2010.11.9

Prototype, Geometric Area and Volume Aid

American Printing House for the Blind

(a) wooden tray, painted sky blue; one full-depth, narrow compartment on left, labeled in braille, "PEGS"; ten half-depth, equally sized compartments, each pair labeled on front in braille, "A-B, C-D, E-F, G-H, J-K"; sides and dividers are solid wood assembled with nails and glue, bottom is 1/8" plywood; braille labels are embossed on brown "Dymo Tape"; six (6) "Type-A" blocks, 1" cubes with chamfered corners, labeled on sides in ink, A-2 thru A-5; two (2) "Type-B" blocks, 1" block with an additional block piece on side cut at 45 degree angle, labeled in ink, B2 thru B-3; two (2) "Type-C" blocks, two 1" blocks side-by-side, labeled C-2 thru C-3; four (4) "Type -D" blocks, similar to two "Type-B" blocks side-by-side, labeled D-2 thru D-4; three (3) "Type-E" blocks, three 1" cubes side-by-side, labeled E-2 thru E-4; two (2) "Type-F" blocks, four 1" cubes side-by-side, labeled F-1; two (2) "Type-G" blocks, eight 1" blocks stacked in cube, labeled G-2 thru G-3; three (3) "Type-H" blocks, four 1" blocks in square, labeled H-1 thru H-3; two (2) "Type-J" blocks, eighteen 1" blocks in 3x3x2 block, labeled J-1 thru J-2; four (4) "Type-K" blocks, nine 1" blocks in 3x3x1 arrangement, labeled K-1 thru K-2; the different design numbers designate hole patterns drilled in each block; seventeen wooden pegs with notched ends, four white nylon pegs; manuscript design notes and diagram.

H-4 W-23 D-7.25 inches

ca. 1982

American Printing House for the Blind

Louisville, KY

APH Collection

Recovered from APH MAintenance Dept. GAVA was designed to teach students to understand and calculate volume and area by counting blocks by touch. It was introduced in 1970 and discontinued by 1989. This design model was produced at APH to guide production. According to former APH machinist Ron Gadson (later head of the Maintenance Dept.), this was a project he worked on. The production notes that accompany the model are dated March 4, 1982. This tray is from an earlier version of GAVA, manufactured from 1970-1976 In 1976, the GAVA tray became more square than this model. The paint on this version was a change, however. The original GAVA tray had a natural finish. The mixture of wooden and nylon pegs also represents a design change as Gadson and other machinists worked to produce a synthetic peg.

APH Collection, 2010.11