Embossed writing systems and printing samples collection

Creator:

Perkins School for the Blind

Date Range:

circa 1835-1975, bulk 1915-1918.

Call Number:

AG100

Abstract:

Materials related to the different formats of embossed text, graphics and other materials for the blind from the 19th and 20th century including instructional guides and tools. Some of these materials may be from as early as 1835, but the majority of them are not dated. Collection includes writing samples in different embossed systems including: Boston Line Type, Moon Type, New York Point, Braille, along with non-embossed research materials and articles about embossed systems for the blind. There are also international materials in a variety of languages.

Extent:

2.25 linear feet

Language:

English, French, Spanish, Dutch, Greek, Hindi, German, Latin, and Japanese

Processed by:

Heidi Duffy, 2013. Historical note and sources added by Susanna Coit, 2022.

Processing Note:

This collection was processed with support from the National Endowment for the Humanities, Division of Preservation and Access, Washington, D.C., 2012-2015.

Historical note:

Braille

Louis Braille’s reading and writing system for the blind was based upon an extremely complicated phonetic dot-writing system invented by Artillery Officer Charles Barbier for use by soldiers in the field. Braille simplified the system, reducing the number of dots in each cell from 12 to 6, and assigned each cell to a letter of the alphabet or a punctuation symbol. Braille could be read swiftly with the fingertips, and written with the use of a simple and inexpensive stylus and punch frame that clamped around a sheet of paper. The system was completed by 1834, and in the following decades, braille was widely used in schools for the blind in Europe. In 1860, the Missouri School for the Blind became the first, and for many years the only, U.S. school to use braille for reading and writing.

New York Point

New York Point was invented in 1868 by William Bell Wait (1839-1916) who was a teacher at the New York Institute for the Education of the Blind. New York point uses one to four sets of dots, each with one or two dots. One of the advantages of New York Point was that it required less space: the most common letters required the fewest dots, while American Braille required a fixed cell that was two points wide and three points high. Despite it being the most widley used code in the United States in the early 20th century, Wait was unsuccessful in his adovocacy for the New York Point system in the “War of the Dots.”

Boston Line Type

Most schools for the blind in the United States used embossed Roman alphabets for printing and reading. Perkins published many textbooks in Boston Line Type, the raised alphabet created by the school’s first director, Samuel Gridley Howe. Although braille was more compact than the embossed alphabets and gave users the freedom both to read and write with simple and inexpensive tools, for many decades most American educators opposed any system that required sighted teachers to learn a set of arbitrary symbols. However, after braille was introduced at the Missouri school in 1860, people who were blind immediately perceived its advantages, and its use spread from person to person around the country. Perkins students used it enthusiastically for correspondence and note-taking. Boston Line Type remained the official printing system at Perkins until 1908, but braille was so popular for personal use that the school offered braille slates for sale by 1869.

Moon Type

The Moon System of Embossed Reading (Moon type) was developed by William Moon (1818-1894) in 1845. Moon type consists of raised curves, angles, and lines with over half of the letters having a strong resemblance to the print equivalent. The text is read bidirectionally, with each line continuing in reverse.

Sources:

“Gall, Alson, Lucas, & Moon.” History of Writing Codes for the Blind. The New York Institute for Special Education.

Irwin, Robert B. “War of the Dots.” In: As I Saw It, American Foundation for the Blind, New York. 1955.

McGinnity, B.L., Seymour-Ford, J. and Andries, K.J. (2004) Reading and Writing. Perkins History Museum, Perkins School for the Blind, Watertown, MA.

“New York Point.” Wikipedia.

“New York Point.” History of Writing Codes for the Blind. The New York Institute For Special Education.

“‘The War of the Dots:’ A Brief History of Braille.” Future Reflections, Vol. 28, 2009.

“William Bell Wait: The Inventory of the New York Point System of Writing for the Blind.” Outlook for the Blind, X(3), 66-71. Autumn 1916.

