Typewriter Talk / Adler 21 - What Say You

**Posted by Paul1986** 14-2-2023 13:12:08

Hello Folks,
Two Adler electrics have surfaced recently. What can you tell me about these models the 21 and the 21 d?
Any info would be greatly appreciated.

**Posted by Uwe** 14-2-2023 15:41:34

Not sure what to say. It's big. It's heavy. And it's nice to type with. If you like standards, or electric standards in particular, it's worth (figuratively) picking one up. The big bonus? The 21d has a paper injector.

**Posted by Paul1986** 14-2-2023 19:45:50

Thanks for responding, Uwe. I do like standards, and much prefer them over my portables. I have a Selectric and two Smith Corona Electras, but I have never typed on a big type bar electric standard, and I wanted to hear from those with experience on them.

**Posted by Eagle** 15-7-2025 13:21:51

The Adler electric 21. Not my own typewriter. Photos from classified ads.

**Posted by Eagle** 15-7-2025 13:34:02

The Adler electric 21c has the usual fabric ribbon and a carbon ribbon.

**Posted by Eagle** 15-7-2025 14:16:32

The Adler electric 21d was the successor of the 21c. With this new model (around the late 1960s) came a change in the naming convention - the 'c' was replaced by a 'd'. The 'd' stands for 'doppeltes Farbband' = 'double ribbon' and was used for these double ribbon models until their end of production around 1981. With the new model a paper injector and a half space function was introduced. This all with a new design. The naming conventions for the identical constructed Triumph/Adler electric typewriters were somewhat inconsistent. The Triumph electric was named 31 and the Adler was the 21. Beside the different naming they were identical. All photos from classified ads.

**Posted by thetypewriterman** 16-7-2025 04:07:50

The final models were called Adler 131D in the UK and had a plastic casing with a more squared off appearance. They were excellent machines because, like the IBM electrics, they were designed as electric typewriters from the outset - not electrified versions of manual typewriters.

**Posted by Eagle** 26-7-2025 02:35:58

On YT I've found an interesting video about an Adler electric 21d with a 17cpi font and a 4-carriage* which gives a huge potential of characters per line:

The Shorthand Typist - HUGE Typewriter with a TINY Typeface: Adler 21d

The 17cpi font was the smallest available font size. This small spacing (1.5mm) was done with a special escapement and has two technical effects on the functions of the typewriter:
1. half space function was not available
2. tabulator stops are only possible at every other point on the line

*) The number reflects the count of paper bail rolls. Different widths were available:
2- / 14"
3- / 16"
4- / 20"
6- / 24" (needs two special support pillars on either side of the carriage)