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Miss Belgium = LonginiPresenting a prize for the 'most Belgian typewriter' is easy: there is only
one. Large lettering for advertisements
Forced German productionThe fact that there are no Belgian typewriter brands doesn't mean that no Belgian typewriters are made in Belgium. Especially during the Second World War, the German occupier brings over the necessary production units. Sometimes that turns out badly, like it does for the Continental. As steel is scarce during and after the war, the typewriters that are made in Belgium are inferior and their buyers dissatisfied. After the war, this leads to the decline of the proud German typewriter brand. War bootyAs the factories of the Allies are producing armaments at full speed, the
typewriters become gradually more scarce as the war drags on. When one of these
typewriter workshops falls into the hands of the American forces, it is a
stroke of luck. Belgian keyboardIs there anything Belgian to be found in the typewriter world? Yes there is: when the first typewriter arrives in Belgium in 1889, it immediately receives its own 'Belgian' keyboard. Discover the Belgian keyboard>
Typewriter.beAgreed, Belgium is the 'tail end charlie' of the typewriter world.
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In 1906, Longini
brings a machine onto the market with extra large capitals with which to print
advertisements on paper, wood or metal. It is an odd index machine with a large
vertical wheel on which you select the letters and then strike them down via two
ink rollers. Then, the machine crawls a space to the right over its cogwheel.
Sadly, the Longini (even with its exchangeable type) does not become a
commercial success.
