The Big Stuff--Heavy Numbers, 1939

JF Ptak Science Books   Quick Post

Mercedes-Buromaschinen* evidently came into existence in 1906 in Berlin before moving on to other cities, including expanding into Zagreb and Beograb, Yugoslavia, which published this ad. It was big and red and covered a half-page in the Illustrirte Zeitung (Leipzig), where it appeared in print two months before the invasion of Poland in 1939. I I just wanted to share its redness, and of course the massive accounting machine listed first in the ad.  

*Initially I thought that this was a generic/export name for Burroughs Adding Machines, but I was wrong. Reader Frank Wilhoit (thanks!) pointed out that the "bur" part of "buromaschinen" is simply the word "office"--so, office machines. Now that I look at it the accounting machine doesn't look like the Burroughs machine as I thought it did--ditto for the calculator.

Comments

[Frank Wilhoit]

"büro" = "office" (from Fr. bureau)

Any resemblance to any trademarks, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

[John F. Ptak]

Thanks for that, Frank Wilhoit--I've made the correction!