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Home » Smith Corona » Sterling » 1949 #5A163395
1949 Smith Corona Sterling Serial # 5A163395 1949 Smith Corona Sterling typewriter, Serial # 5A163395 Christopher Bailey's 1949 Smith Corona Sterling typewriter. 2023-04-02 From the Virtual Typewriter Collection of Christopher Bailey: 1949 Smith Corona Sterling Serial # 5A163395 The first year of this body. This one has been used a lot, but it’s still one of my favorite writing machines. The only thing that doesn’t work is the bell. The capital A is obviously a little worn, but still legible; the alignment is good but not perfect. For whatever reason, I find I type more accurately on this than on any other typewriter. Pica type.

1949 Smith Corona Sterling #5A163395

Status: My Collection
Hunter: Christopher Bailey (cbaile19)
Created: 04-02-2023 at 03:16PM
Last Edit: 04-02-2023 at 03:34PM


Description:

The first year of this body. This one has been used a lot, but it’s still one of my favorite writing machines. The only thing that doesn’t work is the bell. The capital A is obviously a little worn, but still legible; the alignment is good but not perfect. For whatever reason, I find I type more accurately on this than on any other typewriter. Pica type.

Typeface Specimen:

Photos:

In the case.
In the case.

The case is designed so that the typewriter can be used on the base—very convenient for writing in bed or on the grass at the park. Push in on these tabs on the hinges to release the lid.
The case is designed so that the typewriter can be used on the base—very convenient for writing in bed or on the grass at the park. Push in on these tabs on the hinges to release the lid.

Of course the machine can also be taken out of the case. Pull up on this lever to release it.
Of course the machine can also be taken out of the case. Pull up on this lever to release it.

With the “rabbit ears” paper support in working position.
With the “rabbit ears” paper support in working position.

The carriage lock is on the right-hand side by the knob.
The carriage lock is on the right-hand side by the knob.

The keyboard.
The keyboard.

The serial number is under the lid on the left side, next to the touch control.
The serial number is under the lid on the left side, next to the touch control.


Case closed.
Case closed.

Hunter: Christopher Bailey (cbaile19)

Christopher Bailey's Typewriter Galleries [ My Collection ] [ My Sightings ]

Status: Typewriter Hunter
Points: 844

I’m a writer who often writes with a typewriter to get away from the computer for a while. I think I became a typewriter collector when I bought my typewriters some industrial-grade wheeled steel shelving from a restaurant supply house. Before that I was just an accumulator, but now I’ve spent more on shelves than on all the typewriters put together. (They were all cheap.)

I have steel pens, too, which I also write with regularly. Both collections started at the same moment in 1990, at the liquidation of the head offices of the old G. C. Murphy five-and-dime chain, where I bought a Woodstock typewriter, two gross of Esterbrook Jackson Stub pens, and three bottles of Carter’s green ink.



RESEARCH NOTE: When researching the Smith Corona Sterling on a computer with lots of screen real estate, you may find that launching the Smith Corona Serial Number page and the Smith Corona Sterling By Model/Year/Serial page in new browser windows can give you interesting perspectives on changes throughout the model series.