1992.311

Kleidograph

This machine writes only New York point. A cluster of 12 brass keys and a cell spacer make up the keyboard. The four lower keys activate the two keys above, enabling one to emboss all eight dots with the right hand. The two left keys were used for punctuation and the wooden board surface allowed to user to read what was typed on the paper. Paper is inserted from the rear and rolled around a drum. By moving a lever at the left of the drum to a forward position, the paper is automatically advanced at the end of each line. Point writer, which is made of red-enameled cast iron decorated with a gold pinstripe, has a brass plate on the front which reads "Kleidograph N.Y. Institution for the Blind Patented November 1894."

H-6 W-17 D-10.5 inches

1894

New York Institution for the Blind

New York

William Bell Wait invented the Kleidograph, a machine for embossing the New York Point system on paper, in 1894. The machine was sold by his school, the New York Institute, and was designed for the user to use it with one hand leaving the other free to read.

Gift of the Kentucky School for the Blind, 1992.311