Oblique view onto the right side of a yellow and gray bodied 1961 Royal FP typewriter on a wooden surface
Acquired 1961 Royal FP standard typewriter with a special Clarion Gothic typeface (Royal McBee Corporation)
Serial number: FPS-16-7133632
Sandstone (yellow) panels on a gray frame with cream colored plastic keys and platen knobs
Clarion (Double) Gothic typeface in elite (12CPI), 6 lines/inch; US keyboard with 43 keys/86 characters
Manufactured in U.S.A.
Acquired in April 2025 from a bank in Idaho Falls. I spent way more on shipping than the pittance I spent on the machine itself. I had modest hopes that purchasing it as an ex-bank machine that it would have a non-standard typeface and my bet paid off. It was all bonus points that it came in the Sandstone colorway.

It doesn’t have a “1” key and the traditional use of the lower case “L” as a substitute fails. Here one has to use the uppercase “I” to make a 1 to match the rest of the numerals.

Hero shot of a yellow 1961 Royal FP typewriter sitting on a libarary card catalog

Close up of the type slugs of a 1961 Royal FP typewriter with Clarion Gothic typeface. The center of the san serif faced slugs reads "CG".

A library card catalog card with a san serif typesample of a 1961 Royal FP typewriter with a Clarion Gothic typeface.

Oblique view onto the right side of a yellow and gray bodied 1961 Royal FP typewriter on a wooden surface

View of a silver property tag found underneath the hood of a 1961 Royal FP typewriter indicating it's property of the Bank of Commerce in Idaho Falls.

The serial number of this typewriter is on the left side under the hood and next to the ribbon cup.

Oblique angle from the left side of a yellow 1961 Royal FP typewriter sitting on a library card catalog. The large silver carriage return arm juts out at the viewer.

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Chris Aldrich

I'm a biomedical and electrical engineer with interests in information theory, complexity, evolution, genetics, signal processing, IndieWeb, theoretical mathematics, and big history. I'm also a talent manager-producer-publisher in the entertainment industry with expertise in representation, distribution, finance, production, content delivery, and new media.

11 thoughts on “”

  1. 2025-04-04 Finished major overhaul with clean, oil, and adjustment; Only things left I can do here are the rubber feet and the platen which are still in very serviceable condition.

    2025-05-09 This has been in solid rotation lately though my daughter wants it for her room, albeit with a gray body rather than the yellow. I’ve restored most of it though it still needs a bit of degreasing on the return lever which is still a tad slow. I’m planning on taking it to the Pasadena type-in tomorrow. I hope to get some better photos of it up soon.

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  • 💬 Jeff Miller (orange hatband)

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