Duxbury Systems Proudly Presents:
Documents on Automated Braille Production:
An Historical Resource
What is this All About?
This is a collection of documents, mostly pdf files, all saved on one server. The documents are organized chronologically. This archive contains documents related to blindness, braille, the automation of braille, and many other topics. For more information about the purpose of this collection, the sources, and the stories contained in it, please follow this link.
Master Index of these items and many sub items.
This file is companion to History of Braille and the Early Education of the Blind
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Historical Documents (organized by date of publication)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")
The Chronology
- Portions of Nemeth Math Code, 1953
- Influence of Context on Translation, by A. D. Booth, 1955 (presented in 1956)
- National Braille Club/Association Conferences 1957-1975 in 1964 the National Braille Club was renamed the National Braille Association) [see material about Nemeth Code]
1960's
- Robert Mann's History of the development of the Braille Translator during the 1960's and 1970's helps orient the reader to this material.
- An Encoder for a Grade II Braille, by R. J. Dirkman, S.M. Thesis, Department of Electrical Engineering, M.I.T., June 1960.
- Braille Translation System for the IBM 704, IBM Mathematics and Applications Dept. document, by Ann S. Schack and R.T. Mertz, 1961
- Conference on Automatic Data Processing and the Various Braille Codes. Cambridge: MIT, March 1961
- Conference on Research Needs in Braille, September 13-14-15, 1961. Published New York, AFB, [1961]
- AFB Research Bulletins 1962-1975
- A Study of Braille Code Revisions by Gerald Staack, 1962
- MIT Sensory Aids Research, 1962
- Enhancing the Availability of Braille, by Mann, R.W., Proceedings of the International Congress on Technology and Blindness, New York, AFB, June 1962, vol 1, pp 409-425.
- Conference on Nine Dot Braille at AFB: July 6, 1962
- Sensory Aids Evaluation, MIT Sensory Aids Center, Annual Reports
- Evaluation Report on Work in Progress on Sensory Aids and Prosthetics, Engineering Projects Laboratory Report 876S-3, MIT, Cambridge, Mass., October 1962.
- Automatic Machine Translation: Potentialities for Braille Encoding by Victor H. Yngve (MIT, 1963)
- Gammill, Robert C., Braille Translation by Computer, ELP 9211-1, Department of Mechanical Engineering, MIT, Contract No. SAV-1-11-62, October, 1963.
- Evaluation Report on Work in Progress on Sensory Aids and Prosthetics, Engineering Projects Laboratory Report 9211-2, MIT, Cambridge, Mass., April 1964.
- Digital Enciphering of English Into Braille by Abraham Nemeth (Ph.D. thesis)
- Proceedings of the Rotterdam Mobility Research Conference 1964
- Conference on Nine Dot Braille at AFB: June 19, 1964
- BLNSYS a 1401 operating system with Braille capabilities; Communications of the ACM, May 1965
- Sixth Veteran's Conference on Reading Machines for the Blind, Jan 27-28, 1966
- Presentation by Henry Magnuski about PDP-8/Time sharing/Braille printer; May 25, 1966 || More on the Glaser, Magnuski, and Luconi braille project
- International Conference on Sensory Devices for the Blind, St. Dunstan's, London, June 1966
- Life Magazine (Sep. 30, 1966) article on MIT Sensory Aids work
- The PDP-8 as a Braille Translator, Henry Magnuski, MIT 1966
- Proceedings of the Braille Research and Development Conference, MIT Sensory Aids Center, Nov 18, 1966
- Autobraille (crude description of automated braille production) (1967)
- Computer-Controlled Tactile Display, Lee Peterson, MIT master's thesis 1967
- Evaluation of Sensory Aids for the Visually Handicapped, NAS conference March 30 31 1967, Washington DC
- Proceedings of the Conference of New Processes for Braille Manufacture, Sensory Aids Evaluation and Development Center, MIT, May 1967
- Development of a Braille Translation for the High Speed Honeywell 222 Braille Printer (Aug 1967)
- Braille in the United States: Its Production, Distribution, and Use, by Goldish, Louis H., American Foundation for the Blind, 1967.
