One
could do worse than perusing
this eloquent
obituary of George Canfield Blickensderfer
if one wants to learn about the man and his accomplishments.
His typewriters were marvels of invention and way ahead of their time.
This promotional brochure was as meticulously prepared as the product had been designed.
“…Only twenty years after the typewriter had come into practical use, a Stamford resident, George C. Blickensderfer, invented a new kind of typewriter 1892 in his small workshop at the rear of his Bedford Street home. In order produce his invention, he founded The Blickensderfer Manufacturing Company in 1889, renting space on Garden Street until the construction of a spacious factory on lower Atlantic Street in 1896. Blickensderfer's typewriter, which featured the principle of revolving type, became the world's best seller, and the company became one of the world's largest typewriter manufacturers. His model #8* was one of the first and said to be the best portable typewriter invented. The «Blick» typewriter could be outfitted with different type styles and for foreign 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.”
* used for the background of this page
“Stamford Industry Down the Years,” Tercentenary Advocate
The Daily Advocate Triennial Industrial Edition, 24 June 1909
Stamford City Directory, 1922”
For those who seek genealogical information,
there is a home
page for Blick Surnames
for descendants/ancestors of
Hans Jakob Blickensderfer
© Stamford Historical Society
The Virtual Typewriter Museum
The Manufacturing Plant
The Portable Typewriter and its Uses, 1913
Model #8
Electric Typewriter
Made in Stamford
Online archival information
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