Blickensderfer typewriter

The Blickensderfer Typewriter was invented by George Canfield Blickensderfer (1850–1917) and patented on August 4, 1891. Two models were initially unveiled to the public at the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, the Model 1 and the Model 5. His machines were originally intended to compete with larger Remington, Hammond and Yost typewriters, and were the first truly portable, full-keyboard typewriters. The design also enabled the typist to see the typed work at a time when most typewriters were understrike machines that concealed the writing. When Blickensderfer unveiled his small Model 5 at the 1893 World's Fair, a stripped-down version of his larger more complex Model 1 machine, these revolutionary features attracted huge crowds and a full order book – many of them from Britain, Germany and France, whose business machine markets were more highly developed than the United States.

The Blickensderfer typewriters were initially manufactured in a rented factory on Garden Street in Stamford, Connecticut. By 1896, due to strong foreign demand in particular for his machines, Blickensderfer opened a new and modern factory on Atlantic Street in Stamford. According to an article published by the Stamford Historical Society " Blickensferfer's typewriter...became the world's best seller, and the company became one of the world's largest typewriter manufacturers". The factory employed about 200 people and produced about 10,000 typewriters per year at its peak (1903-1907) until the factory closed in 1919. The first commercially successful model was the No. 5, which sold for $35, compared to the benchmark machines of the day which cost $100 or more. Each new model 5 came in a simple wooden carrying case with an extra typewheel, a dozen ink rolls and a tool kit.

George Blickensderfer's invention dramatically reduced the complexity of the typewriter design. A typical Blick contained only 250 parts, compared to the 2,500 parts of a standard typewriter. It was much smaller, lighter and cheaper than others. Some of the first aluminum typewriters, marketed as the Blickensderfer 6 and the Blick Featherweight, were made by Blickensderfer, as was the world's first fully electric typewriter, the Blickensderfer Electric.

Instead of the common mechanism with letters on the end of individual type bars connected to the keys, the first Blickensderfer prototype used a cylindrical typewheel with four rows of characters; lower case, upper case, italics and short words embossed on it. It was later modified to three rows of characters: lower case, upper case and a row of numbers and symbols. Depressing a key caused the typewheel to turn so the correct letter was positioned over the paper. As the wheel turned it moved downward, contacting an ink roller prior to striking the paper. This allowed for greater speed in typing as there were no keys to become jammed or stuck together. The interchangeable typewheel principle is very similar to the IBM Selectric design introduced almost 70 years later in 1961. Like the Selectric, one could easily change the typeface or the font style on a Blickensderfer simply by changing the typewheel.

...
Wikipedia