- Conference for Mobility Trainers and Technologists, MIT, Dec 14-15, 1967
- Development of a Punch Tape-to-Braille "Direct" and Contintous Mechanical Transducer, by Esnesto Blanco, MIT 1968
- Proceedings, Conference on New Processes for Braille Manufacture (American Printing House for the Blind, Louisville, Kentucky, February 8 9, 1968)
- Towards Making Braille as Accessible as Print by John K. Dupress, Dwight M.B. Baumaim, and Robert W. Mann EPL Report No. 70249-1, June 1968
- Computer Translation: Grade 2 from Print; Report of American Printing House of the Blind, June 1969 (This early report deals with producing mathematical braille and music braille)
- A Program Abstract for Translating Inkprint into Braille by Computer. By John R. Siems, 1969
- Key Braille Contraction Contexts (APH)
- ACM Report on Blind Programmers (Robert Gildea co-chaired this conference in Oct. 1969)
- Choice of COBOL for Braille Translation by Jonathan K. Millen (MITRE MTR-1743), Dec. 1969
1970's
- DOTSYS: A Braille Translation Program, SAEDC Technical Description Sheet #3 (July 28, 1970)
- DOTSYS II: User's Guide and transfer and maintenance manual, by J. K. Millen, MTR-1853, MITRE Corporation, 1970.
- Joe Sullivan was assigned to the braille project at MITRE in 1970
- Final report to John A. Hartford Foundation, Inc. on the grant entitled Development of a high-speed brailler system for more rapid and extensive production of informational material for the blind during the period 1 July 1967 through 30 June 1970 from Sensory Aids Evaluation and Development Center, MIT
- Translation of Books into Braille, Atlanta Public Schools, June 1970
- Finite State Syntax Directed Braille Translation, Technical Report MTR-1829, MITRE Corp., by Jonathan Millen, July 2, 1970
- Development of a Dynamic Braille Display; Sutherland N.B. MITRE Corporation, Report MTR-1951, September 1970.
- Dotsys III, description of COBOL program by W. Reid Gerhart, Dr. Jonathan K. Millen, and Joseph E. Sullivan, Technical Report MTR-2119, MITRE Corp., May 1971
- Wescon 1971: Session 4 has four papers on Braille Translation || pdf
- Recent Improvements in Braille Transcription, Proc. ACM Conference, 1972 by Jonathon Allen and Terry Borroz
- Bibliography of Research on Braille - 1971; Carson Noland et. al. APH
- Proscia, V. A., Silver, S. Zumwalt, L. E. "Joint Enterprise Undertaken Between Two Centers for Development and Evaluation of a Tactile Communication Aid for Deaf-Blind Persons", SAEDC. MIT, Cambridge. Mass., August 1971.
- Prospects for utilization of compositor's tape in the production of braille. Grete Grunwald, Argonne National Laboratory, 1971
- Evaluation of Sensory Aids for the Visually Handicapped, NAS conference Nov. 11-12 1971, Washington DC
- APH Progress Report on the Translation of Music Braille, 1972
- Braille Translation: the Computer Aids the Blind (MITRE internal publication)
- Transcription of "In Darkness" using Dotsys and MIT BraillEmboss (by George Dalrymple), Nov. 1972
- Development and Demonstration of Communication Systems for the Blind and Deaf/Blind. Braille Communication Terminals and Tactile Paging Systems. Dalrymple, George, MIT, Feb. 1973 (lots of details on the MIT Braille-emboss)
- A Universal Braille Translator, by Wolfgang A. Slaby, 1973
- DOTSYS III: A Portable Braille Translator, Sullivan J.E., Proceedings of the Association for Computing Machinery, 1973
- Computer, Computer Technology, and the Physically Disabled, E.J. Desaules (UW Madison) Dec. 1973
- Computerized Braille Production, Proceedings of the First International Workshop in Münster Germany, 1973 edited by R. A. J. Gildea, G. Hubner, H. Werner, 1974. This includes papers by Bob Gildea and Joseph Sullivan on DOTSYS III, by Coleman (England), Leffler (U.S.), Truquet (France), Vliegenthardt (Netherlands), Leringe (Sweden), Vinding (Denmark), Werner (Germany), Eickenscheidt (Germany), Britz (Germany), and Jakob (Germany). Republished as the ACM SIGCAPH Issue #15, March 1975
- Communication and Sensory Aids for the Deaf blind: Report of a Workshop, Nov. 1973
- Description of the Atlanta Braille Project (DOTSYS) and the MIT BRAILLEMBOSS as Congressional Testimony
- Computerized Braille Production, Proceedings of the Second International Workshop in Copenhagen, Sep. 1974 edited by H. Werner
- John Gill 1974 bibliography of devices for the blind.
- Improving Services to Handicapped Children with Emphasis on Hearing and Vision Impairments (RAND Corp.)
