Everything about The Blickensderfer Typewriter totally explained
The
Blickensderfer Typewriter was designed by
George C Blickensderfer (
1850-
1917) in
1893. It was originally intended to compete with
Remington desk
typewriters, but ended up being known for its portability. Blickensderfer's typewriter contained only 250 parts compared to the 2,500 parts of a standard typewriter. Therefore, it was much smaller, lighter, and cheaper than the desk typewriters. It featured a type wheel that was easily removed to change the
typeface. Another feature of the Blickensderfer Typewriter was its modified
keyboard layout. The bottom row of keys contained the
most commonly used letters,
DHIATENSOR, to increase efficiency. The first production model was the No. 5. The first known
aluminum typewriter (marketed as the Blickensderfer 6 or the "Featherweight Blick") was made by Blickensderfer as was the first
electric typewriter. The manufacturing plant was located in
Stamford, Connecticut, and the typewriters were distributed worldwide.
Technology
The type cylinder, which was similar to the subsequent ball head of the
IBM Selectric typewriter, was easily removed, allowing users to change the font. Striking a key turned the cylinder to the proper angle while inking the letter as it tilted downward to stamp the paper. Holding the Cap or Fig keys shifted the cylinder on its axis to use either the middle row for capital letters or the upper row for special characters.
Layouts
The DHIATENSOR layout is shown below (with alphanumeric characters only):
» :
There were at least two layouts for the non-alphanumeric symbols
(External Link
)(External Link). There were also versions with the QWERTY layout
(External Link) and other layouts
(External Link)(External Link).
Literary References
DHIATENSOR keyboards were mentioned briefly in the recent novel
Distraction by
Bruce Sterling, as a logical evolution of a
QWERTY based tech culture.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Blickensderfer Typewriter'.
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