2001.100

Model G Braille Shorthand Writer

Cast aluminum frame, enameled black; stamped aluminum housing, also enameled black, wrapped around top of keyboard on front and around paper tape advance roller on left; folding nickel plated paper reel arm on back right; a secondary tape roller extends from the base of the reel arm; six cupped black plastic, rectilinear keys and a spacing key in the middle with its oval pad set perpendicular to the other keys; round padded rests under each key and a padded bar is set above the key arms; nickel-plated brass paper tape advance knob above and to left of keyboard, extending back to a pair of spring loaded rollers on the back left of the frame; no paper tape reel end bell, it has been omitted on this model; stamped into housing above keyboard, "Model G, Matrix, Coventry Gauge & Tool Company, Ltd., No. 1183, For The Royal National Institute for the Blind, London W.I."; braillewriter is bolted to two padded steel bars that run the length of a removable wood base which is latched into the bottom of the carrying case;
Wooden case has hinged lid; black leatherette covering; nickel plated steel hinges and locks on sides; leather handle on right side; rubber pads (1 inch in diameter) have been attached with screws to the bottom corners of the case.

ca. 1965

Coventry Gauge & Tool Company, Royal National Institute for the Blind

England

Henry Stainsby (1859-1925), Supt. of the Birmingham Royal Institution for the Blind, along with Birmingham manufacturer Albert Wayne patented a braille shorthand machine in 1899-1900. His tapewriter was developed as a note-taking tool for blind stenographers being trained at Birmingham. Stainsby's goal was employment for his students. By the 1920s, the Stainsby-Wayne Braille Shorthand Writer was being sold by the National Institute for the Blind. This version was introduced around 1956, when photos firstshow it being used by students at the RNIB shorthand school. It was itself replaced by 1973 by the Model H.

Museum Purchase, 2001.10.