Bulgarian Portable Typewriters
The former socialist state of Bulgaria has contributed to the volume of portable typewriters now extant to an extent very likely greater than has been estimated until the present.  Over time, two distinct families of machines were produced in that country; here is a very brief photo selection along with some comments.
The pictures here show the MARITSA 11 variant, the earliest produced by Typewriters Works, Plovdiv, Bulgaria.  This state-owned enterprise was the sole producer in Bulgaria, and the MARITSA name comes from the Maritsa River which runs right through the city of Plovdiv.  The machines of this general appearance are slightly re-engineered versions of the German PRINCESS machines.  (See page bottom.)
Machines of this sort, either Bulgarian or German, don't neatly fit into larger classifications.  They were termed "medium typewriters" by the Plovdiv firm, and are quite heavy and well made for machines their size.  Their type bar mechanism design is unique and gives a feel like a much larger machine.
Above, BUNDY and MARITSA 11.  Right, MARITSA 21.  According to Frans van de Riviere, what looks like "Mapuua" or "Mapuya" is the Cyrillic spelling of MARITSA.  Also found as MARITZA.  There was also a larger machine in this line; details are unclear.  Earliest confirmed production is 1956 but suspected to be early 1950's in reality.
In terms of features, the '11' series machines lack the tabulator found on the '21' series, which is key-set through use of the toggle on the right of the keyboard.  Ribbon selector is 3-color on both, but the '21' series uses the pushbutton type taken from the PRINCESS 300, with selected color shown in a small window above the button (both are to left of keyboard.)  The '11' series uses a simple lever on the left of the keyboard.
Because reading of Bulgarian is impossible on most Western computers, we cannot nail down dates of production for any of these machines.  We can however determine that the body change seen at right, on Jim Dax's OMEGA 1300F, dates to the early 1970's through other inferences.  The name OMEGA has been used by several different companies for typewriters; originally it was used by General Consolidated Inc., an importer/distributor.
All portables from Typewriters Works belong to one of two families.  Above we've seen the PRINCESS-derived family; at left we see an early example of the SILVER-SEIKO derived family.  This machine can be seen to have the same keytops as the MARITSA, but is a totally different (and much simpler and lighter) machine.  It is a dowel plate design of key lever mechanism, and, more than that, is an internal copy of ROYAL / SILVER-REED machines made in Japan by Silver-Seiko Ltd.
The machine above is an OMEGA 30, which in original trim would have been labeled as the MARITSA 30.  It was classified as a 'small machine' by TWW Plovdiv.
The Royal Mercury and Omega 30 are nearly identical, mechanically; the Japanese-made machine is the progenitor of the Bulgarian-made.  The OMEGA 30 and ROYAL JET are perfectly identical, as are several other models.  The Royal version is seen at left; above, a late 1970's CLOVER from Korea.  The design may have passed through Korea on its way to Bulgaria for manufacturing, which is supported by the apparently very late, all-plastic body of the Bulgarian machines.
The firm eventually was renamed as Typewriters International; it produced the ROYAL SAFARI IV seen at right, made during Volkswagen ownership of TA-ROYAL.  At left is a very new OMEGA 30, made in the last several years; the firm may still be going.  Innumerable relabels of the '30' series exist literally everywhere.  Brands include ROYAL, OMEGA, PRIVELEG, TA, ADLER, TA-ADLER, and  OLYMPIA.  It is interesting that the mechanical design originated under the ROYAL name, and then years later this name reappeared on a descendant machine -- apparently twice-removed from the original.
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At left, the Princess 300, from which the Maritsa 21 is derived.  The Princess line was launched by Keller & Knappich in Augsburg West Germany in 1948, and originally contained the Princess Standard, Princess 100, Princess 200 and Princess 300 models.  (The first was actually a portable like the rest, and had a cheaper case than the otherwise similar 100.)  Later, K&K put the basic 300 machine in a larger, wider, taller and heavier body and called this machine the Princess 500.  Neither the Princess nor the Maritsa machines are, today, what one would call "numerous," but can be found, giving collectors a bit of a challenge.
This rare name variant of the Maritsa 11 is labeled BUNDY.  This is thought to be a label applied by Bundy Typewriter Co. of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, which might have been large enough to get a batch of these to sell for itself.
Korean made K-Mek CLOVER, late 1970's
Japanese made Royal (Silver-Seiko) Mercury, mid 1960's
by Will Davis
At right, Tilman Elster's shot of his Maritsa 30.  Note that, as with earlier machines, the first digits of the serial number (in this case, 30770285) are actually the model number of the machine.  The serial itself follows.
(Next two machines from the Tilman Elster collection.)  On the right, a Maritsa 11 in a less common color scheme.  Below, a Maritsa 12.  The Maritsa 12 is contained in the same larger body that, with the original German design, was used for the Princess 500.  This is a larger and heavier body, but one which contains essentially the same mechanism.  It is much more a "desk model" than flat travelling machine.
MARITSA 11
MARITSA 12