Do you notice anything unusual about this typewriter?

What might explain this?

How old do you think it is?

The keyboard is all weird! Why doesn't it look like the keyboard on our computers and phones that we use every day? As it happens, it took a while for the layout we are familiar with (known as "qwerty") to come together, and many other variants were tried over the years. Some alternate layouts even have a dedicated following today, such as the Dvorak layout, which devotees attest as more efficient than standard qwerty. Indeed, the qwerty layout was developed in the 1860's with the specific intention of slowing down typing, because typing too fast would often jam up the keyboard.

This typewriter was made by the Blickensderfer corporation in 1892, in Stamford, Connecticut. It was donated to the Karshner Center in 1946.

For more information, visit:

• This artifact in the Karshner Digital Collections
• Artifact Worksheets you can use in your classroom or for homeschool
• Keyboard Layout: A Simple Guide & Comparison