My type-writer continued to go click, click, click.
-- G. Allen, Type-Writer Girl iii (1897); from the Oxford English Dictionary

On April 12th, 1892, George Canfield Blickensderfer (1850-1917) received a patent for the first portable typewriter which was light, economical, and interestingly designed; it offered a new keyboard layout, swapping the "universal” (“QWERTY”) lettering for "DHIATENSOR" on the bottom row to minimize hand movement. The revolving type wheel simplified manufacture, and by grouping the ten most popular letters used in the English language on the first row of the typewriter, Bleckensderfer also hoped to bring greater efficiencies to the industry of writing and publishing. High demand led to the opening of large factory on Atlantic Street in Stamford, Connecticut, not far from the workshop near his home on Bedford Street where he built the portable model.  By 1886 Bleckensderfer was producing roughly 10,000 machines per year, many of which were exported to Canada, Europe, and New Zealand. It was not long before he invented the electric typewriter,  the "Blick Electric", though IBM caught up fifty years later -- producing an ever popular, new portable, "Selectric" model with a "golf ball" that rotated and pivoted to the correct position before striking the paper. The Blickensderfer patents and designs were manufactured by a variety of different companies for decades, and this famous inventor from Erie, Pennsylvania would be eternalized  in history, museums of science and technology, and individual collections for his revolutionary work.

The following articles are drawn from Proquest Historical Newspapers, which informs and inspires classroom teaching and learning.

• Cipher Code Typewriter: Wonderful Device By Which an Impenetrable System Is Secured. (1901, Apr 29). The Nashville American (1894-1910) 
• Patriotic Zeal Kills Inventor. (1917, Aug 16). New - York Tribune (1911-1922) 
• Francis S. Van Der Veer, Real Estate Broker, Dies. (1934, Mar 07). New York Herald Tribune (1926-1962) 
• Sampson, P. (1955, Apr 18). Smithsonian Officials Deluged by 250,000 Questions a Year. The Washington Post and Times Herald (1954-1959) 
• Reif, R. (1975, May 04). 'Word Processing' Comes of Age: The Electric Typewriter Is Basic to New Systems. New York Times (1923-) 
• Lacy, J. (1977, Dec 26). We're Number One. The Hartford Courant (1923-) 
• Lacy, J. (1979, Feb 07). Loveable Types of Writers. The Hartford Courant (1923-) 
• Gold, A. (1980, Mar 14). Antiques: Typewriter Collectors Hunt for Blue-Ribbons. Chicago Tribune (1963-1996) 
• First Patent. (1980, Apr 05). Michigan Chronicle (1939-2010) 
• Solis-Cohen, L. (1980, Nov 30). Old Typewriters Attract a Special Type of Collector. The Sun (1837-) 
• Ralph, & Kovel, T. (1991, Feb 16). Old Typewriters Are Key Collector's Items. The Hartford Courant (1923-)

Tips:

• Clow, Cletus A. The Manual Portable Typewriter as a Tool of Learning with Fifth-Grade Elementary School Pupils. New York: Teachers College, Columbia University, 1961. Ed'D. Closed Stacks Dissertations ; LB1044.9.T9 C56 1961
• Lyons, Martyn. The Typewriter Century : A Cultural History of Writing Practices. Toronto, Ontario ; University of Toronto Press, 2021. e-book
• Mares, G. C. The History of the Typewriter: Being an Illustrated Account of the Origin, Rise and Development of the Writing Machine. By Geo. Carl Mares. England: G. Pitman, 1909. e-book
• Sandoval, Hannah. Things That Changed the Course of History: The Story of the Invention of the Typewriter 150 Years Later. Ocala, FL: Atlantic Publishing Group, 2017. e-book
• Vrooman, John W. (John Wright). The Story of the Typewriter, 1873-1923 : Published in Commemoration of the Fiftieth Anniversary of the Invention of the Writing Machine, by the Herkimer County Historical Society. New York: Press of A. H. Kellogg company, 1923.  Closed Stacks Curr ; Z49.A1H5 1923 

Images:

• Blickensderfer No. 5 Portable Typewriter, 1889, made by Blickensdorf Manufacturing Company - Museum of Science and Industry (Chicago), Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
• Poster Image:  Blickensdefer, No. 5, Private Collection

Still Curious? Be sure to check out, Old Curiosities Newly Gifted, blog post that  describes a glossy black, portable Hammond Typewriter, Model 26, circa 1926, on display in the Special Collections Reading Room.

Need to keep current, look to the past, teach a topic? The Everett Cafe features daily postings of news from around the world, and also promotes awareness of historical events from an educational context. Be sure to check additional Cafe News postings on the library blog.