museum cards | Chris Aldrich

Typewritten index card in black elite typeface that reads: Hello! I'm a 1955 Royal HH. I'm what's known as a standard typewriter. Usually I would sit permanently on a desk in one space and rarely move, much like a desktop computer now. Smaller and lighter portable typewriters existed for easier use, but they didn't come close to my performance, particularly for long periods of typing. Of course this performance is the reason that writers and creators like Truman Capote, Sylvia Plath, Elia Kazan, Mario Puzo, Robert Penn Warren, Eudora Welty, Charles Bukowski, George Burns, Herb Coen, Bruce Catton, Paddy Chayefski, Don Dellilo, Alice Denham, Paul Russell, James T. Farrell, William F. Buckley, Sterling North, Robert B. Parker, William Zinzer and even Hugh Heffner used Royal HH typewriters just like this one. I've got the standard Royal elite typeface and I can lay down type at 12 characters per inch and 6 lines per vertical inch. This makes me an excellent candidate to write the next great American novel. Why don't you get some paper and give me a whirl?

I usually type up a short introduction card for the handful of typewriters sitting around the house so that visitors will have an idea of what they’re appreciating. It’s almost like having a museum card on a work of art, but usually mine have a call to type on them. Naturally there are either index cards or paper close at hand to encourage both touching and typing.

Above is the brief introduction to the 1955 Royal HH I finished repairing, cleaning out, and re-assembling today.