School Slate

This item at Smith’s Tavern was a school slate.  It is a rectangle with a wood frame and piece of slate, usable on both sides.  Slate is a fine-grained gray, green or bluish metamorphic rock easily split into smooth, flat pieces.  This item was used by children in school to practice writing and arithmetic during classes or at home. Usually, a piece of cloth or slate sponge was used to clean it.

 

The writing slate was sometimes used by industrial workers to track goods and by sailors to calculate their geographical location at sea.

 

Reference:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slate_(writing)

Catalog Items:

Item T239

Location:	Left Shelf - 3rd
Length:	77 cm
Width:	19 cm
Height:	2 cm
Weight:	553 g