Description: The Lavender was conceived by Raymond Lavender, a New York engineer. Between 1937 and 1941, he invented seven different machines. He designed this writer with a moving die box instead of a moving carriage, which saved space and bulk. In 1954, APH signed a contract with Lavender granting him a $500 payment and $2/writer sold during the machine's first ten years on the market. Reports until 1963 described the writer as "in the final stages of research." The first 100 machines were shipped to schools across North America in 1963. The machine was light, 9.5 lbs including the case, and cheaper than the Perkins Braillewriter at $45.00. APH originally made 1000 machines and estimated that demand might require about a thousand machines a year. At the time, APH was selling about 500 New Hall machines, and 830 Perkins Writers annually. Actual annual production over the 17 years that APH made the Lavender averaged about 235 machines per year. The machine had been redesigned by 1966 with larger keys. The redesign also addressed another problem-ghost dots-which plagued the initial model. Later problems which arose with the machine were due in part to warping of the plastic. The Lavender was discontinued in 1980 after a total production of 3,996 machines.
Height: 4.75
Width: 16.5
Depth: 7
Date: 1963
