| European Typewriters / PORTUGAL |
| It seems that few typewriters of world-reaching significance have come from Portugal. One manufacturer in this country, though, made something of a name for itself by first license-producing German SIEMAG machines in it factory, then branching out. This company was known as MESSA, and its factory was located in the city of MemMartins, which is near to Lisbon. Following the company's entry into the manufacturing of typewriters in the early 1960's with the Siemag machines, it must have been determined that the operation could not only build, but sell machines as well. In 1966, Messa bought the tooling for the German ABC portable as well as rights to the name, and began manufacture of this machine in a modified form. Later, in the 1970's, Litton Industries shut down one of its plants in the US (for making Royal portables) and sent the tooling to MESSA, who built the machines under contract. |
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| ABC L8 Tilman Elster collection Normally, we have begun the pages here with standard machines, and in view of this we offer the ABC L8. This is a machine which appears nowhere in serial number lists, but is very obviously the Siemag standard machine; it indicates that Messa eventually bought rights to this design as well, since it is labeled as an ABC and not as a Siemag. Serial 6907512. |
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| SEARS PORTABLE Will Davis collection Although labeled for sale in the US by Sears (where this was the Sears Model 5297) this machine is the first Portuguese-built version of the ABC. Produced around 1966-1968, in a new plastic body. |
| ABC 2000 Tilman Elster collection This ABC 2000 is not merely a restyle of the older machine. It was heavily reengineered inside and out, and the rather complicated (and expensive to make) multi-link key lever assembly has been replaced by a simpler four-dowel design using a heavy but simple single-piece casting to mount the levers. Serial 601701. |
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| SEARS PORTABLE Will Davis collection When sold by Sears in the US, the ABC 2000 was labeled as the Sears Chevron. However, some later models of ABC were given this same brand and model name, but had different Sears-applied model numbers (which appear on a sticker normally found in the carriage rail area.) The correlative model for the machine seen here is 5298. |
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| The ABC was later placed into a larger body and given more options; this was the ABC 2000S, seen below. This machine was then given an all-plastic body (the ABC 2000 used a new all-metal body, the ABC 2000S mostly metal) and was sold to Litton, who distributed the machine as the Royal Safari (seen at right) and also as the Imperial Safari. Some few machines were sold by Brother (of Japan) for unknown reasons, numbered in a model series beginning with "XL," such as the Brother XL-1016 seen at lower right. Variants of this group also appeared as the Sears Chevron, and as the Sears Capri. The Brother machine actually says "Capri" on its paper table, even though it has a model number on the sticker. Some variants have buttons for functions in the top cover, as does the Brother. All three machines from Will Davis collection. |
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