Royal P with Vogue Typeface: Why This Art Deco Typewriter Is Worth Hunting For

Introduction

Some typewriters are rare because almost nobody bought them. The Royal P with the Vogue typeface is rarer for a more interesting reason: plenty of people bought the machine, but very few chose this particular lettering. The Royal P, where the P stands for portable, was manufactured from around 1929 to 1933 and was a popular, successful model. It came in a wide range of colors and textures, from black and red to green and even textured reptile-like finishes. The example we are looking at wears an uncommon brown highlighted color, which adds charm but is not what makes it collectible. The real prize is the typeface, and it is one of the most striking you will find on any machine.

What Makes the Royal P Special

Beyond the typeface, the Royal P is a genuinely pleasant little machine to use. It features glass keys, with a metal ring around each one, a disc of glass on top, and cardstock beneath bearing the letter. The result is a typing surface that fits the fingertips perfectly and feels exquisite for its era. The machine is light and highly portable, which is exactly what the P in its name promised.

Ironically, the original cases rarely survive. The clasps were poorly made and the case board reacts badly to any kind of moisture, so most surviving examples today are the machines themselves rather than their cases.

The Vogue Typeface

The main event here is the lettering. Royal called it Vogue, and it could be custom ordered on any Royal machine from the late 1920s up until the mid 1950s. Buyers could choose from cursive to standard faces like Pica and Elite, but Vogue was so particular that very few people ever picked it.

It is a sans serif Art Deco typeface, highly stylized, and looks like the lettering on a 1930s book cover or the ornamentation of the Empire State Building. The letters are fine and rounded, floating without the little feet you see on standard typewriter faces, and the lowercase e has a distinctive slanting line closing its loop. It was made for correspondence, letters, and invitations, which is why it was rarely ordered: it would not have been anyone’s primary machine. But it makes an enormous impact on the page.

Two charming quirks come with it. There is no numeral one, because a lowercase L substitutes for it, and there is no exclamation point either. Exclamation points were used sparingly in print back then, and you could always compose one with an apostrophe, a backspace, and a full stop.

Living With a Royal P

This is a machine meant to be used, not just displayed. It is a delight to type on, with that classic mechanical noise and the bell at the end of the line. Ribbons are easy to source through eBay or Amazon and are freely available almost everywhere, and the machine requires very little maintenance. Owners use these machines for poems, letters, and handwritten-style correspondence, and it pairs beautifully with fountain pen culture: type the letter, then sign it boldly with a good pen.

Buying Advice: Hunt Smart or Start Simple

Finding a Vogue machine is both harder and easier than you would expect. If you search specifically for one, sellers usually know what they have and ask exorbitant prices, sometimes around $700. The smarter approach: plenty of Royal P machines exist, and roughly five percent of them carry the Vogue typeface. Hunt for a Royal P, focus on the typeface rather than the model name, and you should find a Vogue machine for around $100 to $200, which is roughly what these go for.

And if you simply want the joy of a vintage Royal without the hunt, a lovely Royal Quiet DeLuxe from the late 1940s can often be found for around $30 to $35. It delivers just as much expression and mechanical pleasure for a fraction of the price.

Conclusion

The Royal P with Vogue is one of the most beautiful typefaces on any typewriter, and knowing how to hunt for it turns a seemingly unaffordable rarity into an attainable one at $100 to $200. If you would rather skip the search entirely, the Royal Quiet DeLuxe proves you do not need a rare machine to enjoy the rhythm of the keys, the bell, and the carriage exchange. Either way, a vintage Royal is a wonderfully tactile way to connect with writing.