Butler 4

I love old things. I love old 8mm and super 8 movie cameras. I love old movie projectors. I love old mechanical knitting machines. I love old record players. And I love old typewriters. I have a few in my collection. I only have one here in NYC with me. That was until Berlin happend.

Jared Clark's art consists of walking around picking up items that people have discarded. In some circles this is referred to as trash or "junk that don't work no more". Top on the list of sought after refuge are the following:
1. Styrofoam
2. Appliances (oven, washer, range top, microwaves, dryers)
3. Electronics with knobs and dials
4. Lumber
5. Suitcases

While looking for materials I saw a black box. I didn't pick it up because I knew that if I did I would be taking it back to the states with me and I didn't want the extra luggage. Luckily for me Jared picked it up and handed it to me. I went right home and opened it up and it was exactly what I thought it was. An old German typewriter. The kicker was that it had a cache of documents with it.
First was the instruction book. This is my little German typewriter. It has extra keys for the accent marks. The 'y' and 'z' keys are switched. Those are the only differences. It's a beautiful little thing.
It also contained the original invoice. It is dated 25 September 1939.
Our previous stake president, President Belnap, went to Germany on a mission. Last night after institute I asked him to translate a bit for me. Dated 11 September 1939, this letter is the offer to buy the typewriter. It gives a price with and without a wooden carrying box (Josef Hossmeister sprung for the wooden box). It also talks about how great the key action is and mentions other features.
The thing that really makes the story cool is the way the salesman signed off. Not a 'Regards' or 'Sincerely' or even 'Thanks', its a "Heil Hitler !". It was a different time and a different place.

Labels: Germany, Hitler, typewriter