Showing posts with label Oliver. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Oliver. Show all posts

Wednesday, March 25, 2015

The Oliver Cometh

It's been lost in the garage for at least two years, but a kind offer from a fellow Typospherian has me ready to dive into the restoration of this old green machine. I took a few Polaroids to document the before. 


The keys look nice, but they are spattered with some sort of solvent-based paint that created little grey divots. Cleaning doesn't work. The only option is replacement. The new keys are on the way.


I have the cover in a drawer somewhere. The whole machine might need a new coat of paint and that would lead to new decals. Luckily, you can get them on Etsy from Paul Roberts.


And the nickle plate is in terrible shape. If anyone has some good links to exploded parts catalogs or some suggestions on how to disassemble this machine, please let me know because I need help.

Wednesday, May 16, 2012

The Saga of the Mexican Oliver

I have been on the quest for a Mexican Oliver for some time. They are nearly impossible to find here in the US. What makes a Mexican Oliver special? Well, I have found some pictures from Mercado Libre to give you and idea:




A Mexican Oliver is nickle plated on the bottom while still retaining the green paper table and front piece. I can glean no information about why the two-tone Oliver was so popular, but it's all you find in Mexico.

For a long while I felt as if I would never get a lead. Mercado Libra frequently has them for sale, but my inexperience with the language and fear of buying something so expensive so far away makes it prohibitive. I can't take a vacation to go look for one because there 32 states and one federal district and they could be hidden anywhere. But now there is a slight hope.

Andres, one of my students, has an uncle who is a journalist with a newspaper in Mexico City. He's spotty on the details because they have never met, but this summer he is taking a vacation to visit him. It was kind of Andres to offer to ask if he knew the location of one and I am sure that a journalist would know just the right people to contact.

So, this little quest is taking on a new dimension, but it's still exciting.