Skip to main content
Bonhams
Search
Previous Lot
Next Lot
A M-209-B ENCRYPTION MACHINE, SUPPLIED BY L.C. SMITH & CORONA TYPEWRITER INC., American, mid 20th century, image 1
A M-209-B ENCRYPTION MACHINE, SUPPLIED BY L.C. SMITH & CORONA TYPEWRITER INC., American, mid 20th century, image 2
A M-209-B ENCRYPTION MACHINE, SUPPLIED BY L.C. SMITH & CORONA TYPEWRITER INC., American, mid 20th century, image 3
Various Properties
Lot 33

A M-209-B ENCRYPTION MACHINE,
SUPPLIED BY L.C. SMITH & CORONA TYPEWRITER INC., American, mid 20th century,

Instruments of Science and Technology
15 September 2021, 14:00 BST
London, Knightsbridge

Sold for £1,275 inc. premium

Own a similar item?

Submit your item online for a free auction estimate.

How to sell

Looking for a similar item?

Our Scientific Instruments specialists can help you find a similar item at an auction or via a private sale.

Find your local specialist

Ask about this lot

A M-209-B ENCRYPTION MACHINE, SUPPLIED BY L.C. SMITH & CORONA TYPEWRITER INC., American, mid 20th century,

Serial no.126482, the green metal casing with 6 adjustable key wheels at the front, the left side with enciphering knob and power lever on the right, letters printed on paper tape, complete with hinged lid mounted with paper tape reel and associated accessories, together with print-out copy of the 1942 instruction manual,
7in (18cm) wide

Footnotes

The M-209-B was designed by the Swedish cryptographer Boris Hagelin, and produced by the New York-based manufacturers Smith & Corona. The machine was used by the United States armed forces throughout World War II and saw continued service during the Korean War. Entering text was a manual process performed by setting the alphabet ring to the desired letter, then turning the right-hand knob one full rotation, repeating for each individual letter. This laborious process was offset by the machine's compact size and it not requiring any electricity to operate, which provided greater portability compared to the German Enigma machines.

Additional information

Bid now on these items

A rare Q1 Lite desktop Micro Computer, circa 1980,
An Edmund Culpeper brass universal equinoctial dial, English, early 18th century,
A rare Marcus Purman gilt and silvered brass tablet sundial/compendium, German, dated 1593,
A Nicholas Lane 2 3/4-inch pocket globe, English, published 1818,
A pair of positive-negative brittle starfish and trilobite fossil plates (2)
Lot offered by Bruun Rasmussen, part of the Bonhams network

Original Superman 'Flying Costume' from the 1978 film 'Superman: The Movie', worn by American actor Christopher Reeve (1952-2004) in the flying scenes of the motion picture. Consisting of red wool cape with sewn-on logo, blue nylon top with sewn-on logo, blue nylon pants, yellow plastic belt and red leather boots. Also included is documentation regarding ownership history, unopened copy of the film (DVD), CD-ROM with catalogue material from Christie's, New York, July 2001, where the costume was last sold, and a color photograph of Christopher Reeve in one of the film's flying scenes. Zip waistband with the costume workshop's handwritten name, 'Nathans-Bermans CR [Christopher Reeve] Fly' ('Bermans & Nathans Ltd', London). The inside of the boots are labelled in pen, 'CR R 4' and 'CR L 4' for Christopher Reeve respectively. Both boot shafts also have remnants of sewn-on fabric labels on the inside. (14 items in total).

DKK800,000 - DKK1,000,000