1990.17.1-2

Picht Braillewriter

Picht, Oscar, inventor

The Picht braillewriter has a black enamel finish and weighs 8 1/2 pounds. Nine inch wide paper is used, and the paper is stored around a solid wooden drum. The braillewriter bears a gold script Picht logo and gold stripe decoration. An attached metal plate is inscribed with the following: "Bruno Herde und Friedrich Wendt, Berlin SW 19, Generalvertrieb: Reichsdeutscher Blindenverhand e.v. Berlin, Abt. Zentrale fur Blindenhilfsmittel."
Serial no. 66245.
.1 - Picht Braillewriter
.2 - Case

H-5 W-14.5 D-9 inches

1935

Bruno Herde und Friedrich Wendt

Berlin, Germany

The Picht braillewriter, or Schnellschreibmaschine, was invented by Oscar Picht (1871-1945) in 1899 while teaching at the State School for the Blind in Berlin, Germany. Picht was the director of the Provincial School for the Blind in Bromberg, Germany, from 1910-1920, and returned to Berlin to head that school from 1920-1933. He held multiple German braillewriter patents. Herde and Wendt began manufacturing their version in Berlin in 1903. This example was one of a 100 machines imported by APH in 1935-36 to satisfy demand for braillewriters in U.S. schools.

APH Collection, 1990.17