Restrictions:

None

Copyright:

It is the responsibility of the user to obtain permission to publish from the owner of the copyright (the institution, the creator of the record, the author or his/her transferees, heirs, legates, or literary executors). The user agrees to indemnify and hold harmless Perkins School for the Blind, its officers, employees, and agents from and against all claims made by any person asserting that he or she is an owner of copyright.

Credit line/Citation:

AG100 Embossed Writing Systems and Printing Samples Collection. Perkins School for the Blind Archives, Watertown, MA.

Scope and contents:

Includes materials related to different formats of embossed text, graphics and other materials for the blind from the 19th and 20th century including instructional guides and tools. Some of these materials may be from as early as 1835, but the majority of them are not dated. Includes writing samples in different embossed systems including: Boston Line Type, Moon Type, New York Point, Braille, along with non-embossed research materials and articles about embossed systems for the blind. There are also international materials in a variety of languages.

Arrangement:

B1:F1 = Box 1: Folder 1

4 Series, 4 boxes

• Series 1: Embossed Printing Samples and Research Materials, Circa 1835-1954
• Series 2: Braille Printing Samples and Research Materials, 1893-1976
• Series 3: Oversized Embossed Printing Samples and Research Materials, 1913-1918
• Series 4: Oversized Braille Printing Samples and Research Materials, 1917-1928

Series 1: Embossed Printing Samples and Research Materials contains writing samples in New York Point, Moon Type, Boston Line Type and embossed alphabets in different languages. There are also educational tools that are embossed but not in a particular typeface (mathematical squares, for example.) Some academic articles are included which compare embossed systems.

Series 2: Braille Printing Samples and Research Materials contains braille writing samples. They are divided by language (with the exception of American Braille and English Braille which are separated by country) with some additional folders for educational guides and exercises. Materials from L’Institut Louis-Braille in Montreal, Instituut tot Onderwijs van Blinden in Amsterdam and, The School for the Blind in Athens are also included. The School for the Blind and Deaf in Tokyo also has a folder with the Japanese Point System, which is based on braille.

Series 3: Oversized Embossed Printing Samples and Research Materials contains oversized writing samples in Standard Dot system, square hand, New York Point and embossed alphabets. The majority of this box is comprised of booklets with the embossed alphabets of these systems, one by the American Association of Workers for the Blind (AAWB.) Some academic articles are included which compare embossed systems. The last folder contains “The Uniform Type Question” by W.M.B. Wait, a book composed entirely in New York Point.

Series 4: Oversized Braille Printing Samples and Research Materials contains oversized writing samples in braille. Braille was undergoing revisions during the 19th century; various groups were suggesting modifications to make it more efficient, therefore there are folders with different types (or grades) of braille. In addition to alphabets and educational materials there are also some books in braille. The majority of these materials are in English but, there is one folder that contains materials in Dutch. It should be noted that this collection deals mostly with embossed text, however, this box also contains embossed maps. One of the maps is from Sao Paulo, Brazil; the origin of the other is unknown.

Container List:

Series 1: Embossed Printing Samples and Research Materials

• B1:F1: “Psalm XXIII” in Boston Line Type, embossed on one page, 30 copies, n. d. 
• B1:F2: “Battle Hymn of the Republic” in Boston Line Type, embossed on a four page booklet, 2 copies, n. d. 
• B1:F3: “The Lord’s Prayer” in Boston Line Type, embossed on one page, 7 copies, n. d. 
• B1:F4: Moon Type materials, embossed pages, 5 items with some duplicates, n. d. 
• B1:F5: New York Point materials and teacher directions, embossed and non-embossed pages and booklets, 58 items with some duplicates, 1910, n. d. 
• B1:F6: Miscellaneous New York Point materials, embossed pages that are rolled together, n. d. 
• B1:F7: “The Development of Printing for the Blind,” lists of early embossed books in Perkins Library, 13 items with some duplicates, 1954, n. d. 
• B1:F8: Mathematical squares, embossed on one page, 13 items with some duplicates, n. d. 
• B1:F9: Embossed Roman alphabet, embossed pages and booklets, 35 items with some duplicates, circa earliest 1839, n. d. 
• B1:F10: Embossed Greek alphabet, 2 cardboard slats embossed with wheat paste, n. d. 
• B1:F11: Embossed Latin, 2 embossed pages, 1937 B1:F12: Academic articles related to blindness, non-embossed booklet and pages, 16 items with some duplicates, 1908, n. d.

