-Blickensderfer 6- typewriter c. 1906

This Blickensderfer 6 typewriter was made by George C. Blickensderfer, though we don’t know precisely when. It's made primarily of metal, with a dark roller running across the top, and a dense array of keys in the foreground. Unlike many typewriters, the Blickensderfer features a cylindrical typewheel that rotates to print each character. This unusual design choice, combined with the machine’s relatively small size, made it a somewhat popular portable option. But in a larger sense, the object represents the industrialization of writing, and the increasing dominance of mechanical means of production in everyday life. Consider the sheer number of parts involved, each precisely tooled and assembled. Though intended to empower individual expression, typewriters like this one also speak to the rise of office culture, mass communication, and the changing nature of work in the late 19th century. The typewriter is not only a tool, but an emblem of a society reshaped by industry and consumption.