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03-12-2016 16:48:13  #1


My Love For Royal Quiet De Luxe


I've been collecting for a bit now. I've a really beautiful Hermes 3000, a few Olympias, an SC portable. 

But by far, the most fun I've had is with my three Royal Quiet De Luxe machines from the mid to late 1950s. I purchased them either completely restored (rubber too) or in great shape, which I suppose helps. But there's just something simple and satisfying about typing on them.

I'll have to say it--they are my favorite machines.

Anyone else put them oin the top of their list in satisfaction?

 

03-12-2016 22:53:17  #2


Re: My Love For Royal Quiet De Luxe

Yes.  I've owned several.  I can tell you that they're rough, rugged, and reliable machines.  Right now, I own a few derivatives:  Royal Arrow; Royal Aristocrat, and Royal Safari.  So far, my '49 Royal Arrow--aka "Daddy Sam," is my favorite.


Underwood--Speeds the World's Bidness
 

04-12-2016 09:56:22  #3


Re: My Love For Royal Quiet De Luxe

The first machine I bought when the seemingly innocent thought bubbled up "I bet it would be fun to type again" was a Royal Quiet De Luxe like the ones you picture. It was everything I had hoped a typewriter would be and this happy coincidence (or was it) helped things along as the fatal follow up casually remarked "Well, how about a few backups"?

Since then I've encountered machines that were more than I could have hoped a typewriter would be, so the original QDL's (good enough to get their own abbreviation) have gone back to sleep in their carrying cases. I have no more hands nor hours in the day than the next man. But I agree with "simple and satisfying", and could add "solid, centrist, yoeman" and other good adjectives for the American Volkswriter.


"Damn the torpedoes! Four bells, Captain Drayton".
 

04-12-2016 12:49:02  #4


Re: My Love For Royal Quiet De Luxe

HI Repartee, 
Now you got my curiosity tickled...I know it is very personal, but what machines pray tell are more than you could have hoped for? And which aspects are most important for you? Touch, response, solidity, reliability, etc.? 
My own taste is very quirky so I am very interested to hear what other people value the most in their typewriters....

 

04-12-2016 17:56:23  #5


Re: My Love For Royal Quiet De Luxe

Putting in my two cents here, but I value all of the above pretty much equally, and I can also say that having repaired typewriters for the last thirty-five years, I have found there are many typewriters from portable manuals to electric uprights that fit these descriptions--some to a greater or lesser degree than others.  Most any typewriter that has been properly cleaned, oiled, and maintained can achieve high marks for touch and response. Because of its basic design, the typewriter is generally solid and reliable, unless it is decidedly cheap and slipshod of construction as to remind its unfortunate owner that his/her machine was made by a hung over crew on a Monday morning at gunpoint.


Underwood--Speeds the World's Bidness
 

04-12-2016 23:22:51  #6


Re: My Love For Royal Quiet De Luxe

I like my 1939 QDL a lot. It was in great condition when I bought it 10 years ago at a thrift shop for $5, before I knew its significance. (I had heard of key shoppers and just wanted to rescue it.) It sat in my closet until a couple months ago when I gave the escapement a good cleaning and now it works fine.
The keyboard's a bit confined for my fat fingers -- especially compared to my Selectric -- but once I get the hang of it, it works fine. 

 

04-12-2016 23:52:21  #7


Re: My Love For Royal Quiet De Luxe

Rushwarp wrote:

HI Repartee, 
Now you got my curiosity tickled...I know it is very personal, but what machines pray tell are more than you could have hoped for? And which aspects are most important for you? Touch, response, solidity, reliability, etc.? 

My tastes change from day to day and week to week and since I just passed my first anniversary as a reborn typist I'm still running around like a kid in a candy store thinking "Wow, that's great! Let me try this one!"  Also I realize there are many, many variables at work: there is the particular machine, not just the general model, there is the condition of the ribbon and the platen, there is my mental condition and physical stamina, there is the evolving state of my technique and experience. There are a smorgasbord of things to appreciate and not all have to be present in every machine to love them: some are beautiful just as works of mechanical art, others you marvel at because of their age and the fact they are still in working order at all, some you admire because they still function though they've led a rough life, and many or all (thank you Uwe for this insight) you really have to get to know over a period of time before you can fully appreciate them.

To drop some names of species whose individuals I have encountered in a positive way I mention: Olympia SG-1, SM-9, Hermes 3000, 9, IBM model B (non-executive), Rheinmetall KsT, Remington Super-Riter...
I could go on. All are individuals and have strengths and weaknesses, but if you left me marooned on an island with any one of these, food, shelter and a good stock of typing supplies, I don't think I would suffer too much (scratch the IBM - my fantasy does not include a generator).


"Damn the torpedoes! Four bells, Captain Drayton".
 

05-12-2016 05:52:13  #8


Re: My Love For Royal Quiet De Luxe

Follow your thoughts completely.
I am presently in a love affiar with 3-bankers for some reason.
Love my Remington, Erika's and Olympia's, but the Imperial model D and the Underwood 3 bank are just so much fun to use, and they type very well to boot. In the end there are not so many moments when you need to shift into 2nd gear when behind these 3-bank machines.
The SM3 is one smoooooth writer, but also less exciting to me for that reason The older the typewriter, the more secrets it has...

 

05-12-2016 13:58:44  #9


Re: My Love For Royal Quiet De Luxe

pdxtypewriter wrote:

...Royal Quiet De Luxe machines from the mid to late 1950s ...they are my favorite machines ...Anyone else put them on the top of their list in satisfaction?

It's nowhere near the top of my list.

I own an example of almost every generation Quiet De Luxe that was made, even the plastic version from the '60s that you don't see as often, and I much prefer those that were produced during the late '40s for their design and performance.  

But then again, rankings such as these are always directly influenced by the sample size someone is basing their assessment on, and other factors such as how much experience/exposure they have with different typewriter models, and the overall condition of each individual machine being compared; within a small group of typewriters it only takes a poor example of one particular model to make the one that it's competing against, a model that otherwise would be considered an average typewriter at best, appear to be really good.
 


The pronoun has always been capitalized in the English language for more than 700 years.
 

06-12-2016 05:57:39  #10


Re: My Love For Royal Quiet De Luxe

pdxtypewriter wrote:

I don't know if you follow eBay but there is a very active auction for a bubble gum pink Royal like yours right now...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/282277798828

apparently fueled by two bidders one of whom thinks it is valuable and the other who thinks it is priceless! Unless that is yours and your post was a marketing gambit? 

I've found that while the activity of this board is low it may have a surprising effect on the spot market for particular kinds of typewriters.
 


"Damn the torpedoes! Four bells, Captain Drayton".
 

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