Cranmer Abacus
date: label: date made
content: ca 1970
notes: label: Description
content: This modification of the Japanese abacus or sorobon is designed for use by the blind. It sits in a black plastic box, with red felt in the bottom of the box to prevent the beads from sliding inadvertently. A black plastic cross bar is pierced by 13 parallel metal rods. Each rod has one spherical white plastic bead above the crossbar and four below. Raised dots can be felt on the cross bar and the lower rim of the box at each column, and as raised slashes between every 3 dots. At the top of the front are the raised letters: A.P.H.
label: Description
content: This type of abacus was designed by Terence V. (Tim) Cranmer (1925-2001) of the Kentucky Division of Rehabilitation Services for the Blind in early 1962, and soon placed on the market by the American Printing House for the Blind. It is still manufactured today. Cranmer was blind from childhood. He made and sold plastic jewelry in his early years, worked briefly at Kentucky Industries for the Blind, and then spent 10 years as a piano technician. In 1952, he began working for the Kentucky Division of Rehabilitation Services for the Blind, rising through the ranks. He was an active member of the National Federation of the Blind, and made several inventions.
label: Description
content: The donor, Russell Kletzing of Sacramento, California, was a lawyer blinded as a child. He was active in the National Federation of the Blind, and challenged the view that the U.S. Civil Service register should exclude blind lawyers because they could not read conventionally printed text.
label: Description
content: References: Fred L. Gissoni, <I>Using the Cranmer Abacus for the Blind</I>, Louisville, Kentucky: American Printing House for the Blind, 1962.
label: Description
content: National Federation of the Blind, "NFB Awards 2000," <I>Braille Monitor</I>, August / September 2000.
label: Description
content: Buffe Hanse, "Tim Cranmer Dies," <I>Braille Monitor</I>, January / February 2002.
label: Description
content: Deborah Kendrick, “Tim Cranmer: One of Our Great Pioneers,” <I>Access News</I>, vol. 3 #1, January 2002.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
place: label: place made
content: United States: Kentucky, Louisville
topic: label: Subject
content: Blind
label: Subject
content: Invention
label: Subject
content: Mathematics
setName: label: See more items in
content: Medicine and Science: Mathematics
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content: Abacus
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content: Learning Arithmetic
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content: Science & Mathematics
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content: Arithmetic Teaching
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Gift of Russell Kletzing and Ruth S. Kletzing
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: 1983.0831.02
label: catalog number
content: 1983.0831.02
label: accession number
content: 1983.0831
objectType: label: Object Name
content: abacus
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: felt (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: plastic (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: metal (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 1.2 cm x 15.6 cm x 8.4 cm; 15/32 in x 6 5/32 in x 3 5/16 in