26 Aug 2015

Portland (part 2, Ace and Bill Morrison)


We started day 2 of our trip by taking the Max north a few stops and surprising ourselves by finding a non-hipstery independent coffee shop. I've noticed the low-budget rubber-stamping on containers seems to really be picking up this year.


We caught the bus and got off near a park, where we finished our breakfast. And we were Cagebombed there.


A short walk later and we met Richard at Ace Typewriter.


There were so many nice typewriters on display for sale...


...and in the process of being repaired or waiting to be repaired. Notice the two shelving units on the left are contracted work.


Richard brought out his Junior, which was a hit.


Then we got to look behind the counter into the workshop.


I got to use this Harris Visible—very impressive and definitely the best 3-bank I've ever used.


We talked about our favorite machines and Matt exchanged some useful cleaning tips.


I got a shot of Richard writing his typecast for the day before we left Ace.


Not too far down the street was Blue Moon Camera.


They had a good display of typewriters for sale, too.


I like how the labels on the shelves are typed on a Smith-Corona with the Speech-Riter typeface.





After checking out a thrift store in the area, we got on the bus and headed south to our next stop. I caught this pleasantly in-the-moment shot of Richard typing on the bus. I didn't notice anybody reacting to it—they've seen stranger things on the bus before.


Bill Morrison Business Machines (namesake long deceased) had a drab exterior. The inside was pretty drab, too.


Though the two typewriter mechanics there had a lot to tell. (read more about that on Richard's post)


There were a few French touches and a piano left over from when there used to be a restaurant next door. (and W had some time to play it)


Amongst all the printers and copiers, there were a couple typewriters.


The only one for sale was this reasonably-priced Facit TP1 complete with printout from Rob Messenger's blog.


At every shop we stopped at, Richard left behind a postcard advertising his book and showed off the Junior Mod 58, which I don't think could fail to please anybody.

3 comments:

  1. Nice! Richard sure got a lot of use out of that Junior during the trip - he keeps showing it off like that, everyone will want one :D

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    Replies
    1. I'm hopelessly converted.

      Now if only I could go back in time to 1958 and arrange for them to be imported into the US...

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  2. Every time I see Richard's Junior increases my desire to hunt for one.
    Those were quite impressive shops. I'd love to live there because they have a real camera shop also.
    Last time I found a real camera shop complete with darkroom supplies was in Davenport, IA about 5 years ago.

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