1 - hamidlmt
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A tale of three typewriters
Howdy ya'll.... I am quite new to the forum. I have recently begun my journey into the world of typewriters. I have acquired a few fantastic typing machines. The Olivetti Underwood Lettera 32 has become my favorite writing tool. It is a beauty from Barcelona. Passionate. And, the sturdy and stoic post-war Royal Quite De Luxe is wonderful with it's buttery tombstone glass keys. The third in my collection, I am told is quite rare. Matt at Ace Typewriter in Portland, Oregon had never seen one before. It is a Royal Aristocrat with the Vogue typeface, glass keys. He said it was a pre-war model and in excellent condition. Can anyone tell me about this marvelous machine? Is there a way to post photos in the forum from my iPad? (Edit: I figured out a workaround to post photos and added sound samples of the three)
Many thanks for stopping by.
Last edited by hamidlmt (22-4-2015 01:11:02)
- Uwe
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Re: A tale of three typewriters
The Aristocrat was more of a budget model that existed for many generations of Royal portables (there was an Aristocrat version of your Royal Quiet De Luxe). The Aristrocrat itself is not a rare machine, but one that is fitted with the Vogue typeface is not one that you see too often. I hope you can add photos of the machine and a type sample to this thread (instructions for adding photos can be found in the FAQ topic of this sub-forum).
The pronoun I has always been capitalized in the English language for more than 700 years.
- JustAnotherGuy
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Re: A tale of three typewriters
Wow, Vogue. People pay stupid money for Vogue typewriters, and the fact that it is on a later machine like that Aristocrat is pretty remarkable, they are usually on machines from the 30's. You got real lucky there.
- hamidlmt
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Re: A tale of three typewriters
Is the Aristorcat really a budget model? From mr typewriter.com regarding the Royal Aristocrat.... "This limited edition, called the "B" model or "Aristocrat" was Royal's top machine and their first "freedom shift" model."
I will post more photos very soon, along with a typeface sample.
Irregardless... I feel very fortunate with all of my typewriters... Elegant machines in the digital age.
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Thread Starter- Uwe
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Re: A tale of three typewriters
hamidlmt wrote:
Is the Aristorcat really a budget model?
Relatively, yes.
However, I didn't call it a budget model, just that it was more budget friendly next to the Quiet De Luxe. I probably should have just said it was positioned below the Quiet De Luxe in the Royal line up. For example, a 1940 Royal Quiet De Luxe retailed for $97 (relative to $1,627 in 2015) whereas the Aristrocrat was priced at $89 ($1,492). The Arrow and Varsity were cheaper yet. Essentially the Aristocrat is a Quiet De Luxe without the quiet type action.
The pronoun I has always been capitalized in the English language for more than 700 years.
- hamidlmt
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Re: A tale of three typewriters
Uwe... That is helpful in understanding the range. I will have to get both the machines together and compare their sounds. There is a musicality to each one. Thank you... I appreciate your knowledge base. Typeface samples will be posted soon.
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Thread Starter- hamidlmt
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Re: A tale of three typewriters
Wow, Vogue. People pay stupid money for Vogue typewriters, and the fact that it is on a later machine like that Aristocrat is pretty remarkable, they are usually on machines from the 30's. You got real lucky there.
I am rather curious how much a typewriter with this Vogue typeface is worth. Any ballpark idea? Though, I plan on typing with these things quite a lot with zero plans to sell.
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Thread Starter- Uwe
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Re: A tale of three typewriters
I will have to get both the machines together and compare their sounds.
That should prove to be a very interesting exercise. I once took a decibel meter and compared a number of "silent/quiet/noiseless" models and found some where only marginally less noisy than the regular models in their respective line-ups.
The pronoun I has always been capitalized in the English language for more than 700 years.
- ztyper
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Re: A tale of three typewriters
Ooooh... Vogue typeface... I'm a complete sucker for typefaces, and I would love to add the Vogue typeface to my collection. I'm hoping to find one in the back of a thrift shop or flea market that no one knows about. That'd be a nice tale to tell.
And please share your findings about the sounds of the typewriters. Try the Quiet DeLuxe vs. the Aristocrat, like you said, the Aristocrat was a more budget-friendly QDL. It's Royal's 2nd best portable model, and there's not much different about it.
If you're going to do sounds, I'd also recommend trying the touch, how each typewriter feels under your fingers, to see which one is your favourite. Everyone has a machine they love the feel of, and it will be your most used one once you find it. (I tested a Royal QDL against my Royal Arrow. The Arrow is Royal's budget typewriter, lacking a tabulator, paper guide, and two-way paper bail. I prefer the touch of the Arrow much more, so the QDL is currently my brother's).
A high schooler with a lot of typewriters. That's pretty much about it.
- hamidlmt
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Re: A tale of three typewriters
Here are a few images of the two Royals, plus a Vogue (not to be confused with Vogon poetry) typeface sample. I will see about getting an audio comparrison and comparing and contrasting how each one feels. The Quiet De Luxe is the more accurate typer at the moment. The Aristocrat needs a bit of work, as it inserts a space or two every now and again. You'll see from the type sample.
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