HERMES No. 2   serial number 1722

Matthias Hiltpold collection

Mr. Hiltpold has sent us a wonderful set of photos of his rare Hermes No. 2.  It may seem incredible to modern collectors and enthusiasts that the Hermes line of typewriters had a rather unsure start, but this was the case and the No. 2 is the earliest variant made in any quantity.

According to Wilfred Beeching's book "Century of the Typewriter," the Hermes No. 2 was the first machine to incorporate what Beeching calls an "automatic tabulator," by which he means a tabulator incorporating key-set tab stops.  Beeching notes that this machine was too expensive to make, being replaced by the No. 3 and successive models.  The prototype or No. 1 had a very different look, having a front rail styled like the Underwood with front margin sets and wasn't duplicated.
Left and right side views of the Hermes No. 2.
At right, we see a closeup of the front frame of the Hermes No. 2, on which the "No 2" can be made out very dimly.  The machine has obviously seen some use - and Matthias reports that it still operates perfectly.  This isn't bad for a model of which only a couple thousand were produced!
On the left, the serial number 1722 can be made out stamped into the frame.  The margin rack is at the lower part of the picture; the object at upper right is the right platen knob.  The carriage has been moved to the left for this view. 
Here we see a patent illustration for the tabulator stop set / clear setup as used on the No. 2 Hermes.  This view is essentially from directly above the typewriter and shows only relevant parts.  Part "m" at the lower left of this illustration is a key for operating the device; note on the front view of the actual machine the two keys, one either side that stick out in an unusual fashion from the machine's front and which seem to stick out to the sides.  These are the tab set and tab clear keys.  Looking back to our illustration we see that the key operates a shaft running all the way to the back of the machine, which through a linkage will either push up, or pull back down one tab stop in the magazine (or rack) of tab stops built into the rear of the carriage; these are visible as a row of lines at the top of this illustration.
Looking to the actual machine, we have a rear view.  Note on the left the bell; to its left is where the linkage comes through the rear of the frame.  The shaft operates a series of linkages hinging around the large standard screw heads, which runs to the center where the mechanisms to either set or clear tab stops can easily be made out.  The tab stop magazine running along the back of the carriage can also be made out easily, and the tab stops that are set can be noted as being pulled down.

Our thanks to Matthias Hiltpold for providing these photos of a very rare machine.