The first time I ever refurbished one of these, I was super impressed. If you look at the outside, it’s obviously a 50s/60s attempt to appear modern—even futuristic. Notice the large, bubble-like features. It reminds me a lot of the 57 Chevy Apache I used to drive (good times).
But you open it up, and look on the inside, guess what you find… pretty much the same, reliable machine Royal had been producing since the 20s.
I don’t see a lot of these. I think, by this time, they were competing with the over-seas labor problems, and this is right around the era when companies were trying to decide whether to cheapen their products or raise their prices. Let’s face it—the ones who raised their prices went out of business quickly.
Royal eventually manufactured elsewhere. But I think this is probably the last decent desktop typewriter they made. It’s solid, as were their older models. And the covers are sturdy aluminum instead of plastic. The various moving parts use steel rods instead of being punched out of sheet metal. This is a good machine.
I have to admit, this is not my best painting job. I never claimed to be great at it. But the painting flaws are barely noticeable, and the machine itself is mechanically sound and in excellent condition.
The pink—well, I’ve been trying to find a feminine machine that would work well with this color. I thought it was a good match. The funny thing is, if I painted this same machine black and red, it’d have a super-masculine look. Color does a lot.
Anyway, I’ve noticed an amazing number of young girls who want to start writing, and want to use a typewriter. While the smaller ones might have a cozier feeling to them, these larger ones are more ideal for REAL WORK. If you’re prolific, you want a desktop to work with—not a portable.
As seen in the pics, I have the original cover and it is included.
If ordering outside the Cincinnati area, there'll be an added $30 for shipping. If you're local, call me and set up an appointment, and I can give you a full demonstration, along with a crash-course on using manual typewriters.
