Royal KMM basic introduction

Looks like a post-war standard Royal KMM, sometimes best known as the machine used by Jessica Fletcher in the TV show Murder She Wrote (as well as the upcoming Jamie Lee Curtis reboot.)

Richard Polt has you covered for the manual and some repair manuals/information.

Some contemporaneous videos on use and maintenance may help.

As for ribbon replacement, try this video. The spools for the standard Royal typewriters (Ten, H, KH, KHM, KMM, KMG, RP, HH, FP, Empress, 440, 660, etc.) have a custom metal mechanism for their auto-reverse. The spools are known as the T1 (which is the same as General Ribbon part # T1-77B , T1-77BR, and Nu-Kote B64.) If winding on 1/2 inch wide universal ribbon onto them, remove the eyelette which isn't needed and may interfere with the auto reverse. If necessary, Ribbons Unlimited carries these spools or you can get them (and ribbon) from a local typewriter repair shop.

Ribbon purveyors: https://site.xavier.edu/polt/typewriters/tw-faq.html#q1. I prefer Baco and Fine Line for their spectacular pricing and quality.

Other known historical users of the Royal KMM:

• John Ashbery
• Russell Baker
• Ray Bradbury
• Richard Brautigan
• Richard Brooks
• Pearl S. Buck
• Johnny Carson (or possibly KMG)
• Norman Corwin
• Frank Herbert
• Helen Keller
• Murray Kempton
• Ken Kesey
• George Washington Lee
• Harper Lee
• Ursula K. LeGuin
• David McCullough
• Margaret Mead
• Dorothy Paraker
• Grantland Rice
• Georges Simenon
• Christina Stead
• Tom Wolfe

reply to u/Alchemic-Web at https://reddit.com/r/typewriters/comments/1mtx90h/got_a_1940s_underwood_whats_best_way_to_clean_it/

Congratulations and welcome to the club.

For some basic typewriter 101 including a short intro to cleaning, try: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJtHauPh529XYHI5QNj5w9PUdi89pOXsS

More cleaning and restoration: - https://boffosocko.com/2024/08/09/on-colloquial-advice-for-degreasing-cleaning-and-oiling-manual-typewriters/ - https://site.xavier.edu/polt/typewriters/tw-restoration.html

For use and maintenance: https://boffosocko.com/2025/06/06/typewriter-use-and-maintenance-for-beginning-to-intermediate-typists/

Additional resources: https://boffosocko.com/research/typewriter-collection/

Start here: https://typewriterdatabase.com/imperial.76.typewriter-serial-number-database Try to identify your particular model from the links at the bottom of the page to see specific examples. You can look through individual galleries to find a serial number and that may allow you to find the range of serial numbers made in particular years to narrow down your year. Looks like it's a "standard" from the late 30s or 1940s, possibly an Imperial 50.

Next find a manual (or something close): https://site.xavier.edu/polt/typewriters/tw-manuals.html

Learn how they were used: https://boffosocko.com/2025/06/06/typewriter-use-and-maintenance-for-beginning-to-intermediate-typists/

Consider whether it will be cheaper/easier to have someone service it for you or to do it yourself: https://boffosocko.com/2025/06/23/typewriter-repair-costs-and-valuation-professional-shops-versus-collectors-versus-first-time-buyers/

Go crazy: https://boffosocko.com/research/typewriter-collection/

Good luck!

reply to u/Pleasant-Ad9620 at https://reddit.com/r/typewriters/comments/1mgg7xv/helping_dating_this_imperial_typewriter/

How to use a typewriter or whatever. by [[Lucas Dul]]

https://www.typewriters101.com/

Typewriter Basics: End of Page Indicators by [[Joe Van Cleave]]

Handful of methods:<br /> - page gauges (Smith-Corona, some Royals) - paper support arm (adjustable) - notch in paper pan (Hermes & some Silver Seikos) - Platen knobs (requires mod math and adjustable ring) (IBM)

https://www.austintypewriterink.com/typewriters-201-general-maintenance.html

https://www.austintypewriterink.com/typewriters-101-getting-started.html

Typewriters - Mister Rogers' Neighborhood by [[Fred Rogers]]<br /> episode 1083<br /> https://www.neighborhoodarchive.com/mrn/episodes/1083/index.html

"I was very much interested in letters." -- Fred Rogers

Hints for a Happy Typewriter<br /> Bryan Kravitz, Nancy Gorrell, 1983<br /> https://typewriterdatabase.com/1983-Hints4HappyTypewriter.index.manual

Some good, basic home care and use from 1983. Home mechanics in 2024 are probably capable of a bit more without the backstop of a typewriter mechanic.

This guide suggest the use of solvents like alcohol or trichloroethane for cleaning type slugs and internals. Note that trichloroethane manufacture and use has diminished significantly since 1996 when it was identified by the Montreal Protocol as a contributor to ozone depletion.

Basic Typing: Machine Operation. 16 mm. Vol. MN-1512b, 1943. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-REJEArnjE.

Type pacer timestamp 4:12

"Your head is the most important part of your typing." - Lenore Fenton

"Your typewriter does exactly what you make it do, but it does no more" - Lenore Fenton <br /> This is very similar to quotes about computer programs at the end of the 20th century too.

The touch characteristics for the manual, the noiseless, and the electric are all slightly different.

Typewriters? In 2024? Are You Nuts? by Jesse M. Slater for [[Raconteur Press]]

A short, but relatively solid typewriter 101 story for someone looking for a distraction-free writing machine. Certainly not completist, but enough to get your toes wet.

Slater uses his typewriter for a first draft, then edits the second draft as he re-types it into his computer to have a digital copy for further editing and distribution.

A wide variety of typewriter manuals are available here: https://site.xavier.edu/polt/typewriters/tw-manuals.html

Keep in mind that most typewriters are so similar in functionality that even an adjacent manual will help a lot if you have no experience.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLwMhC_klUByXl_rHTj1O7xKKhA0-kIoBt