Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Royal Royalite typewriters

In 1954, Royal McBee corporation purchased an emerging typewriter manufacturer from Holland, who only made small portable typewriters, which were known as Halberg Travelers. Very few Halberg-labeled typewriters were made; most are found under the name Royal. Royal altered the design of the Traveler--the gull-wing ribbon covers were removed, as was the console carrying case, which was similar to that of the Smith-Corona Skyriter. These were replaced by a removable ribbon cover, which stretched down the sides of the machine, and a zippered carrying case, which was made of vinyl. They were sold under a new name: Royal Royalite.

While the earliest Royalites were one-tone green, later models could be found in two-tone gray, or in a special name variant, called the Eldorado, in black and gold. These typewriters came in vinyl attache cases. In 1963, the Halberg-designed Royalite was offered one last time, as the Royalite '64, which was the first Royalite to be offered with a two-color ribbon. However, this was not the last use of the Halberg design. Until 1967, versions with a raised ribbon cover, which did not stretch down the sides, were offered as the "Royal Citadel," the "Royal Lark," the "Royal Dart," and the "Singer Scholastic," which was sold only at Singer Sewing Machine Centers.
The final typewriter to use this design was manufactured in 1967, most likely a Singer Scholastic. For more information on this machine, go to http://royaltypewriters.blogspot.com/p/singer-scholastic.html


2 comments:

  1. Hi,I am not sure if you can help but I am searching for information on the Royal Royalite 110. I am after either a manual or service manual.

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  2. I have a Singer Personal italian keyboard that is 99% equal to Royalite 65 (but with red/black ribbon switch) and 100% equal to a Royalite 120

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