Saturday, December 18, 2010

Rooy Ultra-Flat Blue Portable Typewriter (1950s)

 


 
Side profile (by the way, not having the use of my balcony for picture-taking in the winter is the pits)

 
Gull-wing ribbon-cover design, with tiny ribbon spools

 
Sliding it open 

 
Closed - the "trapdoor" drops when the machine is opened so the shift can operate

 
The base of the machine actually faces out when you pick it up by the handle

Size comparison with the Hermes Baby

A couple of vintage ads for the Rooy after the cut:

 
This ad shows the earlier version of the Rooy - ours came a bit later. (Source)

The copy says: "Rooy portable typewriter - the flattest in the world. 4cm thick, case included. Put it in your bag or carry it by the handle of the case - it barely weighs 4 kg!"

For more reading on the Rooy, Will Davis has done some excellent research.
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8 comments:

  1. AnonymousDecember 18, 2010 at 3:56 PM

    That has to be the most compact machine I've seen yet. I have a Princess 200 that is very small but I don't think it is as slim as this thing is. Nice find.

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  2. Richard PDecember 18, 2010 at 4:11 PM

    Excellent find. That's interesting styling, I think from the very end of the production. Metal, I presume. These are fascinating machines.

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  3. notagainDecember 18, 2010 at 6:14 PM

    I sought out pics of these when i read about them on the newsgroups. Very impressive design. Clever design is why I like typewriters.

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  4. David 9.aiDecember 18, 2010 at 11:31 PM

    In two words: amazingly gorgeous !!
    Superb - thanks for the many Photos too !!

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  5. AdwoaDecember 19, 2010 at 9:59 AM

    Thanks for the nice comments, everyone.

    Snohomish - I have a Princess 300 featured elsewhere on this blog, and this is far slimmer. For actual writing, though, I find the Princess virtually unmatched among other carriage-shifted portable typewriters of a comparable size.

    Richard - you are right, this comes from the very end of the production. According to Will's post, the last one was no. 76000 produced in 1961. The serial number of this one is 74726! I wonder if any other collectors have a higher serial :) Anyway, it is indeed all metal, although the ribbon covers seem quite flimsy.

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  6. Duffy MoonDecember 21, 2010 at 8:13 PM

    Would not have believed its size without the comparison with the Hermes. That is simply incredible.

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  7. mpclemensJanuary 4, 2011 at 5:51 PM

    That's startlingly small. The Baby looks wee compared to the Skyriter, and now this. Nice find!

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  8. AnonymousFebruary 4, 2011 at 1:39 AM

    I have a couple of Rooy's, and if you still have the manual I'd be happy to pay a reasonable amount for a photocopy. I also have a big clunky B-44-II and I've only been able to find one reference to it. After typing on it, I can understand why... ;-)>

    Thanks,

    DoctorJAD@aol.com

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