This early Blickensderfer 5 came from near Minneapolis Minnesota in spring of 2021

The Blickensderfer 5 was invented by George C. Blickensderfer a VERY successful design with over 100,000 produced over the production run of the machine being introduced in 1893 production lasted till into the 1900s. The first year of production Blickensderfer used a Decal which was soon replaced by a metal tag on the print head of the machine. The type elements also used a different clip system to attach them to the shaft that they are fixed to on the print head. The carriage had many differences from the later made model 5 Blickensderfers. The model 5 could also be bought with an Aluminum frame by special order later on in the production run, these machines are silver in color and are stamped "501 special" on the bottom of the main casting. Usually, they would have white keytops and platen knobs, but a few machines have been found with original black keytops and platen knobs.