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1911 Blickensderfer 8 Serial # 157068 1911 Blickensderfer 8 typewriter, Serial # 157068 Enrico Morozzi's 1911 Blickensderfer 8 typewriter. 2015-03-22 From the Virtual Typewriter Collection of Enrico Morozzi: 1911 Blickensderfer 8 Serial # 157068 Blickensderfer n.8
The first Blickensderfer was produced in 1893,
and it was the first typewriter so small and light to be called "portable". Really, it was more "porable" than "typewriter".
First reason: the keyboard.
The keyboard, in fact, is very difficult, because both the typecylinder and the carriage movement are entirely activated by the keypress.
This means the keyboard is heavy, and every key must be pushed to the bottom.
Second reason: the inkroll
The typecylinder is inked by a small inkroll, this grants a rather good print quality, but often you've got to refill your inkroll, and when you do that you always risk to leave spots on your hands, on your table and (worse) on the paper you're writing...
This means you need anyway a good desk to write on, and makes very difficult to write, for example, on your knees, or on a 1900 steam train.
Anyway Blicks were successful typewriters, because of the very low price (about half the remington standard) and because they were really very small, light, and easy to carry.

1911 Blickensderfer 8 #157068

Status: My Collection
Hunter: Enrico Morozzi (elmoroz)
Created: 04-13-2014 at 11:20PM
Last Edit: 03-22-2015 at 06:46PM

Description Hunter 5 Photos 0 Likes  Find on Ebay #AD  Find on Etsy #AD

Description:

Blickensderfer n.8
The first Blickensderfer was produced in 1893,
and it was the first typewriter so small and light to be called "portable". Really, it was more "porable" than "typewriter".
First reason: the keyboard.
The keyboard, in fact, is very difficult, because both the typecylinder and the carriage movement are entirely activated by the keypress.
This means the keyboard is heavy, and every key must be pushed to the bottom.
Second reason: the inkroll
The typecylinder is inked by a small inkroll, this grants a rather good print quality, but often you've got to refill your inkroll, and when you do that you always risk to leave spots on your hands, on your table and (worse) on the paper you're writing...
This means you need anyway a good desk to write on, and makes very difficult to write, for example, on your knees, or on a 1900 steam train.
Anyway Blicks were successful typewriters, because of the very low price (about half the remington standard) and because they were really very small, light, and easy to carry.

Typeface Specimen:

Photos:

a detail of the patents plate on the right side.
a detail of the patents plate on the right side.

A detail of the type cylinder.. like all the Blicks typing is hard because all movements of the typecylinder and carriage are driven by the key....
A detail of the type cylinder.. like all the Blicks typing is hard because all movements of the typecylinder and carriage are driven by the key....

The line spacing can be fine tuned by this nut... you can choose really any line spacing you want, but becomes less practical when you try to set a previously used line spacing.
The line spacing can be fine tuned by this nut... you can choose really any line spacing you want, but becomes less practical when you try to set a previously used line spacing.

Like line-spacing, also font spacing can be tuned, by this nut on the back of the machine. This permits mounting typecylinders with different CPI steps.
Like line-spacing, also font spacing can be tuned, by this nut on the back of the machine. This permits mounting typecylinders with different CPI steps.

A detail of the s/n under the carriage
A detail of the s/n under the carriage

Hunter: Enrico Morozzi (elmoroz)

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