This lovely maroon typewriter is an Olympia SM4 "De Luxe" portable typewriter. SM4s like this one, with red wrinkle paint in such good condition, do not come along very often. Manufactured in Western Germany in 1960, it has been completely cleaned and refurbished with a new platen and rubber spacers. With a new ribbon installed on its original metal spools, it types wonderfully in elite 11 cpi (characters per inch).

The SM4 belongs to Olympia's well-known Schreibmaschine Mittelgroß ("Medium-size Typewriter") or SM series and offers excellent engineering and smooth operation. The SM4 and other SM typewriters are often cited as some of the best manual typewriters ever made, and this SM4 earns such plaudits.

The uncommon, original red wrinkle paint is in superb shape and has a deep, rich quality. After a careful cleaning, the only recognisable blemish is on the back left corner, where the back carriage rail has rubbed against the maroon body. This has been fixed by the replacement of 4 rubber body spacers, a repair frequently needed by SM typewriters. The "Olympia" logo on the ribbon cover is in very good condition, with some slight wear.  The "Made in Western Germany" sticker beneath the spacebar has disappeared with time - the only real cosmetic imperfection of this beautiful typewriter. 

The black, slightly concave keytops are unmarked and glossy and have each received an individual plastic polishing. The black plastic platen knobs are in good condition. The variable line spacing button of the right platen knob has some light scratches. The return lever is in splendid condition, as are the left and right chrome carriage covers. All chrome detailing is in brilliant shape and has been polished.

As mentioned above, the platen of this SM4 has been professionally recovered with new rubber. The rubber feed rollers and rubber feet are in excellent shape and have been cleaned with rubber rejuvinator.

This SM4 has undergone a significant disassembly for cleaning, and all internals have been thoroughly cleaned with appropriate solvent. Lubrication has been applied where necessary. All features work as intended and include a silent return, margins, touch control (gently increases or decreases the pressure needed from fingers to type), backspace, carriage shift, shift-lock, margin release, line space selector, variable line spacing knob, extendable paper support, tabulator, and a good-sounding bell.

The wooden case has been cleaned and is in good condition. The green leatherette of the baseboard has retreated from its edge somewhat, and there is a little bit of damage to the green leatherette on the bottom left of the case, as pictured. Nevertheless, the leatherette remains firmly affixed to the case. The chrome fixings and latch are in good shape and have been polished with metal polish. The handle is sturdy and the latch closes the case well. The clips on the interior of the case function well, latching the typewriter securely inside the case.