July 1962 Royal Safari

The first national advertisement for the Royal Safari appeared in Life Magazine on August 24, 1962. Newspaper ads soon followed. However, this typewriter was made in July, 1962. I bought it last Sunday in Buckley, Washington for $15. When I bought it, it was missing large amounts of paint on the top of the machine. I then repainted it in a light blue that was as close to the original paint as possible. (Slightly later Royals used this shade of "Pottery Blue.") This typewriter has the distinction of being the best Royal Safari that I have ever used. (Generally, the touch is strangely heavy, yet light; this one works like a breeze!)

 Front view. Notice that the touch selector and ribbon color selectors are both stickers.

 The serial number. Jay Respler could not believe how early this typewriter was made.

 Front angles. This typewriter reminds me of the Jetsons.  (Nick Bodemer Collection)

August 24, 1962 ad from Life Magazine (Courtesy of Darryl Bridson, Royal Consumer Information Products)

Life Magazine, September 14, 1962 (Courtesy of Darryl Bridson, Royal Consumer Information Products)

Life Magazine, May 10, 1963 (Courtesy of Darryl Bridson, Royal Consumer Information Products)

Royal Portable Dealers in Seattle and Tacoma as of September 13, 1959

SEATTLE

• Ben Bridge Jewelers, 409 Pike Street
• The Bon Marche, Third and Pine
• Burien Office Machines, 203 SW 152nd
• Frederick & Nelson, Fifth and Pine
• University Bookstore, 4326 University Way NE
• Weisfield's Jewelers, 420 Pine Street

TACOMA

• Allied Business Machines, 931 Commerce Street
• People's Store, 1103 Pacific Avenue

According to Richard Milton, 1.5 million Royal Safari portable typewriters were made in the 1960s. His site can be viewed at: https://web.archive.org/web/20040805125731/http://portabletypewriters.com/portable_typewriters_royal.htm