1961 Royal HE #HE-13-7249572
Status: My Collection
Hunter: James Grooms (jgrooms)
Created: 06-01-2024 at 04:45PM
Last Edit: 10-30-2024 at 05:43PM
Description:
Stuck, but far from dead. Something, maybe cereal, was spilled into the type basket and down the keyboard. A futile attempt to soak it up with paper towels was made. Coming out the bottom on initial inspection was what looked like brown condensed milk and paper bits. I thought maybe it had a mouse in it. It had sat in an unoccupied residence for over a decade until the kids finally decided to wrap up the estate. The last service tag was checked for 1968. I'd say after the spill, it was parked for another day that never came.
It was a tough clean out with the normal typebar sticky and add the trips at the roller were all stuck. Last but not least figuring out where the tab mechanism was stuck. Everywhere else, outside under the type basket, was super clean and the bodywork is sweet. Other than a funky 0 / ) slug that wants to smear for some reason, she is 100% pending a carbon ribbon test.
Elite "496" typeface.
A desperate, and ultimately failed, attempt to keep up with IBM. A Royal HE vs the Underwood Scriptor type off? $470 ($5400) msrp or you could lease one!
But this has the best bell ("twin chime") you'll ever hear, using a smaller bell inside the larger with two strikers. Did anyone else do something like this?
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My second HE (awaiting service) came with this interesting brochure for scholastic accounts ca 1960. Added images.
Typeface Specimen:
Links:
Photos:
Hunter: James Grooms (jgrooms)
James Grooms's Typewriter Galleries [ My Collection ] [ My Sightings ]
Status: Typewriter Hunter
Points: 7361
As with many, the bug is back there somewhere due to an Underwood No. 5. My grandfather was on a small town school board and used one for this. My parents had a yellow Royal Safari that I used to index card everything, including a beer can collection. Collection syndrome clue! The long dormant tic was activated when my neighbors left a Remington Quiet Riter on the curb when they moved in circa 2010, Yes a believe it or not story is next, when a Hermes 3000 comes home with the girlfriend from work for free. Yes, free! From there the addiction is full steam. And yes, I now have a No. 5. Typewriters are the perfect blend of using one's technical skills, history and functional purpose.
RESEARCH NOTE: When researching the Royal HE on a computer with lots of screen real estate, you may find that launching the Royal Serial Number page and the Royal HE By Model/Year/Serial page in new browser windows can give you interesting perspectives on changes throughout the model series.