A Clackety Love Letter from the 1930s
If you’re anything like us at polish your art, you’ve probably found yourself sighing over a rusty old typewriter at a flea market, wishing it could whisper its secrets. Well, meet our inky little heartbreaker: the Continental Model 100 – a sleek, black beauty from pre-war Germany that’s got more stories under its keys than a Berlin novelist in a smoky café.
A Bit of Backspace into History
Before this typewriter was tapping out love letters and office memos, its maker – Wanderer-Werke – was busy building bicycles and motorcycles in Chemnitz, Germany. In 1904, they swerved into the world of writing machines with the Continental brand. By the 1930s, Continental typewriters were the status symbol for serious typists, journalists, and office workers all over Europe.
And this model? The Continental 100? That’s not just any typewriter. It’s their deluxe portable – a mechanical marvel dressed in glossy black enamel with chrome details that could make Bauhaus designers blush.
Keys to the Past
Let’s talk features. This little machine has the classic QWERTZ layout, perfect for hammering out umlaut-heavy odes in German (yes, it has Ä, Ö, Ü, and even ß). The round glass keys feel like candy for your fingertips, while the red FETTWECHSEL button gives your letters a bold strike – vintage boldface, darling!
The RÜCKTASTE key (that’s backspace to us modern folk) lets you pretend mistakes never happened. And the whole thing feels like typing on velvet-covered clockwork – smooth, solid, and satisfyingly loud. (If you’re into ASMR, forget keyboards. This thing sings.)
Collector’s Dream, Writer’s Delight
The Continental 100 isn’t just beautiful – it’s rare. This model was never mass-produced like its office cousins. Wanderer built it with care and flair, and even in its time, it was considered a luxury. Today, it’s one of the most sought-after machines by typewriter enthusiasts (and yes, we may have squealed a little when we found one in working order).
Each keypress is a time machine. You’re not just typing – you’re stepping into a smoky 1930s newsroom, or maybe penning a telegram to your Paris lover. It’s tactile poetry, the kind that digital fonts only dream of imitating.
A Few Quirky Facts (Because We’re Nerds)
-
- Built for adventure: Wanderer also made cars and motorcycles. So technically, your typewriter shares DNA with vintage German racing machines.
- Bold button = real boldface: That FETTWECHSEL key wasn’t just decorative – it literally smacked the page harder for darker letters. Beat that, Microsoft Word.
- War survivor: These machines went through WWII. Some were even rebuilt in Belgium and the USSR after the war – but trust us, the original German models are in a class of their own.
- No paper tray needed: The carriage is thick enough to rest your paper without extra supports. Efficient, stylish, and very German.
Type Like It’s 1939 – In Your Design Work
You might not have a Continental 100 on your desk (yet), but you can bring a little of its magic into your digital designs. Our Senta Typewriter Font is inspired by the kind of perfectly imperfect letters these machines produced – slightly uneven, monospaced, full of personality.
It’s the font for moody posters, secret letters, and that “dear diary” page that deserves a whisper of history.
→ Try Senta Typewriter now – and let your next project click-clack like it’s 1939.
Want more stories from the dusty world of analog type? Keep following us at polish your art, where vintage isn’t old – it’s gold.
