I suspect it’s either going to be this or an Olympia SG1 I’ve had my eye on which will be my daily standard machine.
The Royal HH
First, it’s a Royal HH. It’s one of Royal’s standard desktop machines which they started manufacturing in 1952 and which ran until at least 1957.
This is my first standard typewriter as most of the others in my collection are portable typewriters which accompany one ultra-portable. “Standard” indicates its a big machine that was meant to be placed permanently on a desk. At about 30 pounds, it wasn’t meant to be carried around like the portables, but on the other hand, being built with more weight and internal space, it was designed to work smoothly forever with modest care. Thirty pounds is a lot of typewriter. For comparison, my Smith-Corona Silent is just 12.8 pounds.
According to Richard Polt’s well-researched compilation, writers who were known to own and use the Royal HH include: William Buckley, Charles Bukowski, George Burns, Herb Coen, Truman Capote, Bruce Catton, Patty Chayefsky, Don Dellilo, Alicen Denham, James T. Farrell, Paul Russell, Hugh Heffner, Elia Kazan, Sterling North, Robert B. Parker, Syliva Plath, Mario Puzo, Robert Penn Warren, Eudora Welty, and William Zinzer.
Polt’s site also has a 1952 copy of the Royal HH manual.
The serial number stamped on the right side of my machine just underneath the carriage when moved to the left is HHE-5765903, which the typewriterdatabase.com places as a late 1955 machine. (The grid for the Royal serial numbers starts 1955 with 5,500,000 and the 1956 model year stars with serial number 5,787,000.) The HH portion of the serial number identifies it as an HH model and the E indicates that it’s an elite typeface with 12 characters per inch versus the P which was reserved for pica typeface (usually 10 CPI). Like most typewriters of this vintage it also types at 6 lines per inch.
Based on the available original colors listed at the Typewriter Database, I’m going to say that mine is done in Royaltone Light Gray wrinkle. Other HH model paint colors included: Charcoal Grey smooth, Nile Green smooth, Horizon Blue smooth, Coral Rose, Gray Frieze, and Royaltone Dark Gray wrinkle.
Purchase and initial observations/testing
I got this typewriter in an uncontested online auction for $5.99, so in my book it’s already a steal. It had sat on the site for weeks, slowly coming down from a price of $30. Sadly as is almost always the case with online auctions, shipping is the true ordeal. Even moreso when you consider that this typewriter is 2-3 times the weight and significantly larger than portable machines. It also doesn’t help that these machines never had cases.
Naturally the seller chose a poorly sized box, put in some heavy padding, threw the typewriter in, and put some modest, but heavily inadequate padding around it. That’s it… ugh. They made no effort to secure the carriage, so when I opened it up, it was all the way to the right. They didn’t even bother to do padding for the back of the machine.

Worse, it definitely took some hits in shipping so the right side Magic Margin lever is bent and isn’t working. Not having the carriage in place, the left side also took a major hit and the frame in the back left corner is bent so that the carriage doesn’t move freely. It’s going to take some heavy work to get it back into alignment if it can be done at all.
With a screwdriver as a lever and some significant manual help, I was able to eke out a short typing sample. The key action is gummy at best though none of the keys were too sticky. I expect a thorough cleaning will revive a more snappy typing action.
It’s definitely going to need a serious cleaning both inside and out. Someone wrote a large “50” on the back of the machine in the left rear in thick black magic marker. (Perhaps it was from a large typing pool with at least 50+ machines?) This seemed like a a propitious “sign” when I bought it as a 50th Birthday present, so let’s hope for good luck as a result. The decals on it are mediocre at best, so maybe it’s a good candidate for redoing the exterior even though the rest of the paint is in really good condition.
The alignment of the type is generally okay, but it’s going to need at least a motion adjustment. There’s some occasional piling of letters in my short test. Hopefully some of it clears up in cleaning, but knowing my terrible typing technique and Royal’s famous finicky touch, it may also need some adjustment afterwards to the timing.
