FRISTER & ROSSMANN YEAR 1904 

Frister & Rossmann typewriter, manufactured in about 1904, by the company Frister & Rossman AG, in Berlin, Germany. The "Frister & Rossmann" was the first lever machine made in Germany. It was not a German invention, but a replica of the American "Caligraph" machine, which was developed by George Yost, with the help of Franz Xaver Wagner, James Densmore and Walter J. Barron, in New York and from which the first launch was launched. model in the United States in 1882. Many of these names were the "fathers" of the typewriter. It is a rare and collectible piece, with a not very extensive production. It is a very original machine due to its aesthetics since it presents, under the keyboard, a metal part with the logo where you can rest your hands as you type. The writing system is hidden, the type bars hit the paper below the carriage, and we don't see what we write. To do this you have to lift the car. The rate bars are arranged in a semicircle commonly called a "bird's nest". It is made of cast iron, but since it is very primitive, wooden parts have also been used. It uses a wide 30mm spool, instead of the normal 16mm. The system that allows the carriage to advance as we write is unique and very curious, formed by a vertical bar at the rear. This Frister & Rossmann machine is kept in very good condition and works properly. 

HISTORY: 

Frister & Rossmann was a sewing machine factory founded by Gustav Rossmann in 1864, in which Robert Frister participated shortly after. The company, which was established in 1871, already employed more than 1,000 people in 1886 and produced up to 100,000 sewing machines a year. Frister & Rossmann sewing machines were of high quality and were sold all over the world. In 1892, the company added the production of typewriters as a new line of business. Initially, a replica of the "Caligraph 3" was made, which was marketed under the name "Frister & Rossmann". It was a complete copy, with all the individual parts manufactured and assembled by Frister & Rossmann. Subsequently, own changes and improvements were made. The "Frister & Rossmann" typewriter was manufactured until 1910. A total of about 3,700 machines were built, so only about 200 pieces per year. Currently there are not many copies left. Since 1905 "Frister & Rossmann" had also assembled and sold models 3 and 5 of the "Sun" machine, apparently also with little success, because from 1910 they tested the "Royal" models 3,5 and 10. In 1914 cooperation with "Royal" was terminated due to the outbreak of the First World War. Since 1913 "Frister & Rossmann" produced the "Senta" machine. In the 1920s, foreign markets collapsed and the company made more and more losses. With the liquidation of the company in the crisis of 1929, production of the "Frister & Rossmann" typewriter also ended. The license to continue building the "Frister & Rossmann" sewing machines was acquired by the Gritzner sewing machine factory (later Gritzner & Kayser), which was taken over in 1963 by the sewing machine giant "Pfaff". 

Antiquity: 1904 approx. 

Measures: 

Condition: Very good 

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