loading
reading
writing
saving
searching
Typewritter 1897 - $400 (Pasadena)
S Madison Ave near California
QR Code Link to This Post
Blick 9 & 10 Cheapside London, Made in U.S.A
Model #7 year-1897
The "Blick" badge with the 9 & 10 Cheapside, London address refers to the London headquarters/importer of the American-made Blickensderfer typewriter company.
The shield prominently indicates it is a Blickensderfer No. 7 model (produced from roughly 1897 into the 1910s).
Notice the bottom row spells D H I A T E N S O R. This was the scientific keyboard design meant to place the most frequently used English letters on the home row. Collectible Blickensderfers with the original DHIATENSOR layout often attract collectors who specifically want the non-QWERTY configuration.
Other interesting facts.
Invented by George C. Blickensderfe in 1892, London made in USA. Built by the Blickensdefer Manufacting company Based in Stamford, Connecticut
George Canfield Blickensderfer (1850–1917) was an American inventor best known for creating the world’s first truly successful portable keyboard typewriter. His minimalist, lightweight designs drastically modernized writing technology and established Connecticut as a global hub for typewriter manufacturing
The London Address: "9 & 10 Cheapside, London" was the official British branch office that distributed and marketed the machines across the UK and the British Empire
The "Scientific" Keyboard: Blickensderfer rejected the standard QWERTY layout. He designed a proprietary layout that placed the ten most frequently used letters in the English language—D, H, I, A, T, E, N, S, O, R—on the bottom row closest to the space bar to maximize typing speed and reduce hand strain
War: World War I Munitions: When the outbreak of the war halted international typewriter exports, he pivoted to defense and invented a highly efficient belt-loading device for machine guns, keeping his manufacturing plant open