Harwinton Historian Raymond G. Bently’s Typewriter
Royal HH ELITE Typewriter with Magic Margin (1954). Royal Typewriter Company of New York, New York. Harwinton Historical Society.
Donated by Raymond G. Bently’s daughter Marion B. Thierry in 1990
This Royal Standard Typewriter was used by Historian Raymond G. Bently to type manuscripts for his two books: History of Harwinton and This and That of Early Harwinton. By his own admission, his typing was done by the “hunt and peck” method by using his two index fingers.
The Royal Typewriter Company was founded in 1906 by Thomas Fortunes Ryan and Edward B. Hess, the company benefited from Hess’s inventive skills and over 150 patents, including innovations like the accelerating typebar and Magic Margins. In 1954, the company was eventually sold, and the brand no longer exist.
The Royal Standard Typewriter was produced by the Royal Typewriter Company in New York City, New York. Designed as a flatbed with a QWERTY keyboard, it improved the writing experience by allowing visible text without the need to raise the carriage.
Royal Standard Typewriter Manuel (PDF)
Reference:
[1] “Royal Standard Typewriter,” National Museum of American History, n.d., https://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/object/nmah_856501.
