RoFa
1921 - 1929
Robert Fabig GmbH
Neuruppin, Germany
RoFa typewriters were named for the man that developed the German-made machines, Robert Fabig. His first typewriter was the RoFa's predecessor, the Faktotum of 1912. And the Faktotum's design was actually based on the British-made Imperial Model A. The Faktotum was produced by the Fabig & Barschel Company and distributed by Apparte-Industrie AG until Fabig & Barschel was dissolved. That's when the Robert Fabig GmbH was formed and which began to both produce and distribute the RoFa.
RoFa models included the No.2 of 1921 and the No.4 of 1923. The obvious difference between them was that the No.4 was produced with a straight keyboard which replaced the more attractive curved one of the No.2. Both models had front-downstrike typebar arrangements with double-shift, three-row keyboards. The No.4 also had two extra keys. Rebranded RoFa No.2s were marketed to the Dutch as The Correspondent (rebranded Faktotums, also for Dutch markets, were rebranded as the Kabouter). All of these machines' type segments were easily removable so the user could change the typeface if desired. RoFa production came to and end in 1929.
RoFa typewriters differed minimally from the Faktotum. Their primary difference were with the ink delivery method. Faktotums utilized a ribbon mechanism to deliver ink, but that system dissatisfied Robert Fabig because it was too messy. For that very reason he opted for inking via "direct contact with an ink roll" as seen in patent (patent no.1,434,739).
Both of the RoFa models were produced at Fabig's Neuruppin, Germany factory after WWI when demand was especially high. Besides the demand for typewriters there was an even greater, demand for prosthetics, which was an unfortunate result of the war. Robert Fabig GmbH ostensibly manufactured such prostheses, as well as pressure valves and other items, out of a separate factory in Charlottenberg, just one hour north of Neuruppin.
