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A RARE KRYHA-LILIPUT CIPHER MACHINE, German, circa 1930, image 1
A RARE KRYHA-LILIPUT CIPHER MACHINE, German, circa 1930, image 2
Lot 14

A RARE KRYHA-LILIPUT CIPHER MACHINE,
German, circa 1930,

2 December 2020, 14:00 GMT
London, Knightsbridge

Sold for £15,250 inc. premium

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A RARE KRYHA-LILIPUT CIPHER MACHINE, German, circa 1930,

the velvet lined leather case fitted with watch-form nickel-plated cipher case together with four interchangeable number and letter rings, complete with spare letter/number tabs and operating pen, the cipher 2½in (7cm) diameter

Footnotes

In 1924, the German engineer, Alexander von Kryha, invented a coding machine and applied for patents in both Germany and the USA.

The machine had a disc type mechanism with two variable alphabets which were irregularly displaced by a gear type wheel with alternately arranged groups of teeth and spaces.

There were eventually three models - the Standard, Electric and Liliput. Their basic difference was their speed of use with the Liliput being the slowest by delivering approximately 90 letters per minute.

Additional information

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