Royal No. 5 Typewriter

Object/Artifact

-

The Printing Museum

Name/Title

Royal No. 5 Typewriter

Description

Royal No. 5 typewriter with a black finish and a front label that reads: 5 / Royal Typewriting Company / 5 / New York U.S.A.

Made/Created

Date made

1911

Interpretative Labels

Label Type

Object Label

Label

Royal No. 5 Typewriter 1898 Royal Typewriter Company New York, U.S.A The Printing Museum Collection* 2017.000.305 The Royal Typewriter Company, introduced their first typewriter in 1906 and produced typewriters until the 1970s. As one of the longest running typewriter manufacturers, their typewriters were used ubiquitously across generations and like its competitor Remington, Royal was the typewriter of choice for writers, celebrities and politicians. Their early models advanced typewriter development and the Royal No. 10 became a typewriter industry standard for decades to come. A radical departure from the standard, boxy, typewriter styles of the time, the first Royal typewriters’ practical design featured a lower profile and no structural barriers between the typist and paper. The Royal No. 5 has a flatter design compared to previous models. Improvements include the addition of a tabulator for formatting text, paper fingers to hold the paper in place, a two color ribbon, and a backspace key.