This is a nice old German keyed Remington portable typewriter virtually identical to the one on which Nazi Party Führer Adolf Hitler wrote the book Mein Kampf in his prison cell at Landsberg.

Hitler referred to his American-made Remington Schreibmaschine often in later years and the black & white photo shown right is from the famous Rehse collection of Nazi artifacts. At the time the photo was taken in the 1930s the Remington was in the hands of Hitler's associate, SS Officer and early Nazi Party member Emil Maurice. It sold a few years ago for well over $100,000.00!

We bought this typewriter in Germany from people who had no idea what its history might have been, so we don't either. They keyboard is set up in the fashion of German typewriter of the post-World War I period with an ü key, as well as FESTSTELLER and UMSCHALTER keys. The chassis is marked on the back Made in U.S.A.

This typewriter has an interesting mechanical feature that allows it to have a very low profile but with the mechanical function of a larger machine. In the top picture in the left column above you will see a small red arrow we placed on the side of the machine. The arrow indicates a little knob which can be pulled out and when rotated forward in an arc raises the entire set of hammers into a typing position (see photo directly above on the left).

We have looked this typewriter over carefully and can say it is in excellent general condition, showing very little use or wear on any of the parts. The characters on the hammers are very sharp and well defined. The ribbon is almost certainly the ribbon that came with the Remington Portable many decades ago. We do not have the top portion of the case - only the bottom portion, just like the Hitler typewriter in the black & white photo above.

Everything about this typewriter works exactly as it should with one easily fixed exception: the cord on the spring-driven reel that moves the carriage is broken (only the cord is broken). The reel which contains the cord is marked with a red * in the photo of the under side of the machine. It is easy to get the cord replaced by any competent repairman. I have replaced these myself in the past but decided to leave the decision to fix or not fix to the buyer of this rare machine.

It should also be mentioned that this typewriter was kept in a basement in Germany prior to our finding it so some of the iron parts have light rust on them. If you look at the photos of the hammers and the bottom of the typewriter, you will get a good idea of how light the rust is.

A great piece, perfect for a museum or display, and except for the broken cord it is in very nice condition.