The Blickensderfer

I recently saw this typewriter in a local antique shop: A model 7 Blickensderfer Typewriter c. 1897.

Designed by George Canfield Blickensderfer, it was known for its portability and advertising included reviews such as “well adapted to small quarters” and “I took your Blickensderfer to Omdurman [Egypt] and have done the whole of my work for Reuter on it….never has a typewriter been tried more severely.” See the little cylinder? Pressing a key caused the embossed cylindrical wheel to turn so the correct letter was positioned over the paper, it would then be inked by a roller as it was pressed down onto the paper. This is one of the first portable typewriters and weighed only about 6 pounds. Cool right?

I recently got all new juicy inky ribbons for my own collection of typewriters. I loaded them all in today and it felt kind like I’d won some kind of lottery being able to choose from any of them and type for a very long time:

And then a thoughtful gift left by a new friend today. I met author Kim Michele Richardson a few weeks ago when she popped in to the used book store I volunteer in. This week I went to her local book signing and she’s been so supportive of my own dreams to write. She left me these old typewriter keys today and some other bits of an old Smith Corona typewriter. I’m pretty sure they came from an L.C. Smith #8 which were manufactured around 1915.

Somehow she must have known that I’ve been writing on this newer electric Smith Corona:

I love writing on the electric typewriter that a friend of ours gave Boo a few years ago. When Boo first had a chance to test it out she said: this is the best thing invented since the computer. 

It’s a good feeling trying to fill up the pages with the clicking of the keys, no spell check and no way to backspace. I can’t rethink…I just move forward. My favorite thing is when I type too fast and after I’ve stopped the key have to catch up with me: ghost typing.  One thing I’ve learned: I could definitely stand to improve my typing skills…and spelling skills. I’ve become too reliant on spellcheck these days. I’ll have to write about these two typewriters in my morning pages this week…a thread connecting two machines that were manufactured 100 years apart. I’m certain the old keys will tell me stories of all they captured over the years.