A very late Valentine’s greeting from The Well-Appointed Desk tapped out on our brand new typewriter. Its a Privileg 270T and its our privilege to tap out our message on this beauty!
I put a fresh pink ribbon on it for Valentine’s Day but you’ll notice that this typewriter does not have a traditional QWERTY keyboard. It has a QWERTZ keyboard. The Y and Z key are transposed and some specifically Germanic character like the ü, ö, and ä appear at the far right of the keyboard.
All the information I could find about the typewriter suggests that the Privileg 270T dates from the 70s and is a Nakajima brand machine badged for the Eastern European market. This machine is in pristine condition and the typeface alone was what made me melt. Then the warm tomato color of the plastic. It has earned “upstairs typewriter” status.
So, be warned, you may get a mailing label or letter tapped out on this beauty with my y’s and z’s all mixed up.
OMG, Ana – what a beauty! I just filled an orange Karas Fountain K (with a sweet 1.1mm stub nib), with orangey-sheeny Krishna Jugle Volcano ink – I guess we think in the same color scheme! Enjoy your lovely typewriter!
Isn’t Jungle Volcano amazing?
She’s stunning!
I have been seeing a lot of cool old typewriters in the analogsphere lately, but none orange — let alone with a pink ribbon! Eye candy, indeed!
Tina
How cool!
Hi Anna,
there is maybe a little mistake in the history of this typewriter. The brand “privileg” belongs to a former mail order company in WestGermany named “Quelle”. It was a big company (bankrupt in 2009), the brandname is now used for washing machines oder fridges. Back in the days “privileg”-products were marked to a low price marked in WestGermany, these goods were not available on the other side of the iron curtain.
Sometimes these products were made in the former GDR to earn western money, but in strict control of the state. This became a public information after the wall came down…
Have fun with your typewriter
Christoph
I’ve heard both theories. Mine has the Quelle branding on the back. Some believe Quelle bought the machines from Japan and resold in Germany. I’ll do a bit more diggin in my specific model.
That is a glorious typewriter. Love the color!
Anticipating a nice tax refund and the chance to buy me a belated Valentine gift, my wife has been looking at typewriters. I’ve had to explain the why and wherefore of QWERTY, QWERTZ, and AZERTY keyboards. (And let’s not even get into DHIATENSOR on a Blickensderfer.) Frankly, I’m a stodgy, old American, kind of weirded-out by the idea of learning a new keyboard layout. But, still… umlauts are cool.
I love the pink ribbon on a crimson machine. One of the great, urban myths is that typewriter ribbons are somehow hard to find. In fact, they can be found in colors like hot pink. One can match one’s hair color…
Plus it has a real number 1 key, so you don’t have to substitute l.c. letter l… sehr schön!