Thank goodness for people with weird hobbies. Arnold Betzwieser is a tax lawyer in Miltenberg, Germany. On the website for his law firm, alongside business info, he has a non-tax-matter-related section called "Small Exhibition: Interesting facts worth knowing about the historical development of office technology – when there were no computers."
At that latter link, I found this crazy "Architect's typewriter" from 1966, informally called a Gritzner:
Image: Arnold Betzwieser
Image: Arnold Betzwieser
Betzwieser explains:
"The 'Gritzner' was a typewriter specially developed for use on the drawing board, which was used in particular by architects, designers, technical draftsmen and similar professions for writing on blueprints and other technical drawings."
Image: Arnold Betzwieser
"The typewriter ran on a rail that could be moved like a ruler on the drafting table. Unlike normal typewriters, the "Gritzner" did not have a carriage, but wrote directly on the flat writing surface of the construction drawing in the upper lapel. The machine was therefore one of the 'flat typewriters'."
Image: Arnold Betzwieser
Image: Arnold Betzwieser
"With each keystroke, the machine moved one character width to the right on the rail above the paper. A long helical tension spring attached to the underside of the machine, attached to one long side of the rail and running via a deflection roller to the other side of the rail, served as the pulling mechanism (picture below)."
Image: Arnold Betzwieser
"There was no line break; the line was adjusted by moving the rail up or down."
Image: Arnold Betzwieser
Image: Arnold Betzwieser
I managed to find a vintage ad for the machine:
Betzwieser's website also has a section for jokes called "Smile Corner." Sample:
"If the employee dies during the business trip, the business trip is over." (Comment on the Federal Travel Expenses Act)
Ah, the German sense of humor.
A desktop CNC milling machine can be a practical addition to your prototyping or small-scale fabrication operations.
3D modeling has been a part of the profession of industrial design since before computers were even conceived.
With so many online learning platforms out there, it can be hard as a designer to decipher where to go...
We are building this list as a resource for designers who are looking for a starting point in picking a...
In the 1990s 3D printing was adopted by forward-looking design studios for prototyping – it was not widespread though for...
Community driven, engineering oriented, detailed and aesthetic, 3D printing oriented, royalty-free, paid, free.
Technology can be a great help when it comes to organizing your research on an ongoing project or in new...
Create a Core77 Account
Already have an account? Sign In
By creating a Core77 account you confirm that you accept the Terms of Use
Please enter your email and we will send an email to reset your password.
Comments
This is awesome. I would have loved one of these!