FRISTER & ROSSMANN

 TYPEWRITERS

In 1892 , Frister& Rossmann AG had branched into typewriters , when it gained the rights to reproduce the Caligraph 3 under its own name. It also sold Lee Burridge's Sun and Ed Hess's Royal Standard through to the Model 10.

In 1913 , the 9lb and 7oz Senta portable typewriter was designed by Franz Kraudzun , (born in Königsberg in Prussia on July 20, 1885).

According to Ernst Martin, Kraudzun spent many years trying to find a company to make his typewriters. Eventually, long-established sewing machine manufacturers Frister & Rossmann Aktiengesellschaft, of Berlin produced Kraudzun's first model Senta, their original design for a three bank, double shift typewriter with carriage shift was produced from 1913 to 1926.

From 1921 the Senta was also marketed as the Presto by a Dresden company(Presto office Maschinenbau GmbH, Dresden 24, Rabenerstr. 6)         and in Bulgaria as the Balkan.

In 1926, (most likely at the direction of new owners Gritzner & Keyser), a later model , Senta Model VI, with a more modern single shift machine a four-bank keyboard, reached the market, but its lifespan was short, as Frister & Rossmann AG went into liquidation in 1929.

Neither model was that innovative but they were attractive. Especially attractive are the decals often found on the machines' paper tables of the massive complex that was the F&R factory. F&R had previous experience producing typewriters so the Senta wasn't a major undertaking. Unfortunately, the Senta was introduced at the onset of The Great War, WWI. F&R was a massive global force until that war.

After the war, imposed trade restrictions levied by the victorious parties crippled the business. The Great Depression that followed further decimated the business until the rights to produce F&R machines were sold to Gritzner & Keyser in 1925.

By 1929 Gritzner and Keyser liquidated all F&R assets.

The Frister&Rossmann  manufacturer produced this version of the Caligraph under licence from the American Writing machine Co. from 1892 until 1910.

The Senta is a great looking portable typewriter made by sewing machine manufacturer Frister & Rossmann . F&R had previous experience producing typewriters so the Senta wasn't a major undertaking. Unfortunately, the Senta was introduced at the onset of The Great War, WWI. 

The early model , a three bank (rows), double shift typewriter with carriage shift was produced from 1913 to 1926.

In 1926 a later model ,with a more modern single shift machine a four-bank keyboard, reached the market, but its lifespan was short.

sources :

www.antikeychop.com

www.plustype.de

oztypewriter.blogspot.com

p.s. : to see more click on the pictures