- Report on ARTS in Kentucky (1975)
- Duxbury Systems is formed in July 1975 [plus company timeline]
- DOTSYS III: A Portable Braille Translator by Joseph Sullivan, Technical Report MTR-2119 (rev. 1), MITRE Corp., Oct. 1975
- Design and Evaluation of a System for the Production of Short Documents in Contracted Braille; Warwick Research Institute for the Blind (1975)
- Evaluation of an Inkprint Reading Aid for the Blind: the Stereotoner; Dec. (1975)
- Duxbury Braille Translator User's Manual, Joe Sullivan, 1976 found in the Red Binder
- Detailed Tables of Contents of Braille Automation and Braille Research Newsletters
- Braille Automation Newsletter #1, Feb. 1976, Gill and Clark
- Annual Report, Warwick Research Unit for the Blind, April 1975 March 1976
- Braille Automation Newsletter (Braille Research Newsletter #2) Aug. 1976
- Braille Automation Newsletter (Braille Research Newsletter #3) erratum, Dec. 1976
- Braille Automation Newsletter (Braille Research Newsletter #3), Dec. 1976
- SIGCAPH 20: Computer Based Assistance for the Blind at the University of Manitoba
- Computerized Braille Production; Proceedings of the Second International Workshop in Copenhagen (Denmark), September 1974 edited by H. Werner, 1978
- "... and Sensory Aids II", Howard Freiberger, Veterans Administration, 1976
- Computerized Braille, edited by Gildea, R.A.J., and M. Berkowitz, Proceedings of a Workshop on Compliance of Computer Programs with English Braille, American Edition, New York City, 1976, published by the AFB in 1977.
- Expansion of Braille Production in Sweden Barry Hampshire (1977)
- Argonne Braille Project by Arnold Grunwald July 1977 Table of Contents
- Braille Research Newsletter #5, July 1977
- Braille Research Newsletter #6, Oct 1977
- Braille Research Newsletter #7, March 1978
- Bibliography on Braille Automation and Related Research, Prepared by J.M. Gill March 1978
- Braille Research Newsletter #4, April 1978
- Duxbury Editor User's Manual, Joe Sullivan, 1978] found in the Red Binder
- Braille Research Newsletter #8, Sept 1978
- A Study of Braille Contractions Appendices 2 and 3, Jan. 1979
- Braille Research Newsletter #9, April 1979
- Braille Research Newsletter #10, July 1979
- Computerized Braille Production: Today and Tomorrow (Third Workshop), edited by Croisdale, Derrick W., Herman Kamp, and Helmut Werner; papers presented in London, 1979, printed by Springer-Verlag, 1983.
- Establishing Braille Production Facilities in Developing Countries: A Handbook; by Barry Hampshire, 1979
1980's
- Design of a Braille Line Printer (Dutch; RESUS), 1980
- David Holladay Letter to Telesensory (TSI) about Versabraille/Apple software (1980)
- Braille Research Newsletter #11, Aug 1980
- Braille Research Newsletter #12, Sep 1981
- Working with Braille: a Study of Braille as a Medium of Communication; by Barry Hampshire, Paris: Unesco Press, 1981.
- Proceedings of the John Hopkins First National Search for Applications of Personal Computing to Aid the Handicapped, Oct. 31, 1981 (IEEE) || David Holladay's paper on his program BRAILLE EDIT
- Proceedings of the International Conference on English Braille Grade 2, Washington DC, 1982
- Computerized Braille Production, Proceedings of the Fourth International Workshop in Toulouse, France, Sep. 1981
- Braille Research Newsletter #13, June 1982
- Conference on Uses of Computers in Aiding the Disabled; Haifa Nov. 1981
- Materials presented in Oct 1982 by David Holladay at an exhibit at the US Senate Building
- Braille Research Newsletter #14, July 1983
- SAF: A Proposal to Make Apple Computers Accessible to Children, 1983
- Research on Multimedia Access to Microcomputers for Visually Impaired Youth, Sam Ashcroft
- Raised Dot Computing 1983 brochure showing print to braille and braille to print functionality
- Raised Dot Computing Newsletters, 1983-1994
- Guidelines for Electronic Braille Transcription 1983 by Conchita Gilbertson and Becky Keenan This paved the way for the Computer Braille Code.
- Discovery '83: Computer for the Disabled, Conference Papers, University of Wisconsin Stout David Holladay has two papers submitted, one on BRAILLE EDIT, and one on math translation
- SIGCAPH 31: A System For Transcribing Mathematics into Braille by J. Meekel and M. Truquet
- Winter 1984 edition of Education of the Visually Handicapped (some mention of BEX Apple software)
- Rehabilitation of the Visually Impaired (conference held in Florence Italy, April 1984)
- Braille Research Newsletter #15, Dec. 1984
- Computerized Braille Production, Proceedings of the Fifth International workshop in Winterthur, 1985 edited by J.M. Eberold and T Schwyter, 1986
- Carroll Center 1985 Project Cable to teach Apple 2 Technology
- The Liberation of Disabled Persons in a Technological Society: Access to Computer Technology (July 1986)
- Robert Mann's History of the development of the Braille Translator during the 1960's and 1970's (Oct 1986).
