Historical information
The board was made from a piece of quarry slate set in a wooden frame. In early times a slate pencil (not chalk) was used to form the letters. This slate pencil was often sharpened on the school wall. The advantage of slates over paper was that they could be wiped clean and used again and again.
Children had to bring a dampened cloth or sponge to school so that they could clean the slate and start again but often they would use their own spit and the cuff of their sleeve!
Physical description
Two rectangular slate writing boards used in schools.
.1 is plain black and is unframed.
.2 is wooden-framed.
