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1965 Royal Custom Serial # CU6056871 1965 Royal Custom typewriter, Serial # CU6056871 Stephen Hanafin's 1965 Royal Custom typewriter. 2021-10-02 From the Virtual Typewriter Collection of Stephen Hanafin: 1965 Royal Custom Serial # CU6056871 A local find on OfferUp for $20. Came with the original carrying case and manual - which, by the way, only says Royal Safari, no mention of 'custom' anywhere. I have no idea what they were doing with the branding on these machines back in the day. The case was absolutely filthy, coming from a smoker's garage, but the typewriter inside was remarkably clean and fully functional. It had a few ink smudges on its shell, and some brown stains (probably nicotine, yuck) on some of the keys, but that all came off pretty easily. Even the ribbon in it is still functional. It is missing one spool, with the ribbon being somehow MacGuyvered onto the right side, but it will take universal modern spools so that is no problem. (I have since wound the ribbon on that end onto a regular spool while I wait for a fresh ribbon to come in the mail)
This is the first typewriter I have had that has neither paper bail nor paper fingers, instead relying on large clear plastic card guides to keep the paper close to the platen. The system works well enough. When I type on this machine it feels quite similar to my 1968 Brother Echelon 88 (A JP-1 variant), which is a good thing in my book. In all, I was pleasantly surprised and satisfied with this machine. Any $20 typewriter that doesn't need repairs is a great deal in my book.

Typeface on this one is Pica.

*** Sold 2021-10-02 ***

1965 Royal Custom #CU6056871

Status: Sightings
Hunter: Stephen Hanafin (st3ph3n)
Created: 05-23-2021 at 01:45PM
Last Edit: 10-02-2021 at 09:01PM

Description Hunter 9 Photos 0 Likes  Find on Ebay #AD  Find on Etsy #AD

Description:

A local find on OfferUp for $20. Came with the original carrying case and manual - which, by the way, only says Royal Safari, no mention of 'custom' anywhere. I have no idea what they were doing with the branding on these machines back in the day. The case was absolutely filthy, coming from a smoker's garage, but the typewriter inside was remarkably clean and fully functional. It had a few ink smudges on its shell, and some brown stains (probably nicotine, yuck) on some of the keys, but that all came off pretty easily. Even the ribbon in it is still functional. It is missing one spool, with the ribbon being somehow MacGuyvered onto the right side, but it will take universal modern spools so that is no problem. (I have since wound the ribbon on that end onto a regular spool while I wait for a fresh ribbon to come in the mail)
This is the first typewriter I have had that has neither paper bail nor paper fingers, instead relying on large clear plastic card guides to keep the paper close to the platen. The system works well enough. When I type on this machine it feels quite similar to my 1968 Brother Echelon 88 (A JP-1 variant), which is a good thing in my book. In all, I was pleasantly surprised and satisfied with this machine. Any $20 typewriter that doesn't need repairs is a great deal in my book.

Typeface on this one is Pica.

*** Sold 2021-10-02 ***

Typeface Specimen:

Photos:

"Custom" nameplate. Also a good view of Royal's "Magic Meter" card guides, which are used instead of a paper bail on this machine.
"Custom" nameplate. Also a good view of Royal's "Magic Meter" card guides, which are used instead of a paper bail on this machine.

Front view of the machine. Tab set/clear buttons (named 'column' in Royal's terminology) visible to the left and right of the Royal logo.
Front view of the machine. Tab set/clear buttons (named 'column' in Royal's terminology) visible to the left and right of the Royal logo.

Top down view of the keyboard, which includes 1/! and +/= buttons. Touch control on the left, ribbon position selector on the right. "Column" is the tab key.
Top down view of the keyboard, which includes 1/! and +/= buttons. Touch control on the left, ribbon position selector on the right. "Column" is the tab key.

Ribbon cover removed. Takes standard half inch ribbon on 2 inch spools. These machines originally shipped with Royal's proprietary 'Twin Pak' ribbons that were enclosed in plastic cartridges that fit within the 2 inch spool's footprint.
Ribbon cover removed. Takes standard half inch ribbon on 2 inch spools. These machines originally shipped with Royal's proprietary 'Twin Pak' ribbons that were enclosed in plastic cartridges that fit within the 2 inch spool's footprint.

Side view.
Side view.

I only noticed the loose panel on the end of the carriage when I was taking these photos. It has since been fixed!
I only noticed the loose panel on the end of the carriage when I was taking these photos. It has since been fixed!

Owners manual. Note how it says 'New Royal Safari', not 'Custom'. As far as I can tell, the only change for the custom model is that black plate surrounding the Royal logo and the custom badge on the carriage. If anyone knows better, please let me know!
Owners manual. Note how it says 'New Royal Safari', not 'Custom'. As far as I can tell, the only change for the custom model is that black plate surrounding the Royal logo and the custom badge on the carriage. If anyone knows better, please let me know!

The case. It looks like the aluminum Samsonite cases that Smith Corona was using at the time, but it is nowhere near as durable. The black parts are actually plastic. This was disgustingly filthy when I got it, but has cleaned up pretty well.
The case. It looks like the aluminum Samsonite cases that Smith Corona was using at the time, but it is nowhere near as durable. The black parts are actually plastic. This was disgustingly filthy when I got it, but has cleaned up pretty well.

Case interior, showing mounting hardware
Case interior, showing mounting hardware

Hunter: Stephen Hanafin (st3ph3n)

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I have learned that I'm a fan mostly of mid-century european portables


RESEARCH NOTE: When researching the Royal Custom on a computer with lots of screen real estate, you may find that launching the Royal Serial Number page and the Royal Custom By Model/Year/Serial page in new browser windows can give you interesting perspectives on changes throughout the model series.

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