CHAPTER II

# APPENDIX 2

# EMBOSSED MATERIAL

# (BEFORE 1870)

FRANCE

Haüy Type

Guillie Type

Barbier Type

Braille Type

Decapointe

BRITAIN

Gall Type

Alston Type

Lucas Type

AMERICA

Boston Line Type

A selection of examples of embossed text of special interest inspected by the writer. The following initials indicate where the examples may be located.

B Birmingham University.

C Louis Braille's birthplace at Coupvray.

INJA l'Institut Nationale des Jeunes Aveugles, Paris.

L Lorimer.

MVH Musée Valentin Haüy, Association Valentin Haüy, Paris.

N National Library of Scotland.

P Perkins School for the Blind, Watertown, Mass.

R Royal National Institute for the Blind, London.

## FRANCE

## Hauy Type

1789 Haüy, Valentin. Essai sur l'education des Jeunes Aveugles, Paris: les élèves de Haüy.

This was the first book ever produced for the use of the blind. (INJA; MVH)

1787 Catéchisme de Paris.

Used by the pupils at l'Institution Nationale des Jeunes Aveugles. The book demonstrates Haüy's abortive effort to use contractions. (MVH)

## Guillie Type

1817 Notice historique sur l'Institution Royale des Jeunes Aveugles.

Imprimée par les jeunes aveugles; et disposes pour eux.

This was the first book embossed in relief introduced into England. Lady Lowther brought it home in 1818 for the use of her blind son. After being repaired it was eventually returned to Paris in 1985. (MVH)

1820 Guillié, Dr. Elément de lecture, ou exercices syllabiques a l'usage des jeunes aveugles et disposés pour eux.

It is most likely that this volume was also brought to England by Lady Lowther. It came into the possession of Mr. Alexander Hay, the blind man whose code encouraged the Society of Arts to organise a competition to find the best embossed code for the blind. The book was given to the Society in 1838 and later became the property of the Edinburgh Asylum for the Blind. (NLS)

## Barbier Type

1829 Recueil d'anecdotes, extrait de la morale en action

Imprimée par Galliod, ancien elévè de Haüy.

Galliod used a small press at the Quinze Vingts, the asylum for the blind, where he was then living. Barbier's type was intended for the use of short commands on the field of battle and not originally for continuous prose. Very little of his type exists. He was probably spurred on to having this work transcribed into his own code when he saw the production of "Grammaire de Grammaires" in braille type (see below) followed by the first official edition of Braille's code. (MVH)

## Braille Type

1827 Grammaire de Grammaires (excerpts).

These excerpts were embossed as a trial of Braille's new system before the first official version of his own code was published. He was 18 at the time. (MVH).

1829 Procédé pour écrire les paroles, la musique et le plainchant au moyen de points a l'usage des aveugles et disposés pour eux, par Louis Braille, repetiteur à l'Institution Royale des Jeunes Aveugles.

The instructions were written in embossed linear type by Dr Pignier, the director of the institution, on the instruction of Braille, and the latter supplied the braille examples. (INJA; MVH)

1832 Géographie de l'Asie and Géographie de la France.

Printed by M. Hayter, the pupil who persuaded Braille to include the letter W in his code. This letter was not in general use in the French language at the time.

Punctuation is used as in the 1829 "Procédé" using dashes in the lower positions of the cells. For the first time the numeral sign was used followed immediately by a sign from the first line of the chart of symbols, instead of the 1829 method of showing numerals. (MVH)

1837 Procédé ...

Second edition.

Braille regarded this edition as definitive.

1837 LC and FBP, Précis sur l'Histoire de France divisée par siècles, accompagné de synchronismes relatifs à l'histoire générale placés à la fin de chaque règne.

The first volume has large pages (22 x 28 cms) stuck back to back, and weighs 1,759 grms. To save cost type was cast with 6 dots on the printing surfaces. The students filed off the requisite number of dots to make a set of sufficient symbols.

The publication of the book had far reaching effects for Dr Pignier was pensioned off before his time on a charge of having corrupted the young by the teaching of history. Such an attitude is difficult to understand today and the charge probably only highlights one aspect of the disagreement. (MVH).

1938 Braille, Petit mémento d'arithmétique.

The first edition was printed in the 1829 code, and in 1840 was reprinted in the 1837 version.

In 1859 Pignier wrote that it was the product of "much hard work" and it is an example of one of the booklets Braille produced from time to time to help his pupils. (C)

1849 à Kempis, Thomas. Imitation du Christ.

This book was one of the first to be printed by the use of plates instead of a handframe. The size of cells and spacing are smaller, approximating to present day use. For the first time punctiform illustrations were attempted. These represented the bread and wine and the monstrance. They are small and detailed but it is doubtful if they were tactually meaningful. (MVH)

## Decapointe

In 1839 Braille invented a means for blind people to communicate with the sighted by embossing punctiform Roman alphabet letters. An adapted writing frame or a machine known as a raphigraph could be used. The latter was in use for approximately 50 years until replaced by the typewriter.

## Letters written by Braille.

1847 to his mother. (C)

1848 to his mother. (C)

1848 to his mother. (C)

1851 to his nephew and niece. (C)

## BRITAIN

## Gall Type

1834 The Gospel of St. John for the blind.

Most of the code makers in the second quarter of the nineteenth century printed copies of the Bible or other religious works. (NLS)

1842 The sinner's help.

Religious Tract Society.

Gall type symbols were used but they were made in "fretted" or dotted form which Gall considered was easier to read and cheaper to produce. (NLS)

## Alston Type

1837 Baker, Charles. First lessons in religion and a series of lessons on prayer for the use of the blind.

Charles Baker, headmaster of the Institution for the Deaf and Dumb at Doncaster, wrote a series of booklets on religious subjects for use at his institution. He thought they might be useful for blind people so sent them to the Glasgow Institution for the Blind for transcription. The letters are very square shaped and the lines almost touching. A copy in the writer's possession bears the inscription "To Chas. Baker Esq. with the kind regards of Mr. Alston". (L)

1838 The authorised version of the Psalms of David in metre embossed for the use of the blind.

The title page is unusual in that it has a decorated border. (NLS)

## Lucas Type

The Rev. Gowring transcribed many of the books of the Bible. Inside the second book of Samuel there is an introductory key to the Lucas system. (RNIB)

1857 Book of Common Prayer (two volumes, one incomplete).

One of the librarians at the National Library of Scotland asked if the writer could identify two small volumes in Lucas type. Lucas type omits many of the letters in words and symbols may have up to three meanings. However, from a photograph of one of the pages in the two volumes and with the help of the key in the second book of Samuel, it was discovered that the page contained a prayer of thanksgiving "for deliverance from the plague and other common sickness" which is included in the Book of Common Prayer. Because of the non-use of a certain contraction the volumes could be dated as having been printed after 1850. (NLS)

## AMERICA

## Boston Line Type

1836 Richmond, Leigh. The dairyman's daughter.

A tract. (B)

1868 Dickens, Charles. The old curiosity shop.

These three large volumes were a gift from the author in answer to a request from Dr Howe, director of Perkins School for the Blind, for "something to gladden their hearts". The pupils' reading matter consisted mainly of religious works or school text books. The generous gift extended to other institutions in the USA. (P)