1928 Corona Four
Up for sale is an absolutely beautiful Corona Four in "Light Maroon" which was made in 1928. More information on this machine's paint finish and the collaboration between Corona and DuPont can be found on the following page: http://www.sljohnson.net/typewriter/corona/Corona-Duco.html
This is one of few typewriters that pictures simply do not do justice. The "light maroon" color, which is actually pretty dark, looks really appealing! While this typewriter may not be 100% perfect cosmetically, it's as close as you're going to get without things being non-original. In certain spots, the paint is lightly chipped (mainly on the frame below the spacebar) Mechanically, this machine is fully functional right down to the bell and is a great typewriter to write on. While it could be used heavily, I would be more willing to recommend a more modern portable for better ergonomics if you are looking purely for a workhorse to write a novel on.
Unfortunately this typewriter does not use universal ribbons (the spool caps won't fit over the newer spools) however you will want to re-thread the original spools anyways, which you can still use universal ribbons sold on this site to do. Some of the imperfections (mixing red with black) in the type sample are attributed to my mistake of installing the universal spools into this machine, and so I will be re-threading the spools that came with this machine back into it before shipping so it will be good to go.
The owner's manual for this typewriter can be downloaded here: https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B9INR5ltu-o8NXFFUVNpdWZSalk/edit
If you're looking for an absolutely stunning classic that's still functional and in near mint shape, then this is a beautiful choice.