2012.36

APH Light-Touch Perkins Brailler

Perkins School for the Blind

Stamped aluminum frame and cladding, painted on exterior with textured blue enamel; light gray plastic keys and roller knobs; bright aluminum folding carrying handle in middle top; masonite base with four rubber feet; stamped aluminum cladding pieces are secured to frame with steel phillips head screws; paper roller knobs on both sides of machine; standard keyboard: far left is line advance, central seven are the six braille keys and space bar, far right is back space; curved plastic carriage return lever in slot above keyboard; pair of stamped, bright aluminum paper release levers flank the paper tray; pair of spring-loaded margin set levers in slot on back below paper feed tray; black rubber paper roller below secondary aluminum roller spaced with black rubber gripper rings; interior holds a paper storage roller constructed from five rods and a rounded paper clamp bar; stamped above keyboard, "PERKINS BRAILLER"; on metal plate below keyboard, "APH LIGHT-TOUCH PERKINS BRAILLER/ LT 000001"; white wooden eraser; black vinyl faux leather cover.

H-6 W-15 D-9 inches

2011

Howe Press, Perkins School for the Blind

Watertown, Mass

Developed with APH at Howe Press to meet the need for a braillewriter with softer touch keys useful for young children and users with multiple disabilities. A subtle reworking of the original 1951 David Abraham design. The brighter APH-blue color was a marketing decision, to distinguish the machine from the original. Introduced in the APH catalog in 2011.

Museum Purchase, 2012.36.