Blickensderfer Typewriters
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.
“…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.”
Bibliography:
- “Stamford Industry Down the Years,” Tercentenary
Advocate
- The
Daily Advocate Triennial Industrial Edition, 24 June 1909
- Stamford City Directory, 1922
Model #8, Portable Typewriter
One of the first and said to be the best portable typewriter invented:
The Portable Typewriter and its Uses, 1913
The Portable Typewriter from the Collection of the Stamford Historical Society
Blickensderfer also developed the first electric
typewriter, and with a type wheel.
Astonishingly for us today, the Blickensderfer typewriter used the type wheel, which only many years later became an standard feature again.
A promotional brochure was as meticulously prepared as the product had been designed.
It can also be viewed in the Marcus Research Library [338 BLIC POS].
More Information
Local researchers
may find additional information in the material in the Vertical
Files and the Bibliography of Stamford at the Society's Marcus Research Library.
For those who seek genealogical information,
there is a page for descendants/ancestors of
Hans Jakob Blickensderfer.
George Blickensderfer at the Virtual Typewriter Museum
The Manufacturing Plant
Electric Typewriter
Made in Stamford
The Virtual Typewriter Museum
The Classic Typewriter Page
Blickensderfer Typewriter: Sales Brochure