1967 Royal 440 #440 11-8642145
Status: My Collection
Hunter: Plante and Doole-Fisher Typewriters (venneburgtypewriters)
Created: 03-07-2018 at 06:09PM
Last Edit: 03-07-2018 at 06:11PM
Description:
It's battered, bruised, scratched and ugly, but, there is a funny story attached to this tired, worn-out Royal 440. Many years ago (c. 2010) I responded to a Craigslist advertisement for a few typewriters, and met my friend and collecting-partner Sean. He sold me this Royal 440 with a basket-shift issue and a grinding carriage. After having fixed the machine up to it's full potential, I sold the machine a few years later through another Craigslist advertisement in 2014. Thinking that was the last I would see of it, I was not thinking anything when another friend of mine notified he found a Royal 440 standard in a storage locker, in a city about 150 kilometers away from my home. After all, they are relatively common machines, so I wasn't surprised to find another one. However, Sean had written the serial number and year of manufacture in the cover with a sharpie. And low-and-behold, the typewriter turned out to be the same 440 I had sold 3 years prior.
According to my friend, the person I sold the typewriter to vanished off the face of the earth. Even police doesn't know where she is. Her birth-certificate, family photos, passport, etc. were all in that storage locker, along with the 440.
The typewriter had been treated rough after I sold it. The machine had heavy corrosion by the keys, and body paneling had more scratches and dents before. I took it home, and once again completely took it apart and serviced the machine, trying to remove the rust as best as I could.
This is the final result. (The type-sample is not very representative as the alignment works fine but I didn't realize I didn't adjust the carriage-return leaver enough hence the text overlapping.) But the machine is tired. I might just find a nice place where I can donate it, and let it retire. This 440 has done well.
- Dirk
Typeface Specimen:
Photos:
Hunter: Plante and Doole-Fisher Typewriters (venneburgtypewriters)
Plante and Doole-Fisher Typewriters's Typewriter Galleries [ My Collection ] [ My Sightings ]
Status: Typewriter Hunter
Points: 2509
This gallery represents the machines owned by good friends Dirk Plante and Sean Doole, who reside in British Columbia, Canada. Together they have established Venneburg Typewriters, a partnership that to date has seen over 400 typewriters since 2009. Here you will find the machines that are currently still in possession or that have come and gone since December 2017.
***As of July 2020, this collection now also represents pieces from the collection of Troy Krahn!
RESEARCH NOTE: When researching the Royal 440 on a computer with lots of screen real estate, you may find that launching the Royal Serial Number page and the Royal 440 By Model/Year/Serial page in new browser windows can give you interesting perspectives on changes throughout the model series.