Acquired 1929 Corona 4 Portable Typewriter (L.C. Smith Bros. & Corona Typewriters, Inc.)

Serial number: D3P08521

Received on Saturday 03-08, but didn’t open it up until this morning. The case is fairly worn and has the fabric peeled off in several spots, but the leather handle is in tact and in reasonably good shape. The machine has seen better days certainly and needs a thorough cleaning. The paint has some significant chipping in many of the common spots, including the ribbon covers, but I think it’ll polish up nicely and the resultant used patina will add to the machine’s charm. Some one has removed the ribbon vibrator, so that’s going to need some serious attention and possibly some additional replacement parts. The carriage doesn’t move smoothly and I suspect it’s because the drawstring has been replaced at some point by some inadequate cotton string which is now caught on something under the carriage. The rubber feet are totally shot and have a few chips. It’s definitely one of the rougher machines I’ve ever picked up, but I think it’s imminently restorable.

While I wouldn’t call these rare, I don’t see them pop up very frequently, and even less frequently do I see them in the non-traditional black enamel. I’m definitely thrilled to have one with the DuPont DUCO light maroon with the contrasting panels in crackle finish rose gold. I’m hoping it’ll be a stunning workable machine when I’m done with the cleaning and restoration work.

Preparation of a typeface sample is going to require some repair work.