
The only other thing that was wrong was that the rubber grommet that holds the ribbon spool cover down had hardened and become crispy. I have ordered some grommets from McMaster-Carr, and will note the size here if it turns out to be the right size.
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Acquired from Awesome Antiques in Pearl River, NY.
Typeface Specimen:
Links:
Photos:
Hunter: Fumitaka Hayashi (fhayashi)
Fumitaka Hayashi's Typewriter Galleries [ My Collection ] [ My Sightings ]
Status: Typewriter Hunter
Points: 1638
Trying very hard to be more judicious in my acquisitions...
I like interesting typefaces. I like tinkering with my acquisitions to make them work.
RESEARCH NOTE: When researching the Adler Tippa 1 on a computer with lots of screen real estate, you may find that launching the Adler Serial Number page and the Adler Tippa 1 By Model/Year/Serial page in new browser windows can give you interesting perspectives on changes throughout the model series.






























