This sprouting spring surprise is an uncommon blue Olympia Splendid 99 from 1960. An ultra-portable typewriter, the Splendid 99 model manages to fit Olympia's excellent engineering into a tight, well built frame, one that is much smaller than its SM cousins (SM1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, and 9). As such, it is one of the best options to be found in the ultraportable class of typewriters. The Splendid 99 is the top model of the Splendid line (33, 66, 99) and has a touch regulator, chrome finishing, sound-deadening material and even adjustable shift springs, which increase or decrease the tension needed to shift the carriage for upper case characters.

This Splendid 99's internal mechanisms are of high quality, and the carriage return is smooth and steady. The typing action is light, and there is a touch control beneath the ribbon cover if you'd like to make slight adjustments to the tension required to depress keys. The chrome return arm is larger than those on many other ultra-portables, making carriage returns faster and easier on this Olympia.

This typewriter has been disassembled and completely cleaned with an appropriate solvent, and lubrication has been applied where necessary. The platen is in good shape, a bit hardened but with some life in it yet. The rubber rollers are in excellent condition and, along with the platen, have been cleaned and renewed with rubber rejuvinator. The crumbling sound-deadening foam on the side panels has been replaced with new material. All mechanical features found on this typewriter are in working order and include carriage shift, shift lock, margins, margin release, backspace, line space regulator, silent return, platen detente release, paper support, adjustable shift springs and bell.

Cosmetically, this Splendid 99 is in excellent condition. The paint has been cleaned, polished and waxed with museum-grade microcrystalline wax. There is a very small scratch on the left edge of the ribbon cover, a common imperfection on Splendid machines caused by the return arm. There are also a couple small light scratches on the top of the ribbon cover, which are relatively hard to see, and a little wear to the rear corners. The rest of the paint work is in excellent condition. The "Olympia" and "Splendid 99" decal on the ribbon cover are in excellent condition.

All chrome finishing has been polished to a shine and is in excellent shape. The off-white keytops and platen knobs have been individually cleaned and are in very good shape.

This typewriter comes with its original vinyl case, which has been cleaned. Its exterior is in very good condition, with a working zip, sturdy handle and shiny handle fixings, which have been polished. There are some stains to the inside of the case and some other age-related wear.

Also included with this typewriter is its original user manual, which is in very good condition with only light wear and some writing on the cover noting the date of the typewriter's purchase and ribbon replacement.

A new ribbon has been installed, and print quality is excellent. This Splendid 99 prints pica in black and red, at 10 cpi (characters per inch).

The typewriter will be expertly packaged in a well-sized cardboard box with signed-for delivery and insurance. Shipping to the US and other international destinations is available.