The platen is as hard as they come, and will need replacing.
The all black ribbon isn’t totally horrible, but is a tad old and on the drying side. It came with original metal standard spools. I’m sure I’ll swap out the ribbon for a new bichrome black/red which the machine supports. It’s possible that the ribbon reverse mechanism may need some help.
The right platen knob is loose. It’s going to need a screw tightened and/or replaced. The variable spacing mechanisms seem to work, but could be cleaner in their functioning.
Hopefully I don’t run across any additional internal damage or issues as a result of the poor shipping.
Favorite Feature
Because I do a lot of typing on index cards, I can already tell that the most interesting feature on this machine are the spring loaded card fingers. They’ve got tiny little switches on them, which—when pressed—flip them over and out of the way.
@chrisaldrich You’re way above my level on repair! (I’m at the “Can I re-ink this ribbon?” level.) I hope you can get that bend out! If so, I’m sure it will be worth it.
@chrisaldrich I think you have your work cut out for you on repairing this one. Good luck.
@chrisaldrich looks gorgeous!
@the I started out with reading Polt’s The Typewriter Revolution (Countryman Press, 2015) which has some good basics. Consulting his basic typewriter restoration page was very helpful too. Beyond that and knowing the names of some of the basic parts, the rest is just following along with YouTube videos and practicing on getting my own machines up to snuff. It’s almost amazing what you can do with a single screwdriver, a squeeze bottle of paint thinner, canned air, and a toothbrush.
I did just get a copy of The Manual Typewriter Repair Bible, but have yet to really crack it. Hopefully it’ll up my game for this upcoming repair.
It’s been a very satisfying and useful little hobby these past 4 months. If you want to crib from my notes…
I love that era of Royal Standard. My KMM will last longer than me, and can also be used to fend off zombies, if need be!
I have to think it would be easier to swing a Clipper as a weapon, but I’d use one of these if necessary. Based on movie experience it seems more apropos to use a Royal 10 to bash in (zombie) heads. ️
I am in search of a good standard for daily use and this seems like an interesting start.
@chrisaldrich Thanks! Good motivation!
@the If it helps to be able to say that Tom Hanks taught you to change a typewriter ribbon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GBbsNKaVAB0
You see photos of standard typewriters, but you’re never ready for what shows up. To provide some scale, here are my 12.8 pound 1949 Royal Quiet De Luxe portable and my 29.8 pound 1955 Royal HH standard next to each other. The Royal HH is a substantial typewriter. (I think I’m in love. )


That’s awesome. I used to have mine displayed on shelves.
I want to do a basic version that clips onto the front of the shelf. I will type the card out using the typewriter, and put its years, make, model and font name at a minimum.
I don’t display mine so much as there just happens to be one one set up and ready to type in most every room… but yes, I do encourage visitors to try them out! 🙂
I am going to do this for my daily driver. I know it’s history, and it would be both a way to honor the past owners, as well as a friend that died some years ago.
I even have some nice looking older card stock to type it on.
Thank you for this idea.
The typebars and slugs are mint and perfectly aligned
Apart from famous figures who were known to use the same model, I also include fun facts/trivias aligned with each typewriter’s year of manufacture…idk it just makes it easier for non-enthusiasts to gauge the historical essence of the machines.
For instance, I own a Corona Folding typewriter. My favourite thing to tell guests is that this piece was manufactured the same year the Titanic sank. Helps them wrap their head around the age and have some reverence for it
That card is fantastic
I don’t display my typewriters, but when conversation comes to them, I encourage people to try them, too.
Today’s office. We’ve got a newly finished Shaw-Walker filing cabinet and a 1955 Royal HH standard typewriter.
The typewriter in Carl Bernstein’s home in the movie All The King’s Men (1976) was a Royal HHE just like mine.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gn3MSQogVeY