Historical information

Braille hand frames and styluses were the primary way to produce Braille for over a century. The stylus was used to make a separate indentation for each dot, and the hand frame to keep dots within the same cell. Braille rows are produced from right to left. The process was very time consuming. Volunteer transcribers for the library could take an average of ½ hour to produce one page of Braille using this method. For example: “Oliver Twist” required approximately 600 sheets equating to 300 hours of work!

This wooden slate, which was used to make the system portable, served as a firm base needed to sustain puncture pressure. The frame can also be slotted into both sides of the slate, thereby ensuring that the lines of Braille were straight across the page. The metal clasp at the top of the frame held the wooden which kept paper from slipping. In this example, the Rules of Membership for the Victorian Braille Writers were attached to the board.

Physical description

1 wooden back board with metal hand frame and stylus

Inscriptions & markings

156 carved into wooden frame