When someone purchased a particular Adler Primus serial number 3141007 in 1961, it would be clear to later investigators (me) that the purchaser was very interested in choosing just the right typeface for thier new portable typewriter. They had requested from the dealer a full typestyles catalog, chosen Ransmayer & Rodrian #84 Ra (Elite Imperial) for the machine he ordered, then kept the type catalog with the machine its entire life. So now we have the catalog, plus the bonus type testing sheet for the machine he ordered!
As a Belgian I’m a bit miffed that Adler rebranded the Ro88 slug to “Esquire”. It’s listed as “Bruxelles” in the RaRo catalogues.
Heh, I always shrug and say “Marketing” whenever someone gets laser-focused on what typefaces are called. The same face is often called different things by different typewriter manufacturers, regardless of what the foundry called it. The world is never as tidy as we’d like :D
You’re right. But I’ll still tell folks it’s “Bruxelles”. And if they have an Adler amchine, I’ll add that Adler rebranded it as “Esquire”. I’ll also admit that “Esquire” does sound fancier. So the marketing folks did their job =D.
This listing includes the font for my 1955 Special with a Spanish keyboard, Elite Imperial, with “A84” on the type slugs, but measures only 11 pitch, not the 12 listed.