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| 1957 Groma Combina 1001720 |
Edit: I did super fast typing on both Combinas, and the 1959 one performs very well also.
1957 Combina on left, tinted brown. 1959 Combina on right, tinted turquoise.
best to enlarge the photos below:
best to enlarge the photos below:
outside:
carriage:
underside:
inside:
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| manual scans by myself and Piotr Trumpiel |
I have begun work on the next part of my DDR typewriters series, on Groma portables.
Sent from my new Groma Combina
Incredible to think how different two "similar" typewriters can be! Just based on little things (the feet, the ribbon cover) I like the '57 better.
ReplyDeleteI know, they might be more different than a 1951 SM2 is from a 1960s SM5! Well, I don't say that with authority. I've thought about doing an Olympia SM comparison post, the problem is I am having a bloody impossible time finding an SM1, or an SM5 in good enough shape.
DeleteI really can'y choose between the two based on looks. Whenever I say I like one more, features from the other change my mind again.
Fair amount of difference there. Incidenetally, the Groma Kolibri machines also have a similarly elaborate set of changes over time. Might have to show a likewise comparison at some stage.... When they are all out of storage.
ReplyDeleteThere's brewing quite a bit of Kolibri information, I think, and it's going to boil over some time soon I hope.
DeleteSeems now that they emphasized the ease of interchange between two carriage sizes on the manual covers so it was a valid marketing point.
ReplyDeleteThey really were a fantastic subject for the advertising people. You can use a lot of superlatives to describe them.
DeleteYou sent me straight to the basement to compare your report to my own Combina (1022056, a bit later than your '59). Mine has a wide carriage. The plastic levers for freeing the carriage have broken off (bad design, they're too weak).
ReplyDeleteMy Combina's tab set/clear switch is completely different from yours: the switch is to the left of the ribbon color selector, on the inside of the frame, and looks more like a lever than a button. My carriage lock is also different: it has the square opening right on the same tip that you use to pull it up and down.
The "boomerang" ribbon cover on the '57 looks really cool.
I did come across that in my research! And who knows, there might be other differences too.
DeleteIn very early advertising, the Combina logo was in the center of the (boomerang) ribbon cover so I'm curious if they ever built any like that or if it was changed before production began.
how much are they worth?
ReplyDeleteHey U do great work over here, I like the high quality of your photos. Thanks for this.
ReplyDeleteAlso I got myself a 57 combina, but I am a poorly beginner in the typewriter buisnes. So I struggle hard to handle it. Can u Please tell me how to Open the damn thing, so i can change the colorribbon? I am afraid to hurt the old Lady;)
Also I'm from Germany, so sorry about the bad grammar.