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This Nazi era Continental typewriter with original carrying case is **SOLD**

• Tell us the zip code of where you want the typewriter delivered and we will quote postage.

• IF you wish to purchase highly recommended, but optional insurance, add $2.95.

• We will be happy to ship abroad at additional cost.  Please inquire.

Wanderer-Werke AG of Siegmar-Schönau, Germany was a conglomerate making a wide variety of consumer products (cars, bicycles, trucks, motorcycles, machine tools and office machines) during the Third Reich.   Among their most successful products was their line of high quality typewriters.

The Wanderer Continental line of typewriters consisted of two large office models and a smaller portable that was available with a carrying case. All three models used the same keyboard characters for typing material intended to be sent anywhere in the world. In her biography, Hitler's secretary Traudl Junge mentioned that she used a Continental Silenta at the Reichschancellery for her typing work.

The machine we offer here (serial number RO34163) is all original, works well and is still in its original black imitation alligator case that measures 5-1/2 x 11-3/8 x 12-1/4 inches. It weighs 14 pounds and has the name and address of the typewriter retailer that sold it on a brass tag riveted on the top left portion of the chassis above the keyboard. The tag says LUDWIG THOMA KARLSBAD. Those knowledgeable about the Third Reich will know that the beautiful spa town of Karlsbad had that name only from 1938 through 1945. Between 1918 and 1938 and after 1945 the name of the city has always been Karlovy Vary.

The typewriter works just fine with the remains of the ribbon it had in it when some GI captured it in Germany and brought it home as war booty. We suspect that with a good cleaning and a little adjustment here and there it will work very well. It shows very little wear on the moving parts. The case has a few dings but looks very presentable.

The only two things that we can find that are clearly missing are one of the four pegs that the typewriter base sits on in the case and the corresponding rubber foot on the outside of the bottom of the case, and the leather handle that once graced the front of the case.

If you need a nice representative example of a genuine Third Reich typewriter, you probably could not do better than this. For the sake of history it should be noted that only typewriters made in Germany after 1941 were supposed to be required to have an SS key (typewriters ordered by the SS before that, also had the SS key) so this one was probably made in between 1935 and 1940. Collectors should know that there are plenty of people in Europe adding SS keys and hammers to typewriters just like this one all the time.