Fraction Balls Patented in 1895 by Emoline Wilcox Ketchum

This tool for teaching children about fractions was designed by Emoline Wilcox Ketchum (1850-1909) of Providence, Rhode Island, who patented it in 1895. The patent was assigned the number 547,217. It consists of nine wooden “fraction balls,” spheres divided into pieces of various sizes, including one-half, one-third, one-fifth, and one-eighteenth. The fractional value of each piece is painted on the piece in black and each ball has a groove in which to use an elastic band (according to patent specifications) or a ribbon to tie a band around the ball to hold the pieces together. The balls are in nine separate compartments within a wooden box which has a removable sliding top and a faded tan label on the front. The label on the box reads: FRACTION BALLS / FOR SCHOOL USE / (Patent Applied For.) / E. KETCHUM PROVIDENCE, R.I. Described as an educational appliance, fraction balls were advertised for sale in Teacher's World for $3.50 and the Popular Educator Journal for $2.00. The instruction pamphlet was not acquired with the object.

Emoline Ketchum was a graduate of the Pittsburgh Female College and attended the Women’s College of Brown University as a special student from 1892 until 1895. She was the daughter of Annie E. Wilcox and physcian Alasan W. Wilcox, and the wife of Edgar Ketchum.

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