Smith Corona Silent 1949 typewriter!!

My dad gifted me his 1949 Smith Corona Silent that he used all throughout medical school and into his practice! Needless to say, I value it highly!
NOTE: Please excuse all of the incorrect verbage I use to describe the machine’s components…including incorrectly explaining how the floating shift relates to the ratcheting platen selector. I didn’t even know the platen was called that at the time. I’ve since schooled myself on the typewriter and sheepishly admit my follies to all of you who I’m sure know a lot about vintage typewriters!
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[@YamaBeth]

Dad’s typewriter is cool. Stylish medical student. Only the best for EJ’s son.

[@DoctoredGinst]

Indeed!

[@KP8Ball]

Thanks for the video. What a great gift to receive from your father. P.S. To create the missing number '1' on the keyboard, use the lower case 'L' , not the upper case 'I' . Cheers.

[@DoctoredGinst]

@@KP8Ball Yeah, after typing a couple of papers, I remembered it’s the lower case L instead of the I. Oh the process of getting to know this old girl.

[@ConradBojanowski]

So stylish. I wonder if they offered the model in different color schemes for the keys and case liner.

[@DoctoredGinst]

That’s a good question. Judging from the photos in the website database, it appears that each series had a specific design aesthetic for the era. It leads me to wonder if the green key color was more a choice of perhaps a type of durable plastic as opposed to aesthetic design. The machine itself lends itself well to a design of sheer purpose.

[@mattcwatkins]

I found this somewhere suggesting 1949 colors. It doesn't exactly match the gray one in the video, but hedges with "usually". It's possible they mixed around keys...or technically possible somebody could have swapped body work from different models too.
Forest Green Model:
Keys: Generally had green keys with white lettering to match the body color.
Desert Sand Model:
Keys: Typically featured tan or beige keys with white or dark lettering, harmonizing with the lighter body color.
Maroon Model:
Keys: Often had dark maroon or burgundy keys with white lettering, complementing the dark reddish-brown body.
Gray Model:
Keys: Usually came with gray keys with white lettering, maintaining a cohesive and professional appearance with the body color.

[@mattcwatkins]

Good walk-through! I have several 50's vintage series 5. FYI, the floating shift mechanism relates to the typebar segment of the type basket moving rather than the entire type basket. It's not about the ratchet platen mechanism. Phoenix Typewriter has a good tutorial on adjusting shift locks. th-cam.com/video/-GNs_AAkhos/w-d-xo.html

[@DoctoredGinst]

@@mattcwatkins I’m glad you brought that up. I learned about the floating shift on Joe Van Cleave’s channel the other day. I’m definitely learning the proper names and functions of my Silent 5. My dad is 97 years old and still with us…so I hope to own this machine many years more to honor his legacy of all the medical papers he must have typed on it during med school.

[@mattcwatkins]

@@DoctoredGinst Joe's a great resource too! He helped me out personally before too.