Accession Number: 2007.18.3a-e
Scope & Content: Five scrapbooks containing memorabilia about the Braille Division of the Berkeley Chapter of the American Red Cross. They include photographs (black-and-white and some color), newspaper clippings, programs, and a few handwritten and typewritten notes/letters/poems. The earliest dated item is a newspaper clipping from January 1936 (date is handwritten in pencil); the latest dated item is a 1989 program for the East Bay Chapter open house. Photographs show the volunteers of the Braille Division and the equipment and processes they used for braille transcription and binding. Scrapbooks are spiral-bound magnetic photo albums with white adhesive-coated pages of heavy card stock. They are numbered 1-5; numbers are typewritten and affixed to the front top right corner of the front covers. Each page has a plastic protector. Four of the albums have beige fabric covers; one has a beige leather-like cover.
Creator: American Red Cross. Berkeley Chapter. Braille Division
Interview Date: / /
Credit Line: Gift of California School for the Blind, 2007.18
Administrative History: The Braille Division of the Berkeley Chapter of the American Red Cross began in 1928, with Daisy Beck as chairman. Volunteers in the Division provided braille transcription services, primarily producing braille materials for local schools, and offered braille transcription classes. In 1936, the Division added a braille bindery service. Books were bound by hand, using the "Berkeley Method," until the process was mechanized in 1976. In 1977, the Berkeley Chapter merged with the West Contra Costa Chapter of the American Red Cross. In 1988, Alameda County and the Berkeley-West Contra Costa Chapters merged to form the East Bay Chapter.
Publisher: Berkeley, CA
Publisher Place: Berkeley, CA
Subjects: Braille Transcription Bookbinding Volunteers
Rights: Contact museum staff regarding reproduction.