1965 Smith-Corona Sterling portable typewriter:Heirloom quality -- a classic.

Description

I do go on and on in these listings. If you're in a cut-to-the-chase mood, please just study the photos -- watch the one-minute video -- check my seller feedback -- and you'll know pretty much all you need to know before placing your bid.
Here, in its original finish of silvery gray, is a beautifully preserved, unmolested example of one of my favorite portable typewriters: a 1965 Smith-Corona Sterling. This machine is freshly cleaned and serviced, fitted with a new ink ribbon wound onto period-correct steel spools, ready for use right out of its sturdy "Trimline" carrying case.
This classic portable was sold by Smith-Corona from 1963 to 1966. Mechanically, it is perfectly functional -- has been checked and re-checked and is entirely without issues. Everything works: every key, every control, right down to the brightly chiming end-of-line warning bell. Here's a clip of the typewriter in operation:
1965 Smith-Corona Sterling (5AX Series) typewriter demo
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Collecting and repairing typewriters has been a hobby for some 40 years, and digging deep into the mechanics of a Smith-Corona no longer holds any fear for me; these are the machines I know best.
The Sterling 5AX has great bloodlines: a transitional design, it was the last of the famous "5-Series" portables that were so popular through the 1950s. This typewriter is a full-sized portable with all the features and quality of the premium Silent-Super that came before it, and of the restyled Galaxies that came after. This Sterling has a full keyboard including the number 1 and exclamation point; it has such premium features as the pop-up paper support, touch control, the snap-out platen, and tabs that can be set and cleared from the keyboard.
-- And this is a small detail, but one I admire: the 5AX typewriter was the last from Smith-Corona with steel carriage release levers. SCM's subsequent models had plastic levers, which often begin to fail after 30 or 40 years.
The 5AX Sterling is held in high regard among collectors and users of portable typewriters. Ted Munk --
archivist of the online Typewriter Database, author and guru on all things typewriterish -- describes this model as one which "really bring[s] the best features of the Galaxie to the smaller and more attractive Super-5 body, and might be the best typewriter design ever in terms of being rich in features and simple to use."
This typewriter is pictured from all sides so you can study its condition. It was clear on my first examination of this machine that it's had an easy life. Cosmetically, the most notable flaw is a bit of scuffed paintwork on the top left edge of the ribbon cover -- this is the spot that almost always gets scratched when the typist tries to move the carriage without closing that cover first.
The inner works of this typewriter are clean, and aside from the above-mentioned flaw, the exterior paint and chrome are excellent. (I believe in leaving these classic machines stock whenever possible -- I'd never, ever consider repainting an example in such good condition as this one.)
A specimen page is the nearest thing I can offer you to a test-drive, and I encourage you to examine the sample images presented here. The typing touch of this machine is crisp and responsive (and adjustable by a lever under the hood). Line spacing can be set for single, double or triple. The type pitch is pica, 10 characters to the inch -- the larger of the two most common type sizes. The presentation of text on the page is as good as you can hope to see from a typewriter of this vintage, and
ribbons for this machine are widely available on eBay and from Amazon.
I ship next-day whenever possible, I buy my Fragile stickers in rolls of 500, and I probably should have bought stock in the company that makes bubble-wrap. Please review my seller feedback,
bid with confidence, and do reach out if you have any questions at all about the condition, use or care of this typewriter.