- BEX 3.0 (Raised Dot Computing) is released in October 1987
- National Braille Press: Beginner's Guide to Computers, 2nd Edition, 1987
- The Challenge of Rationality in Computer Access for the Visually Impaired (Robert Lambert, 1987)
- Computerized Braille typesetting: another view of markup standards, Electronic Publishing, 1988
1990's
- Computerized Braille Production, Proceedings of the Sixth International Workshop in Leuven Belgium, 1990 edited by G. Francois and J. Engelen, 1990
- Saudi Arabia: Assistance with Computerized Braille Production (1992)
- Report of the Texas Commission on Braille Textbook Production, March 1993
- SGML, Braille and UBC; Joseph Sullivan, March 1993
- Evaluation of Braille Technology by the NFB (1994)
- Report of the Findings and Activities of the Texas Commission on Braille Textbook Production, 1994
- System for Converting Braille into Print, Paul Blenkhorn, IEEE Transactions on Rehabilitation Engineering, June 1995
- Access Technology, a Guide to Educational Technology for the Visually Impaired; RNIB book 1996
- 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
- What the Future Holds for Braille; by Joseph Sullivan, paper given at the Asian and Pacific Regional Seminar on Information Technology for Visually Impaired Persons, Hong Kong, China, December 1996.
- 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.
- System for Converting Print into Braille, Paul Blenkhorn, IEEE Transactions on Rehabilitation Engineering, June 1997
- A Perspective on Braille Unification; by Joseph Sullivan, paper given at the 10th World Conference of the International Council for Education of People with Visual Impairment, São Paulo, Brazil, August 1997.
- Braille Music Code, 1997 Errata for the Braille Music Code
2000's
- Braille into the next Millennium (Produced by the NFB)
- Automated Braille Production from Word Processed Documents, Paul Blenkhorn IEEE Transactions on Rehabilitation Engineering, March 2001
- Text and Computer Braille Translation, Alasdair King, September 2001
- Engineering design education and rehabilitation engineering, Robert Mann, Nov. 2002
- A Guide to Making Documents Accessible to People Who Are Blind or Visually Impaired by Jennifer Sutton (2002)
- David Holladay and Caryn Oral History, June 2003 (AFB interview)
- Libraries for the Blind, Conference, Berlin 2003
- Dots And Doubts: Technology And Turmoil Continue To Flourish After Braille's First Century and a Half
- From Silence and Darkness: Historical Origins of the Florida School for the Deaf and Blind, 1883 to 1917, Douglas W. Mikutel
- RoboBraille: Automated Braille Translation by Means of an E-Mail Robot, by Lars Ballieu Christensen, 2006
- 2005 09 xx Massachusetts State Govt: Multilingual Card
- Building a cost effective Braille book production System in Vietnam (2006)
- Braille Translation Program, Thesis by Daniel Lee at the Curtin University of Technology, Nov. 2006
- Obtaining Mathematical Documents, Michael Whapples, Oct. 2007
- 2007 xx xx Africa Forum: 4th IDP Africa Forum Nairobi 2007 Delegates List
- History of Technology for the Blind, presented at 175 year OSB conference 2007
- World Blind Union: A Universal Voice
- Technical Development of an Electromechanical Braille Labeler, Adelaide S. Calbry Muzyka; MIT Thesis 2009
- Braille Becomes Electric: The Trials and Triumphs of Braille Translation Software; by Joseph Sullivan, paper published in the July 2009 issue of the AFB Journal of Visual Impairment and Blindness
- Unifying Braille: Louis Braille's Vision in Tomorrow's World; by Joseph Sullivan, paper prepared for presentation at the Celebration of the Bicentenary of Louis Braille's birth at UNESCO Headquarters, Paris, January 2009.
- Love is not blind: Eugenics, Blindness, and Marriage in the United States, 1840-1940
- 2012 01 21 Daily Pioneer: braille ballot to help visually impaired cast their vote
BOSTON, FEB. 1--COMPUTER TO OPEN A WHOLE NEW WORLD FOR THE BLIND--Janet Fields chairman of the Braille Transcribing Division of the National Braille Press in Boston, examines copy from computerized braille system developed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The system translates English, as it is typed, into clusters of raised dots on paper. These dots can be read by the finger-tip touch of a blind person's hand. In the past, using a hand embossing machine, it took six to seven minutes to press one page. The new system can press 20 to 30 pages a minute. (AP WIREPHOTO) This Photo is dated 02/02/72.
