1948 Royal Quiet De Luxe #A-1728183
Status: My Collection
Hunter: Mark Schrad (MLSchrad)
Created: 02-15-2026 at 02:05PM
Last Edit: 02-15-2026 at 02:06PM
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Description:
Sometimes the backstory of the machine is even better than the machine itself. This is a 1948 QDL with custom keyboard layout for European language use. This makes sense, given the history of who owned it.
It originally belonged to Norman Bernard Spector, born in Philadelphia in 1921. He got his BS and MS in Education, and Ph.D. in French from the University of Pennsylvania. During WWII he served in the US Army Air Corps in French North and West Africa, where he served as an army interpreter and translator, completing service as an air and base intelligence officer. https://findingaids.library.northwestern.edu/agents/people/2107
After getting his Ph.D., he worked at Northwestern University, the University of Chicago, and Oberlin College as a professor and chair of Romance languages, serving as chair of Northwestern University's Department of French and Italian. The machine was inherited by his son, Bob Spector, where it can be seen in a picture of his dorm room circa 1984.
Just a wonderful machine, with a great and noble history behind it.
Typeface Specimen:
Photos:
Hunter: Mark Schrad (MLSchrad)
Mark Schrad's Typewriter Galleries [ My Collection ] [ My Sightings ]
Status: Typewriter Hunter
Points: 48081
Professor of Political Science and Director of Russian Area Studies at Villanova University. Writes about alcohol politics, Russia, and international law when not refurbishing old typewriters.
RESEARCH NOTE: When researching the Royal Quiet De Luxe on a computer with lots of screen real estate, you may find that launching the Royal Serial Number page and the Royal Quiet De Luxe By Model/Year/Serial page in new browser windows can give you interesting perspectives on changes throughout the model series.
