1937 Klein-Continental
Up for sale is an impressive Klein-Continental which was made in Germany in 1937. This typewriter is in a really attractive dark woodgrain finish, which has some wear but remains very shiny and in good shape aside from some small areas of missing paint as can be seen in the pictures. The Klein-Continental was not made for export into the USA, so these machines are rather uncommon to find outside of Europe. As such, this typewriter does have the German "QWERTZ" keyboard layout. While this typewriter is fully functional in all aspects and is a decently smooth machine overall, I'm not sure this is the best machine for heavy and frequent use such as writing a novel. The ergonomics are a bit different than most typewriters, which may take some getting used to. This typewriter could use universal ribbons, however I would recommend re-threading the original metal spools since they are not worth discarding and they are clearly visible. The major downside with this machine is that the carrying case is extremely worn. Unfortunately the entire case appears to be covered in leather, which of course has degraded quite a bit over time. The leather handle remains in-tact, however it is not functional and easily detaches from the lid. The case does latch and still functions normally (other than the handle detaching) however a lot of careful handling is necessary to move this typewriter in the case to avoid any additional or unnecessary wear to the case.
If you're looking for an extremely uncommon and collectible pre-war German typewriter that can still be used every-so-often, then this is a great machine for you!