Helen Keller
This collection consists of embossed books and manuscripts donated to Perkins School in 1909, 1910, and 1915 by Helen Keller from her personal collection. The collection includes books written in French and English Braille, as well as American Braille. There are volumes of novels, poetry, and non-fiction.
Allie Copeland, 2015.
Helen Keller (1880-1968) is still regarded as one of the most powerful and well-known advocates for people who are blind and deafblind. She was a prolific writer, publishing 14 books and numerous articles. She traveled across the globe, tirelessly advocating for important social issues, such as women’s suffrage and rights for people who are blind or deafblind. She received numerous awards throughout her life for her humanitarian efforts.
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.
This collection consists of embossed books and manuscripts donated to Perkins School by Helen Keller from her personal collection. There are 61 Books in 105 Volumes; the majority of the collection was donated in 1909. The collection is mostly fiction, including plays by Shakespeare, romantic novels such as Persuasion by Jane Austen, and many volumes of French literature and poetry. There are also non-fiction biographies and history volumes. There are several volumes that are related to Helen Keller’s learning of different languages, including her French Lessons, and manuscript copies of notes on the Latin play Catullus. The majority of books are written in either French or English Braille, but there are a few hand-typed volumes of American Braille, as well as some printed in Latin and German. One book is in a combined system of raised lettering derived from Boston Line Type and Philadelphia Line Letter. The collection is identified by a hand-written note in the front cover of each volume that says “Received by Perkins Institution from Helen A. Keller [date]” or “Helen A. Keller return to Perkins Institution” in the second case, no date is indicated.
Series 1: 1909 Donation
Always Happy: or the story of Helen Keller, Jennie Chappell, 1895, London, Braille
Andromaque, Jean Baptiste Racine, French Braille
Athelie, Jean Baptiste Racine, French Braille
Britannicus, Jean Baptiste Racine, French Braille
Catullus copied by Mrs. Bertha Verner, American Braille
Introduction to Catullus copied by Mrs. Bertha Verner for Helen Keller, American Braille
Notes on Catullus copied by Bertha Verner for Helen Keller, Vol. 1-2,4-6, American Braille
De Amicitia, Cicero, 1900, London, Braille
De Rerum Natura, Vol. 1-3,5, Lucretius, 1903, London, English Braille
De Senectute, Cicero, 1900, London, Braille
Esther, Jean Baptiste Racine, 1891, French Braille
Fair Maid of Perth - abridged, Sir Walter Scott, 1888, London, Braille
Iphigenie en Aulide, Jean Baptiste Racine, 1890, French Braille
Iphigenie, Tradedie, Goethe, 1897, German Braille
Imitatio de Jesus Christ, Vol. 1-5, 1890, Braille (interpoint)
Journal of the Plague Year, Vol. 1-4, Daniel Dafoe, 1901, Braille
L’Art Poetique, Nichlas Boileau-Despreaux, 1887, French Braille
Latin Classics: Book 22, Vol. 2, Livie, [1900], Braille
Le Cid, Pierre Corneille, 1889, French Braille
Le Lutrin, Boileau, 1893, French Braille
Le Medicin Malgre Lui, Jean Baptiste Moliere, 1891, French Braille (interpoint)
Les Plaideurs, Jean Racine, 1891, French Braille
Le Tartufe, Moliere, 1889, French Braille
Merchant of Venice, Shakespeare, 1870, Philadelphia, Combined system (hybrid of Boston Line Type and Philadelphia Line)
Phedre, Jean Baptiste Racine, 1890, French Braille (interpoint)
Polyeucte, Pierre Corneille, 1888, French Braille
Roberts of Tientsin, Vol. 2, Bryson, 1905, London, Braille
Shore to Shore, Vol. 1-4, Agnes Elizabeth Caflin, Braille (interpoint)
Wallensteins Lager, Vol. 2, Schiller, 1888, Berlin, Braille
Wallensteins Tod, Vol. 2, Schiller, 1888, Berlin, Braille
Weak Yet Strong, Vol. 2, H.B. Harrison, Undated, Braille
Wilhelm Tell, Vol.1-2, Friedrich Schiller, 1895, Braille
Series 2: 1910 Donation
Contes Choisis, 1900, Paris, Braille
Dette de jeu, Maxine duCamp, 1896, Paris, Franch Braille
Histoire de la Litterature Française, Vol. 2, G. Vapereau, 1888, Paris, French Braille
La Mère de la Marquise, Vol. 1-2, Edmond About, 1892, Paris, French Braille
Litterature Française: Prose, Vol. 9-10, 1883, French Braille
Litterature Française: Vers, Vol. 1,3-10,12, 1888, French Braille
Series 3: 1915 Donation
Alexander Pope, Vol. 1-2, Leslie Stephen, 1900, Braille (interpoint)
Castle Rackrent, Vol. 1-2, Maria Edgeworth, [1903], Braille
Der Trompeter von Sakkengen, Vol. 1-2, 1890, Berlin, Braille
Histoire de la Litterature Française, Vol. 3, Marcillac, 1898, French Braille
Life of the Duke of Wellington, Vol. 3-4, undated, Braille
Life of John Sterling, Vol. 1-4 Undated, Braille (interpoint)
Our Responsibilities for Turkey: Facts and Memories of Forty Years, Vol. 1-2, Duke of Argyll,
Persuasion, Vol. 2-4, Jane Austen, Braille (interpoint)
Poesie Francaise, Vol. 2, Victor Hugo,La Martin, Casimir Delavigne, 1894, Paris, French Braille
Sixty Years a Queen, Vol. 1-4, Sir Herbert Maxwell, 1897, London, Braille (interpoint)
The Shadow of the Cross at the Prison of Dryfus, Vol. 1-2, 1901, American Braille, (Helen Keller from Sister Mary, Christmas, 1901)
Via Crucis, Vol. 1, Abbe Perreyve, Translated by Emily Mason, 1902, American Braille, (For Helen Keller with the devoted affection of her friend, Sister Mary, June 27 28, 1902)
Series 4: Undated Donations
Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme, Vol. 1, Jean Baptiste Moliere, 1893, Braille
Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme, Vol. 1, Jean Baptiste Moliere, 1894, Braille
The Children’s Hour, No. 6, 1887, London, Braille
The Dog Tribe, 1890, Braille (interpoint)
Gallic War: Book 1, Caesar, undated, Braille
Helen Keller’s French Lessons, Braille, 6 vol. lessons 1-11, 12-16, 22-26, 27-31, 32-40, 41-46
The Little Duke, Vol. 1-2, Charlotte M. Yonge, 1892, Braille
Synonymes, Vol. 1-2, G.F. Graham, 1885, London, Braille (interpoint)
Tales From Shakespeare, Charles Lamb, 1892, Braille
When the Ship Comes Home, Vol. 1-2, Sir Walter Besant and James Rice, 1892, Braille (interpoint)
Perkins School for the Blind.
Perkins School for the Blind--History.
Keller, Helen, 1880-1968