2007.27a-b

Upward-writing braille board slate

Pattison, designer

Bottom-hinged, nickel-plated slate with 4 lines of 37 cells. Bottom plate has raised dots for writing left to right with a hollow-tip stylus. Paper inserts through opening between plates, along hinged-edge. Writer can open the top plate to check braille without removing the paper. Two pegs on back of slate fit into 7 pairs of holes along front edges of board. Hinged metal clip at top center of board is made of aluminum and has two pins to secure paper.
(a) board; (b) slate

H-12.5 W-10.25 D-0.75 inches

ca. 1960

Pattison

Louisville, KY

Designed and made circa 1960 by a Mr. Pattison, who was a tool & die maker at General Electric in Louisville at the time. His daughter, Inez, was visually impaired. Although she did not use a braille writing device, her father became interested in designing the upward-writing slate, which he gave to Fred Gissoni to try. Like other upward-writing slates, this one creates undesirable ghost dots. Gissoni received the board slate from Pattison in 1966 and donated it to the Callahan Museum in 2007.

Gift of Fred Gissoni, 2007.57