My .02: Given the condition you described it sure doesn't sound like a museum quality example, or a particularly rare machine either. I think you should paint it to your hearts content. True, it won't be original. But how original is rust anyway?

ProfessorC30 wrote:

Aha! The Selectric I's with the plastic (polyester) cases were made towards the end of production, so you do have a later model, definitely from the 70's. The casting dates molded into the covers are sometimes covered by the foam insulation.

Okay, I think I found what we're looking for: Underneath the ribbon cover are the braille numbers on one side going from 1 to 12. On the other side is the number 1, and underneath that (like it was a fraction, but without the line) is the number 474. So maybe April 1974?

Uwe wrote:

Gr8tfulEd wrote:

It's obviously a "baby" selectric with the small platen.

The Selectric was made in three sizes that I'm aware of, with either an 11, 13, or 15 in. platen. I have the two larger sizes, and would love to add an 11 in. model, but you don't see them as often; I suspect they weren't sold in the same numbers as the larger ones that were far more practical for office use.
 

That makes sense to me. I love my little Selectric. It's actually a little smaller than my Royal Empress (and with no carriage return, takes up a lot less room). In fact, as is quite proper I think, I've taken my gargantuen Selectric II to my office for office work: forms, enevelopes, labels, etc., and have decided to keep the "baby" at home for personal use! :-) 

As far as dating it goes, I'm just going to call it my "Mystery Machine" for now. It's likely mid-to-late 60's I would think. I'm not sure when they stopped the 11". 

Unfortunately, no. Other than a whole bunch of patent numbers there is no additional information, and nothing that says "Made In" anywhere. Furthermore, it is the only sticker. There is no discoloration from a missing sticker on the other plastic cover, but that is not to say there wasn't one at some point. I pulled the cover off to see if there were any additional markings, and there are not. It's worth noting that all of the components, including the motor, where stamped made in the U.S. Also, the typerwriter was purchased from an elderly couple whose son/daughter worked for IBM back in the day, before the Lexmark connection, so perhaps it was a non-standard build? It's obviously a "baby" selectric with the small platen.

This is the Selectric 1