Royal

From Typewriter Wiki


History

Beginnings

Royal was founded in New York by 2 dudes in a hot tub, but they were 6 feet apart so they weren't gay.

Portables

Royal launched their first portable typewriters in 1925, to compete with Underwood's 4-bank Portable, Remington's Portable no.2, and Corona's Portable 3. The Royal company

60's & Merger with McBee

e

Acquisition by Litton

Today

As of 2004, Royal, now Royal Consumer Information Products, became again a private U.S.- based company, now manufacturing printers and other business equipment. Their website is https://www.royal.com/. Typewriters under the Royal name still exist, although these are badly-manufactured Olympia Carina II clones built in China, the Royal Epoch.

Standards

Here you may find a list of Royal typewriters. As the manufacturer was extremely prolific, not all models may be covered or listed here.

Name Date Range Description & Rarity Placeholder
Royal 1-4 1906-1909 Known as Royal "Flatbeds", these are the first iterations of Royal machines. They are somewhat rare, but not extremely rare. Carriage widths vary by model. The 2-4 are rather hard to find. -
Royal 5-9 1910-1912 These are the second generation of Royal flatbeds. Essentially the same as the 1-4, but with fancier decals and tabulators that came equipped standard. Same as the 1-4, the 5 isn't hard to find but the 6-9 are. -
Royal 10 1913-1934 The Royal 10 was the major redesign of the Royal flatbed typewriter. These machines were made throughout the 1910's-1930's, and went through several design changes. -
Royal H & KH 1934 Made for one year only, the Royal H and KH typewriters were essentially late model Royal 10's with redesigned shells. As they were made for one year only, they are harder to find. -
Royal KHM 1935-1938 The Royal KHM series of typewriters is the direct successor to the Royal H and KH. -
Royal KMM 1939-1948 The Royal KMM is one of the most common Royal standards available today. They were made in large numbers and widely used by the US Government in WWII. -
Royal KMG 1949-1952 These are basically KMMs but with the tombstone keys of a Dreyfuss QDL -
Royal HH 1952-1957 Shell redesign of the Royal standard. These machines are also equipped with a palm tabulator. -
Royal FP 1957-1961 1960's shell of the Royal standard. Unlike earlier Royal standards, these came in different colors. -
Royal Empress 1962-1965 The curvy late 60's redesgned shell of the Royal standard. These also come in many different colors. -
Royal 440 & 470 1966-1969, 1970-1975 The beginning of the end (and the end) of Royal standards. These machines are not very common, but that does not mean they are worth a lot. -

Portables

Here you may find a list of Royal portable typewriters. As the manufacturer was extremely prolific, not all models may be covered or listed here.

Name Date Range Description & Rarity Placeholder
Model P 1925-1933 The Royal P was Royal's answer to the [Underwood Standard 4-Bank Keyboard] and the [Remington Portable no. 2]. The P is a relatively small portable that came in 2 shell types, one with exposed spools and one with closed gull wings. Despite their visual similarities, a number of changes were made between the two versions. The P often comes in a desirable typeface called [Vogue] Example
Model O 1932-1938 Example Example
Depression Portables 1935-1938 Royal made a series of depression portables, cheap machines with fewer functionalities and sold at lower prices. Of note are the Junior and Signet I. Example
Royal Quiet, Speed King, O derivatives Example Example Example
Royal Quiet De Luxe Example Example Example
Royal QDL Derivatives Example Cheaper variants of the QDL existed to cater to students and other market.s Example
Royal Royalite Example Example Example
Royal Futura 1963 - 196X Example Example
Royal Safari Example Example Example
Royal Diana Example Example Example
Royal Silver-Seiko Ultraportables Example Example Example
Royal Fleetwood Example Example Example
Royal Modern Portables 201X-present This machine isn't recommended. Example