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1972 Royal Apollo 12-GT typewriter at work
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The Apollo is a sort of hybrid, a lightweight typewriter design that took a uniquely minimalist approach to electric drive. These portables from Silver-Seiko -- introduced in 1968 for sale by Royal Litton Industries -- began with a design that employed a whisper-quiet motor to power the keystroke. And absolutely nothing else. Sometime during this machine's five-year run, a few other powered functions were added. On this 1972 model, the shift key is also powered.
(With minor evolutionary changes along the way, there were four variants of the Apollo typewriter. The Apollo 10 and Apollo 12 were black-and-white machines with carriage widths of 10 and 12 inches, respectively. Then there were GT variants of each, mechanically identical but with different color schemes -- I've seen them in two-tone brown and two-tone blue. The more compact 10-inch Apollos came with a nifty snap-on lid; the wide-carriage versions came in a clamshell carrying case like the one you see here.)
My first Royal Apollo, encountered a few years ago, delighted me. It's such an unexpected and creative take on how to motorize a typewriter. If you're accustomed to the binary paradigm of traditional manual vs. traditional electric, this comes as something new. But after a few minutes of typing, it makes total sense. In use, this typewriter makes a persuasive case for its unique design. And it is hands-down the quietest electric typewriter I've ever worked with.
This typewriter came to me in clean condition, needing little in the way of work. As I always do, I began by cleaning the mechanism carefully with compressed air, brushes and solvents. I attended to just a few needed adjustments, put things back together, glued new rubber feet to the underside, loaded a fresh ink ribbon, and tested the typewriter extensively. Now I'm satisfied that every key and every control is working correctly. The type pitch here is elite, 12 characters to the inch, and I hope you'll take some time with the specimen page to appreciate the fine quality of this machine's printed impression.
Look closely and you'll see that I have repaired one of the latching "teeth" that secure the carrying case. I have also replaced the typewriter's rubber feet; and the mechanism is now suspended nicely inside its shell with a fresh set of grommets.
Please review my seller feedback, which speaks to my efforts here to restore machines with care and connect them with new owners. I ship promptly and with plenty of padding. Thanks for reading!