Notes

The Royal 1 88 Typewriter
www.eacgallery.com is one of the most famous typewriters ever. It was the first to be mass produced and shipped, essentially making typing available to anyone who wanted to write. It was easy to use, fast, and responsive. It is considered by many to be the best writing machine of all time and was a major player in the growth and development of American business, politics, and literature. It is a small, compact, and light weight machine, that packs a big punch in terms of power.

In 1927 Smith was very interested in promoting his new machine and came up with a very out of the box idea to do so. He purchased a Ford-Stout triple engine airplane that had enough cargo space to hold 210 Royal Portables. The plane was renamed the Royal Air Truck and Smith flew it to advertise his new product.

Unlike most of today’s keyboards, which have an “orange peel” style ribbon slot, this machine has a traditional ribbon spool that requires you to open the cover and manually wind the ribbon. It is also interesting to note that this machine has a different system for reversing the ribbon’s direction of travel. The first generation had a leaver on the front face that could be pushed in or out to reverse the direction of ribbon travel. The second generation had a similar method but used a pulley to move the ribbon from one spool to the other.

The 88 is also unique in that it has a separate ribbon for “instruction” writing. This was required to prevent the user from accidentally advancing or retracting the ribbon during normal operation. This was the first of its kind to use this system and was very successful in protecting the ribbon.

This particular machine has a unique case that is painted a rich red. It is very beautiful and makes the 88 stand out in a crowd of black and brown machines. The inside is in very good condition with minimal wear and tear.

The Royal was very popular in its day and was a favorite of people like Ian Fleming, Ernest Hemingway, and Scott Fitzgerald (his wife Zelda owned a Vogue). While it changed hands a few times in the late 1900’s, it is now a private company that continues to make some of the world's finest typewriters. It is an iconic symbol of American innovation and ingenuity that is a must have for any typewriter collector. Thanks for reading!
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