Blickensderfer
Blick Ninety
Blick Typewriter Company
Lyman Roberts
Original Price: $20
1919 - 1924
S/N: I-783
This was the first machine built after the death of George Blickensderfer before the company was sold to the L. R. Roberts Typewriter Company. The history is unclear whether the Blick Ninety continued to be manufactured, or if all models eventually became the Roberts Ninety, so the exact date of manufacture is still unclear. It was likely produced between 1919 and 1920. (See a great article on this in the ozTypewriter blog: https://oztypewriter.blogspot.com/2012/10/on-this-day-in-typewriter-history_10.html.) The picture to the left is from its announcement in Typewriter Topics, December 1919, page 356. This machine differs from the previous models in that it uses type bars for each key rather than a type wheel, and the keys are enclosed in a case, from which the type basket can be detached very easily. You may notice that this model is also very closely aligned to the Corona portable models, very popular at this time after World War I.