- ToyWhisperer
- New Member
Offline - Registered: 27-11-2017
- Posts: 3
Re: Help Selecting a First Typewriter for a Child
I came across a guy in my city who refurbishes typewriters, and he has a Royal 990 for $55. He also has a Royal Custom II, but it is badged as a Sears machine. It would be $50, and he is still in the process of cleaning it, so it is dirty in the picture. Should I pursue either of these?
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- Fleetwing
- Typewriter Talk Vet
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- From: Hartford, CT USA
- Registered: 30-6-2015
- Posts: 1,006
Re: Help Selecting a First Typewriter for a Child
Either would be a great choice, if working properly. I'd pay the extra $5 for the Royal -- note that it has a key for the 1/!. Not critical, but a nice convenience.
- skywatcher
- Moderator
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- From: The Prairies of Alberta
- Registered: 14-3-2013
- Posts: 712
Re: Help Selecting a First Typewriter for a Child
Hi TW
Sorry for not getting back to you sooner, been kind of busy around here. Anyhow, let's look at those typewriters. While not as big as a Smith-Corona Galaxie class (Classic 12) or as solid as the Olivetti Lettera 32, the Royal units you have pictured were a moderate typewriter for a modest price in their day. I would tend to agree with Fleetwing with regards to the 990 because of the extra key.
The rebranded Sears does not have a figure 1 key, so you would use a lower case L for a 1. In the days before computers, a lower case L in a string of numbers was evidently a figure and when in a string of letters in a word, it was evidently a letter. With a designated figure 1 key, there is no mistaking or mixing up for a child. There is also the added convenience of the exclamation point ! On typewriters without the exclamation point, you had to build by typing an apostrophe (shift + 8) then backspace and type a period underneath.
If you're willing to share, please let us know your daughter's reaction when she opens the typewriter. Take care and a merry Christmas to you and your daughter from us on the forum. All the best,
Sky
We humans go through many computers in our lives, but in their lives, typewriters go through many of us.
In that way, they’re like violins, like ancestral swords. So I use mine with honor and treat them with respect.
I try to leave them in better condition than I met them. I am not their first user, nor will I be their last.
Frederic S. Durbin. (Typewriter mania and the modern writer)
- Lucas Dul
- Speed Champion
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- From: Chicago
- Registered: 01-1-2018
- Posts: 250
Re: Help Selecting a First Typewriter for a Child
I must throw in the Smith Corona Silent series, maybe specifically the Silent 5. It’s a very well made machine, very sturdy and easy to type on. The action is feather light and very smooth, and the sound is rather quiet. Many typewriters can be very loud and disruptive to others trying to work. From my experience, this machine isn’t an issue.
Did I mention durability? I worked with one that was found on the side of the road, literally thrown out of a moving car judging by the bent body panels...but it worked almost perfectly. I had to repair some linkages, adjust the spacing, and a few other minor things, but these machines are very reliable and easy to use. The machine also features some other nice things that would be good for a first typewriter, like Paper Fingers and a two position Paper Bail for easy loading, though it doesn’t take the universal spool sold at office supply stores. It’s very easy to wind new ribbon onto the old spools though!
Typewriter Service Tech (and avid nerd)