Series 2: Braille Printing Samples and Research Materials 

• B2:F1: “Improved Braille Alphabet” booklets, 3 embossed copies, n. d. 
• B2:F2: “Independence National Historical Park: A Tour of the Park,” embossed guide accompanied by non-embossed transcription, 1976 B2:F3: Educational guides for braille, 6 items with some duplicates, 1918, 1919, 1932, 1939, n. d. 
• B2:F4: American braille materials, embossed booklets and pages, 74 items with some duplicates, 1923, 1924, 1944, n. d. 
• B2:F5: British braille materials, non-embossed education exercise, 15 copies, n. d. 
• B2:F6: French braille materials, embossed and non-embossed materials, 9 items with some duplicates, 1893, 1917, n. d. 
• B2:F7: German braille materials, 2 embossed items and a non-embossed item, n. d. 
• B2:F8: Greek braille materials, embossed booklet, n. d. 
• B2:F9: Hindi Braille Materials, 3 embossed booklets, .n. d. 
• B2:F10: Japanese braille materials, a non-embossed page, n. d. 
• B2:F11: Spanish braille materials, embossed pages, 24 items with some duplicates, n. d. 
• B2:F12: Miscellaneous braille materials, an embossed sheet and 2 embossed metal plates, 1942 and n. d.

Series 3: Oversized Embossed Printing Samples and Research Material 

• B3:F1a: “Concise Keys to the Standard Dot System of Writing and Printing for the Blind” booklets by the Fifth Biennial Report of the Uniform Type Committee of the AAWB, 3 embossed copies, 1915
• B3:F1b: “Concise Keys to the Standard Dot System of Writing and Printing for the Blind” booklets by the Fifth Biennial Report of the Uniform Type Committee of the AAWB, 3 copies with additional embossed text, 1915 
• B3:F2: Square hand alphabet sheets, 3 embossed copies, n. d. 
• B3:F3: Embossed Roman alphabet, 4 embossed copies, n. d. 
• B3:F4: New York Point and Multi-lingual braille comparison, 5 non-embossed copies, n. d. 
• B3:F5: “The Uniform Type Question” by W.M.B. Wait in New York Point, an embossed book, 1913

Series 4: Oversized Braille Printing Samples and Research Materials 

• B4:F1: Braille related to Christmas: “Keeping Christmas” by Henry Van Dyke, 8 copies, 1924. “A Sheaf of Christmas Carols” by Edward E. Allen, an embossed booklet, n. d.
• B4:F2: “A Consideration of the Comparative Methods of Revised Braille and English Braille,” non-embossed article, 18 copies, n. d.
• B4:F3: Braille chart with embossed graphic of hand in Dutch, 3 embossed pages, n. d.
• B4:F4: “The Luck of Roaring Camp” by Bret Harte, an embossed booklet, 1928
• B4:F5: Revised braille grade one, 2 embossed pages, 1917
• B4:F6: Revised braille grade one and a half, embossed pages and booklets and non-embossed educational materials, 22 items with some duplicates, 1917, 1918, 1923
• B4:F7: Grade two braille, 24 items with some duplicates, n. d.
• B4:F8: Embossed maps with braille labeling, 2 maps, n. d.
• B4:F9: Braille accompanied by Boston Line Type, 7 embossed pages, n. d.
• B4:F10: American Braille, 5 items with some duplicates, circa as early as 1918
• B4:F11: “Elson Grammar School Reader Book One,” n. d. “Brockway Primer,” n. d. “Aldine Reader” (First, Second and Third), 5 embossed booklets, n. d.
• B4:F12: Miscellaneous Braille

Subject headings:

• Braille
• Perkins School for the Blind–History
• Blind-–Printing and writing systems
• Moon system