Description
Black and white 9 3/4″ x 13 3/4″ ad for the Royal Portable Typewriters. The ad headline asks the question, “Why buy him a typewriter at the end of school?” as the picture shows boys on a camping trip in the middle of summertime, typing away outdoors. The text says that “Summer vacation, you’re probably saying, should be a time for rest and physical development only. True. But learning to use a typewriter is more fun than work for a youngster. And he’ll return to school with fingers that can keep pace with the racing thoughts of youth – not chained to the creeping progress of his pencil. For, the greater speed and ease will free his mind for thinking rather than writing“. The next picture shows a girl typing away at home, a sly smile on her face as she types away. “How Do We Know that a Portable typewriter can do these things for your youngster? By tests in the nation’s schools and colleges which show that students who use typewriters average 17% more written work – make 75% fewer mistakes in English – and average 10% to 30% higher grades in many subjects than those who use longhand alone”. The next picture shows a boy being complimented by his parents as the text asks “Should A Graduation Gift Reward – Or Prepare?. A Royal Portable is the one gift that does both. For a knowledge of typing is invaluable in dozens of occupations…and can be a career in itself. The remarkable “Self Teacher” – a device with which even grade-school youngsters learn the touch system in a few hours – comes with every Royal Portable“. The last text wants to know “But Which Portable? One make is really a standard office typewriter – in almost everything but size. This is the Royal Portable. It has a keyboard just like that on a full-sized typewriter – plus these famous “big-machine” features: MAGIC*Margin (just flick the lever to change margins)…Touch Control (adjusts a key tension to your individual touch)…Bobless shift (the carriage doesn’t clatter and jump up when you shift)…and many others”.
Source: April 28, 1941 Life magazine.
