My Beautiful New Baby & an old Typewriter Case

On Sunday, my family and I made a day of antiquing in Old Town.  Best find of the day - I bought a (WORKING)  Smith Corona Clipper (1949) typewriter marked down for $99.

They had it sitting on the floor propped up in the case (collecting dust ... lots of it). A tiny sign stood before it begging "Please don't touch!" and since I can't bring myself to flagrantly subvert whichever authority posted it, I asked the owner to help me move it to the front counter for a closer inspection.

I immediately noticed that there was no "1" or "!" and that there was a little tag sitting on the front for a typewriter shop in Alhambra (for you Non-Californians- that's out near Los Angeles). I had no idea how old the tag was but it looked pretty crisp so I took as a sign that the previous owner had it cleaned or restored in recent years. Of course, I had done my share of research but, to be honest, I probably would have settled for any (working) mechanical typewriter. All the bells and whistles work (really, there's an adorable little bell that chimes at the end of every line).

I knew that if I bought one online I ran the risk of it being damaged in shipping and here, sitting before me was a beautiful model that was working like a dream. I couldn't pass it up.

I delicately cradled my new baby in my arms as we trekked the three blocks uphill to where we parked the car. I took it home and gave it a proper cleaning. A few keys were sticky but there were no major issues.(WIN!)

Now for the case ....

I managed to get a large portion of the rust off the case handle. But there is still the resounding question of how to fix the back hinge(s).

The case itself consists of two separate pieces, a deep top (to cover the machine) and a shallow base where the machine hooks into place in both the front and back.

The box is quite stubborn and no matter how much I beg and plead it to remain attached, it refuses. Of course, this is not a HUGE deal. I did, after all, buy it for the typewriter (not the case) but if I can find a way to get it working- why not try?

One side looks like it works - there is a top and bottom hinge (one on either side of the two box components- top and base) as well as a third piece which is screwed in and sits on top of a spring (presumably the part that keeps the top and bottom clicked in place). 

 As you can see above, one side of the lid has both pieces (the hinge part and the extra piece on a spring). 

 Unfortunately, the other side of the lid (though it still has the original spring in place) is missing this extra little piece (and of course the screw to connect it). 

Here's a view of it from the inside ... 

The leather on the case looks pretty shoddy in some parts, there's tears around the corners of the case and still some rust around the metal parts that needs to be worked on. In the meantime, I'll be looking to see what I can come up with to fix the case.