Blickensderfer typewriter

The Blickensderfer is a typewriter that of George C. Blickensderfer (1850-1917) was presented as a prototype in 1893 in the United States. It is considered a purely mechanical precursor of the ball typewriter.

General

While the models 1 and 3 were apparently produced only in small numbers, the first successful production model in 1898 came as Blickensderfer No. 5 on the world market. Due to their cylindrical type wheel ( not unlike a ball head ) it was handy and easy to carry. It should therefore compete with the portable typewriters of Remington; she was known but because of their character wheel. While simple models were offered for $ 35, the Blickensderfer, however, had to contend with the best models of their time with a price of $ 100. 1902 Blickensderfer produced the first electric typewriter, the Blickensderfer Electric aluminum. This model differed technically only by the lack of tilt axis and the moving paper carrier car from the later ball- typewriters from IBM. However, it was not a success, the reasons for this are speculative. The differently standardized grids ( different voltages, still partly DC networks) certainly had its influence. Worldwide only three units of this model are known today. The successor No. 7 was a hand-operated again. With the last version of the model No. 8 came in 1908, a Tabulatormechanik with fixed step size added. The production facility was located in Stamford, Connecticut (USA).

Technology

The Blickensderfer No. 5 came with only 250 components in comparison to 2500 parts of a common standard typewriter. Therefore, it was much smaller and lighter than the large desk equipment of its time. The type wheel could similarly be easily removed as the later ball heads of IBM, to change the font. From today's type wheels, it is distinguished by the cylindrical shape. Here are the types were superposed around the cylinder at several levels, while all types must find a place in the modern type wheels in a plane.

Three superposed key cylinder turned by the same angle. These were 10 different basic angles, using a shift key (upper case) and an Alt key ( called Cap and Fig) at intermediate steps were added to a total of 30 stop positions for numbers and special characters. The keys of the middle and upper series shifted the cylinder along its axis to the next level, where the types were arranged in three rows of 30 types to the " Cylindrical " around. Finally, the model proposed with a tilting movement of the entire assembly from the top of the roller. Instead of a ribbon, a color rolls inked the types. All movements were controlled by the write button of the same hand. With their complicated technology, these devices were a dismal performance, mechanical engineering.

Although technically a step back, were much simpler produces typewriters 1904-1934, the so-called pointer Mignon Typewriter AEG. She also worked with type cylinders, but was operated by a much simpler mechanism. A pointer of the recorder led via a letter box, wherein the movement is transmitted mechanically to two axes in order to change the direction of rotation of the cylinder and to move the layers. These devices were particularly inexpensive and thus very successful in the private scope. From this type of cylinder is the type wheel of the Blickensderfer differs by the greater number of adjacent types and fewer levels, thereby forming the shape of a wheel from the cylinder.

Layouts

Another feature of the Blickensderfer Typewriter was the changed keyboard layout. The bottom row of the typewriter keys contained the most commonly used letters in the English DHIATENSOR to increase efficiency. There are at least two known layouts for non-alphanumeric characters, to exist alongside a QWERTY arrangement and additional layouts for other languages ​​. DHIATENSOR keyboards find a brief mention in the novel Distraction by Bruce Sterling, as a logical development of a QWERTY -based technology culture.

Literature (English)

• Robert Blickensderfer, Paul Robert: The Five Pound Secretary. 2003
• Richard Milton: Portable Typewriters - Blickensderfer. 2004, new edition August 19, 2006.