VINTAGE BLICKENSDERFE 7 PORTABLE TYPEWRITER & ORIGINAL WOODEN CASE in Potters Bar, Hertfordshire for sale

For sale is a rare Blickesderfer No:7 portable typewriter in its original wooden carrying case. The typewriter has a rotating type-wheel that is interchangeable so that type faces could be easily changed. The case strap handle has broken and only half of it remains. There are two plaques on the machine the one on the side displays various patent numbers and the one on the front the company name and London address. The engraving on the underside of the casting is 501B. There is also an etched number on the wooden base. It is 129. The item weighs approx 6kg and postal prices quoted are approximate. They may increase depending on buyer requirements.I will ship this item worldwide. Overseas buyers are required to pay for the item and the required level of postage service via Paypal. The Blickensderfer Typewriter was designed by George Canfield Blickensderfer (1850–1917) in 1892. It was originally intended to compete with Remington desk typewriters, but ended up being known for its portability. Instead of the common mechanism with letters on the end of individual bars connected to the keys, the Blickensderfer used a cylindrical wheel with letters embossed on it. Pressing a key caused the cylinder to turn so the correct letter was positioned over the paper, and continuing caused it to be inked by a roller as it moved to press down on the paper. The mechanism is very similar to the IBM Selectric design introduced decades later, with the only major change being the shape of the striker. Like the Selectric, one could easily change the typeface on a Blickensderfer simply by changing the type cylinder. The Blickensderfer system dramatically reduced complexity of the design. A typical example contained only 250 parts, compared to the 2,500 parts of a standard typewriter. It was much smaller, lighter, and cheaper than other typewriters. The first known aluminum typewriter (marketed as the Blickensderfer 6 or the "Featherweight Blick") was made by Blickensderfer, as was the first electric typewriter. Early Blickensderfers were also notable for their keyboard layout. The home row of keys contained the most commonly used letters, DHIATENSOR, allowing the keyboardist keep their hands on the home row as much as possible, minimizing extraneous hand movement and increasing efficiency. The QWERTY keyboard was originally designed to prevent the typebars on the Sholes & Glidden from jamming. Since the Blickensderfer used the letter wheel, the "scientific" keyboard layout could be used for maximum typing efficiency. Model 7 The Model 7, first offered in 1897, became the deluxe version of the basic design. Some were assembled in the United Kingdom for sale there. Any questions, please call 3 Available for collection from Potters Bar, Herts.