This is a Smith-Corona Silent Manual Typewriter I received from my grandmother about 15 years ago after her fiancé died. Among his possessions she gave me was this 1946 typewriter, an M1905 Bayonet (1942), and a hardcover copy of The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich by William Shirer.
The typewriter looks practically new, which is most likely due to its locking carrying case. Inside the suitcase-like box (with carry handle), the Silent stays clean and protected. When I first received the Silent, one of the keys didn't work. Luckily the connecting arms weren't damaged, and I was able to repair it. I also cleaned the typewriter as best I could (without disassembling anything) with gun oil I had laying around, as well as replaced the ribbon. I also kept the original ribbon spools, although I can't remember if they are currently installed on the machine.
The outside of the case is covered in black adhesive paper, and after my apartment building burned down in 2004 I had to remove several sections of it which were smoked-saturated and could not be fully cleaned. The case was only partially damaged and the Silent was protected quite well.
For all the paranoid apocolypse, zombie invasion, and/or "steampunk" fans, this is a valuable piece of technology from an age when people were far less reliant on electricity.
Postface 1/25/2010: The ribbon spools currently installed are plastic and came with the new ribbon I bought. I know I kept the old spools, but unfortunately I can't find them after a cursory look around. Hopefully they're hidden somewhere and not laying lonely in a landfill or the city dump.
Manual
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