Before paper and pencils became commonly used in schools, students used writing slates, portable blackboards like this one, for their schoolwork. Children wrote on them with a slate pencil, a piece of slate sharpened to a point that left a silvery mark that was easily erased. We've included in our pictures a copy of a drawing of a slate pencil topped with a sponge on the tip for erasures {Scientific American Magazine, 1890}. In rural areas, pupils brought a simple piece of slate to write and a rag to erase.
American educator William Alcott (1798-1859) visited over 20,000 schoolhouses and wrote, "A blackboard in every school house is as indispensably necessary as a stove or fireplace."
This large portable blackboard was home made with a double-sided piece of slate framed with pine that has acquired a warm smooth brown patina over the many, many years. Each corner is mortise and tenoned and reinforced with a tiny cut nail. When one of the corners got damaged, the thrifty, ingenious family added a piece of leather on each side, with copper wire and several nails to repair it.
There is a hole at one end to hang the blackboard that was made with a hand drill...it's slightly rough and out-of-round. Scratched into the wood by students are lots of letters and numbers, all faint but fun to try to decipher. Below the hanging hole on one side, there is a name etched into the slate, possibly E. Gilchurch?
This piece measures 10 inches high by 14 inches wide by 1/2 inch thick and weighs 1 3/4 pounds. It's in good shape, perfectly useable, with a chip out of the slate in one corner. It's a true American make-do. Not having the money or the availability to get a new slate, they "made do" with fixing the old one. It's a wonderful example of the popular saying "Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without." Make-do's are very collectible and have a book all their own titled "They Made Do" by Jill Peterson.
This blackboard is a useable and decorative primitive antique, perfect for the kitchen, office or child's room. We'll enclose some sticks of white chalk so you can start using it right away.
© PrimpingYourHome.com
5721
