Reversible Educational Board
Educational Board
1916 (made)
1916 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This Reversible Educational Board was patented in 1916. It features 53 movable tiles which can be arranged to make words and pictures.
Its inventor responded to shortages during the First World War by making the board out of sturdy laminated layers of fibreboard, instead of wood.
Its inventor responded to shortages during the First World War by making the board out of sturdy laminated layers of fibreboard, instead of wood.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | Reversible Educational Board (manufacturer's title) |
| Materials and techniques | Fibreboard, metal and wood |
| Brief description | Reversible board with movable tiles, Cress, patented 1916 |
| Physical description | Round board of laminated fibreboard, with slots to hold 53 wooden tiles, which move freely around a circular channel and into three horizontal slots. These wooden tiles are printed with capital letters on one side, and with words and pictures on the other. On the picture tiles, each animal is wearing a harness with reins, which allow series of animals to be joined up by placing the tiles side by side. The board is painted red, and has a manufacturer's trade mark and patents on each side, and is decorated with a variety of black and white figures of animals and children. |
| Dimensions |
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| Production type | Mass produced |
| Marks and inscriptions | TRADE MARK REG.
CRESS / EDUCATIONAL / BOARDS
PATENTED OCT 15 1912
PATENTED APRIL 29 1915
PATENTED MAY 23 1916
REVERSIBLE / EDUCATIONAL BOARD |
| Credit line | Given by Daniel Agnew |
| Object history | 'Cress Educational Boards' was the trademark of Horatio G. Cress, an inventor based in Miami, Ohio. Throughout the 1910s and 1920s he filed a number of patents for similar educational boards, which all involved tiles moving through slots in a pasteboard or fibreboard frame. He stated, "the object of this invention is to provide a simple and cheap education device for children's use". Cost and materials provided significant pressure during the First World War. |
| Summary | This Reversible Educational Board was patented in 1916. It features 53 movable tiles which can be arranged to make words and pictures. Its inventor responded to shortages during the First World War by making the board out of sturdy laminated layers of fibreboard, instead of wood. |
| Bibliographic reference | United States Patent 1,184,326, May 23 1916. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | B.359-2012 |
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| Record created | October 2, 2012 |
| Record URL |
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