Bookbinding for the Blind

Recent acquisition of a postcard depicting a bookbinding workshop at the Red Cross Institute for the Blind in Baltimore, MD. The postcard is ca. 1920.

The image depicts a basic, well-equipped workshop with a boardshear, sewing
frame, heated glue pot, and an unidentified device at the far end of the bench.

Bookbinding offers a splendid form of finger training for the men, and while
not many are likely to enter the profession, the handling of small objects in the
making of boxes, index files, as well as the binding of books, has proved to be
an excellent industrial activity.

While the postcard describes this as an activity for men, it seems that half the individuals in the image are women, at least judging by the clothing.