This is an Imperial "The Good Companion" Model 4 typewriter, made in England in 1960. It has been deep-cleaned, adjusted, polished and fitted with a new ribbon. In good cosmetic and mechanical condition, it is ready to help its next writer compose many more pages.

The typewriter is in good cosmetic condition. The original paint, a sort of green-grey aquamarine, shines nicely, having been cleaned, polished and waxed with a microcrystalline wax. There are some marks here and there, most conspicuous of which are on the front left corner and the front left of the ribbon cover. There are also some marks to the back panel of the typewriter. Both decals on the front of the typewriter are in very good condition, and the sticker on the back is in good condition, with a little bit of wear.

The chrome is in very good condition. The only areas that show any wear are the paper bails and the bail rod, where there is some light loss of chrome plating.

The platen and feed rollers have been cleaned with rubber rejuvinator. The platen has hardened with age but still retains a suitable amount of give. The rollers are soft and grippy and in good shape. As a result, it is easy to feed paper into the typewriter. The keytops exhibit some light wear and scratches to their surface from years of use but are in good shape overall.

This Good Companion 4 was partially disassembled for proper cleaning, including the cleaning of all internal mechanisms with an appropriate solvent. Suitable lubrication has been applied where necessary, and all mechanisms are fully functional and include margins, margin release, backspace, shift-lock, line space selector, line space detente, paper support, and a clear and great-sounding bell.

This typewriter comes with its case, which has been cleaned inside and out and is in good condition. It has a tough lid and a baseboard on which the typewriter sits (the typewriter is lifted off of the baseboard by pressing in chrome buttons on either side of the typewriter). The latch closes, and, despite missing one of its chrome fixings, the handle is sturdy and can be used to carry the case. The chrome latch has been cleaned and polished to a shine.

The typing action of the Good Companion 4 is quite similar to that of its predecessors, including the Model 1, though maybe a bit 'tighter.' It is solid and direct if also a bit raw in comparison to the refinements made in some other typewriters in the '50s and '60s. There is no touch selector on this model of typewriter - I would describe its default typing pressure as "medium" with a slightly longer stroke. This typewriter uses a carriage shift and types in elite at 11 cpi (characters per inch). It prints very nicely in either black or red and has a new ribbon installed on its metal spools.