The Home Blickensderfer Typewriter

Upon searching around the Museum, and looking into a small wooden box, this odd looking typewriter was found. What struck me was the small, lightweight machine with a rather odd keyboard.

In its day (1915), the “Blick”, as it was called, sold for $25 dollars. This is just one of many “Blicks” that were made starting in 1892; including the first electric typewriter. (1)

George C. Blickensderfer invented a new kind of typewriter in1892 in his small workshop at the rear of his Bedford Street home. He founded the Blickensderfer Manufacturing Company in 1889 to produce his invention. Blickensderfer typewriters featured the principle of revolving type and became the world's bestseller, and the company became one of the world's largest typewriter manufacturers.

The “Blick” typewriter could be outfitted with different type styles and other languages. When World War I cut off the company's large export markets, Blickensderfer invented a belt-loading device for machine guns and received enough orders from the French government to keep the company solvent. George Blickensderfer died in 1917, and three years later his company was taken over by the L.R. Roberts Typewriter Company. (2)



Sources:
(1) The Classic Typewriter Page. http://staff.xu.edu/~polt/typewriters/tw-collection.html
(2) “Stamford Industry Down the Years,” Tercentenary Advocate
The Daily Advocate Triennial Industrial Edition, 24 June 1909
Stamford City Directory, 1922”