Really, I wasn't purposely out shopping for another typewriter. But my feet just sort of carried me to this shop, and how can one resist a gleaming machine for $20? Once home in its equally well-preserved faux leather case, internet research revealed that the Royal Futura 800 was a top-of-the-line machine designed for household use by Laird Covey and manufactured by Royal in 1958. A more detailed post on this machine will be found
here. This machine exemplifies a period when manufacturers in general took pride in the appearance and quality of their products, and it is a pleasure to own and to use.
 |
| Among other gleaming plastic and metal bits, the bright red "Magic Margin" button reminds even the dullest of how to set the margins. |
 |
| Simple, clean, and stylish |
.
 |
| The first time I'd met one of these - quite a classy machine |
.
 |
| Also the first time I'd seen a cloth ribbon in cartridges |
.
.
 |
| The keyboard-mounted auto tab button - a first. And the secret ribbon cover release. |
.
 |
| All and all, a decent-looking and usable machine. |
 |
| The case is decent as well, other than the missing handle |
Royal and Smith-Corona (for Sears as well) made fabric ribbons in assorted colours in cartridges so you allegedly didn't have to get your fingers dirty installing them (coupled with ribbon vibrators designed for ease of installation). Royal's system seems to be the better of the two, I think!
ReplyDeleteIndeed...the two outer "wings" that form the slot on the vibrator swing out to widen the slot, and the guides on those wings help to invite the ribbon home. The best I've seen. Although even so I see tht I have failed to clean the last of the blue smudges from a few of the keys.
DeleteAn outstanding typeface! And a great price on a nice machine.
ReplyDeleteNice find. I'm proud to say a near identical Futura 800 graces my collection, and that I acquired it for very little investment from a local thrift store.
ReplyDelete~Joe
Well, I guess after the initial "buy-whatever-you-see" phase and after accumulating quite a few of these it is never "purposefully". You just go to such a shop saying to yourself that you're not looking for another machine nor you're going to buy one. But still - at the back of your mind there is a hope/prayer: let there be something, anything - a gem, a real find to vindicate another purchase. Of course if we were strong enough we wouldn't go there in a first place! :) Congratulations on a nice find!
ReplyDeleteExactly!
DeleteFor whatever it's worth, the trade name for that pushbutton ribbon cover opening was "the Presto-Magic Ribbon Cover." Nice machine!
ReplyDeletePoetry!
DeleteRoyal must have had Don Draper working for them
DeleteAt the risk of sounding ignorant, is the ribbon cover metal? And I really like the embossed/debossed Royal ID on the back - very classy.
ReplyDeleteAs long as I had it out to check the ribbon cover (cast aluminum) I caught a photo of the case. I stopped by the Salvation Army today to try to find a belt to use as a handle. No, I wasn't looking for typewriters, and no, they didn't have any anyhow.
DeleteGreat typeface - very classy! Nice-looking machine too (:
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on the great looking Futura 800. I always though it was quite imaginative that the Royal designers used the logo as a cover release.
ReplyDeleteVery nice machine! I really like the clever design of that cover release. And it looks like it doesn't suffer from that common Royal trait, inserting spaces where it shouldn't.
ReplyDeleteI bought one very much like yours about a month ago:
ReplyDeletehttp://dansblogofdestinyorwhatever.blogspot.com/2013/09/blog-post.html
Very stylish machines!
Ohhhh beautiful typeface!
ReplyDeleteWhat a great find :D
wow I have 1 in the original plastic case gry with maroon face
ReplyDeleteI just found one at a reasonable price which was in Idyllwild, CA, in a nicely cluttered antique store. It performs beautifully. The sound is so delightful, with many ease of use ergonomic features, that it is quite a wonderful machine. I'm just a little older than this beauty and given her excellent condition, she is likely to outlast us all. I'm prepared for the ElectroMagnetic Pulse and sunspot power grid meltdown now!
ReplyDelete