Duxbury Systems Proudly Presents:
History of Braille and the Early Education of the Blind:
An Historical Resource
Through researching these works, I have learned that in the 18th and 19th centuries, there was a very vigorous intellectual debate on the education of the blind and the deaf-blind. Was the deaf-blind person who learned to read and write truly educated as a sighted person was? Or was this disabled person like a computer app, just able to respond to stimuli in pre-programmed ways? It is clear that these books on the education of the blind were widely read and discussed in educated circles. The education of Laura Bridgeman and Helen Keller were the astonishing moon shots of their era. So, Duxbury Systems proudly presents these documents so that others can appreciate how at one time, the education of the sensory disabled was a subject of intense interest.
Modern Documents
- How Braille Began by Paula Kimbrough (NFB Bulletin, July 2005)
- A Critical Evaluation of the Historical Development of the Tactile Modes of Reading and an Analysis and Evaluation of Researches Carried out in Endeavours to Make the Braille Code Easier to Read and to Write by Pamela Lorimer, December 1996 This is a wonderful survey of the history of tactile reading systems
- From Silence and Darkness: Historical Origins of the Florida School for the Deaf and Blind, 1883 to 1917, Douglas W. Mikutel
- World Braille Council braille bibliography
- Legacy of the Past (Those who are gone but have not left); Enerstvedt, Regi. Th. (1996); Some aspects in the history of blind education, deaf education, deaf blind education, and epilogue; with emphasis on the time before 1900. Forlaget Nord-Press, Dronninglund, Danmark. 399 pp.
Historical Documents (organized by date of publication)
Early Years
- An Essay on the Education of the Blind, by Valentin Haüy 1786 (translated into English, and re-printed in 1894)
- The First Publication of the Braille Code by Louis Braille in 1829 (Book Images, text, translation, introduction are from the NFB website)
- An Account of the New York Institution for the Blind, Together with a Brief Statement of the Origin, Progress, and Present Condition, of the Institutions for the Blind in this and other countries, to which is added Biographical Notices of some of the most Illustrious Blind, 1833
- Nouveau procédé pour représenter par des points la forme même des lettres, by Louis Braille 1839
- Another translaton of Louis Braille's first book
- First Report of the Board of Visitors of the Kentucky Institution for the Education of the Blind, 1843
- Report of the Benevolent Institutions of Great Britain and Paris including the Institutions and Asylums for the Blind, Deaf, and Dumb, and the Insane, 1846
- A Guide to the Proper Management and Education of Blind Children in their Earlier Years, Johann G. Knie, 1851 (translated into English, and re printed 1894)
- Tangible Typography, How the Blind Read, 1853
- The Education and the Employment of the Blind, by Dr. T.R. Armitage, 1871
- Blindness and the Blind or, a Treatise on the Science of Typhlology by W. Hanks Levy, 1872
- The New York System of Tangible Musical Writing and Point Writing for the Use by the Blind by Michael Wait, 1873
- The New York System of Tangible Musical Writing and Point Writing for the Use by the Blind by Michael Wait, (2nd edition) 1882
- Education of the Blind: Historical Sketch of Its Origin, Rise, and Progress, Michael Anagnos, 1882
- Work for the Blind in China by C.F Gordon-Cumming, 1892
- The Blind as Seen Through Blind Eyes, Maurice De La Sizeranne, 1893
- Raised Print Books for the Blind.: The Origin and History of Embossed Print Interesting Facts about the Circulating Library of the School for the Blind, Halifax, NS 1895
- The Life and Education of Laura Dewey Bridgeman, the Deaf, Dumb and Blind Girl, by Mary Swift Lamson, 1899
- Short Account of the Tōkyō Blind and Dumb School, 1903
- Perkins Institution and Massachusetts School for the Blind: A Bibliography Relating to the Blind from 1907
- Biennial Report of the Colored Department of the Maryland School for the Blind, 1908
- A Key to New York Point, by William B. Wait 1908
- 1909 celebration: 100 years after Louis Braille's birth
- History of the Education of the Blind by R.W. Illingworth, 1910
- New Aspects of the Uniform Type Folly by William Wait (1916)
- The Blind, Their Condition and the Work Being Done for Them in the United States, by Henry Best 1919
- The Moon Element: an Introduction to the Wonders of Selenium, 1924. A remarkable book about the Optophone, an early reading machine for the blind.
- Braille Music Code, 1929
- A Comparative Study of Braille Grade One and a Half and Braille Grade Two by Robert B. Irwin and Ruth E. Wilcox, 1929
- The Braille System for Reading and Writing (1931 British description of Grade II)
- World Conference on Work for the Blind, 1931
- From Homer to Helen Keller, A Social and Educational Study of the Blind, Richard Slayton French, AFB, 1932
- Standard English Braille in Twenty Lessons by Madeleine Loomis, 1934
- Alphabetic Guide to Grade 2: Standard English Braille, 1934
- Sequences and Syllabication by Madeline Loomis, 1936 [The issues of this book play a role in "The War of the Dots."]
- You Can Learn to Read Braille, Madeleine Seymour Loomis, 1939
- The Education of Negro Blind in the United States, Charles Buell, 1945
- Comic Book about Louis Braille (1948)
- Report on the World Braille Situation, 1949 (UNESCO Report pre dating the three volumes of World Braille Usage (1953 and 1990) This item is filled with historical information on tactile reading systems for the blind.
- The Reading Fingers: Life of Louis Braille 1809-1852 (1955)
- History of Howe Press
- As I Saw it by Robert Irwin, AFB, 1955 (contains "The War of the Dots")
