2001.105.1

Braille Crossword Puzzle Board

Wooden frame holds a metal board with 225 perforated braille cells (15 x 15) into which pins can be positioned to create braille letters of the alphabet. Raised braille numbers are embossed on the sides of the board, and the braille alphabet is embossed at the top and bottom to guide the user. Between the frame and the metal board is cloth cushioning to hold the pins; a cushioned section to the right of the board holds pins that are not in use. Most of the pins have white, round plastic heads; a few are plain metal pins inserted through small clear beads. "Perkins Inst. for the Blind" is stamped in the frame.

W-11.25 L-13.5 D-1.5 inches

ca. 1925

Perkins Institute for the Blind, Howe Memorial Press

Boston

The 1925 annual report of the Perkins Institute noted that the Howe Memorial Press had introduced a "crossword puzzle board usable by anyone acquainted with braille." They made 24 of them that year. Vendor identified this item as a Braille Alphabet Teaching Board used by Corrine Delesdernier, a home teacher of blind students in Connecticut in the early 1900s. Delesdernier was born in Canada and attended the Perkins Institute in Watertown, MA. She died in 1957. The Royal National Institute for the Blind, London, England, lists a similar item called a Crossword Puzzle Board in its 1933 Catalog. After the death of Delesdernier, the artifact was placed in the care of her friend, donor Buelah Brazzell.

Museum Purchase, 2001.105