Byron Portable Typewriter (1956)

This is a typewriter that I can see Miss Moneypenny carrying--in its gorgeous green case-- when James Bond has her come to his apartment to "type some letters". It has a lovely "period" look to it, beautifully evoking the feel of the late 50's and early 60's "mod" styling. 
It was manufactured by the Byron Typewriter Company based in Nottingham, England. The Byron company was originally called the Bar-Lock Typewriter Company but in 1953, in an attempt to modernize its image, the company was renamed "Byron" reportedly after the poet, Lord Byron whose silhouette appeared on some models of typewriters from the company. Ultimately the entire company was sold to the Oliver Typewriter Company and the Byron brand was no more. 
Here we have a very uncommon BYRON portable typewriter in superb condition. This model Byron typewriter was only manufactured for three years: 1954 through 1956.
This Byron typewriter comes complete with original green case, and original user manual. It has been fully restored, adjusted, cleaned and lubricated.  A new two-colour ribbon has been installed for you to start typing immediately. In top condition both cosmetically and mechanically. 
Byron portable typewriters rarely come onto the market and this one is in especially good condition. It will come to you with a three-month guarantee as well as without extra charge for shipping and fully insured.
The Byron portable comes from the same family as the Swissa Piccola, the Oliver Courier and the Patria Portable. It is a wonderfully solid portable with very nice typing action. It has the feeling of being both solid and swift. This model typewriter was rather popular at the time of its manufacture but for various reasons not many of them were produced. It is believed that about 45,000 in total were produced. Many collectors love the Swissa Piccola which is essentially the same machine under different branding.
The lovely sage-green colour of the body and the deeper green of the keys make for a lovely combination. It has a QWERTY international (with accents for foreign languages) keyboard and the typeface is a beautiful Elite (13 cpi).
Overall, the typewriter is in exceptional condition, both mechanically and cosmetically. All keys type as new, the platen-roller is clean, undamaged and still usably soft with a durometer reading of 94. The Chrome is in fine condition, and all levers and buttons work as original. The rubber feet, both on the typewriter and on the case, are in excellent and soft condition. The original green finish is uniform in colour (despite the shadows that might show in some of my photos). The finish is all original, as are all other aspects of this beautiful typewriter.

This Byron portable comes with its original "leather" case with original keys (2). It also comes with the original user manual (in English). The case is, in general, in wonderful condition, inside and out. There are some marks of wear along the bottom back of the case and this you can see in the photos.
The serial number is 221499 marking this as being manufactured in 1956 towards the end of the production of this typewriter model.