| Many people outside of Europe are unaware that for many years a good, dependable and rugged typewriter was manufactured under the name MERCEDES in Germany. This concern had nothing to do with the well-known auto maker; the builder of these typewriters was Mercedes Buromaschinenwerke which initially was based in Berlin, but which quickly required more space and moved to Zella-Mehlis. Unlike many other machines introduced in the first decade of the Twentieth Century, the MERCEDES was popular from the beginning and gained a following. The machine was produced steadily for a number of years, until, in 1930, Underwood-Elliottt-Fisher Corporation, of the United States, purchased control of Mercedes. This did not slow sales, and portables were brought out quickly to supplement the standards. The Second World War interrupted production, which then restarted following - with the Mercedes plant in what became East Germany. In 1951-1952, however, production of the MERCEDES was dropped, although rights to the name remained with Underwood. |
