BOOKS. In all the branches of instruction for the blind, while oral teaching is of no small im portance, aid is derived from the use of book's and apparatus adapted to the sense of touch. The process of printing embossed books consists of pressing the type strongly on heavy paper, in such a way as to produce letters in relief.
The first characters adopted by Hafiy in 1785 were those of the Illyrian or Slavonic alphabet, doubtless on account of their square form. Large editions of a few works were printed at great expense in his system, which gave 365 letters on 50 square inches of surface. About forty years later James Gall, a printer and publisher of Edinburgh, took up the work, being deeply im pressed with the importance of putting the Bible into the hands of the blind. He printed his first book in 1827, and in I834 published the Gospel of Saint John. the first book of the Scriptures ever printed for the blind. In 1838 he printed for the British and Foreign Bible Society the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles. His labors extended over a period of twelve years. While at first he was obliged to contend with apathy and incredulity, much interest was eventually ex cited in his work in Great Britain and elsewhere. He used a modified Roman letter, choosing the lower-case alphabet in preference to capitals, whose uniformity renders them difficult to dis tinguish by the touch. His system gave 526 let ters on 50 square inches. Dr. Howe, when beginning the work of educating the blind at the Perkins Institution, found himself seri ously hampered by the fact that at that time (1832) only three embossed books in English were in existence. By dint of various improve ments, such as stereotyping, using thin paper expressly prepared, and reducing the size of the letters, he :succeeded in cutting down the bulk of the books one-half, and the expense of printing to one-quarter of what it 'had been. Thus the Boston method gave 702 letters to 50 square inches, 21 editions of books being printed in a short time. A further improvement gave 106i letters to the same space. Dr. llowe was ex tremely desirous of giving the Bible to the blind, and in 1836 the entire New Testament was print ed at the Perkins institution. Numerous text books were also issued.
The first printing in Philadelphia (in 1833-31) gave only 290 letters to 50 square inches, and was abandoned. In 1836-37 work was resumed
with an improved method giving 826 letters. John Alston was the inventor of the Glasgow sys tem, which gave 891 letters, using capital letters, however, as did the Philadelphia type. He print ed the Gospel of Saint Mark in 1837, the New Testament in 1838, and the whole Bible in 1840, Dr. Howe finishing his task of issuing the Bible in 1843. Alston's type was too small to be legi ble, and his system did not stand the test of time. Mr. Lucas, of the Bristol Institution, invented a system of stenographic printing, with arbitrary characters and many contractions, by which he secured largeness of type and diminished the size of the In 1839 a society was formed to aid Lucas in printing the Bible and teaching the blind to read on his system. As this system was phonetic. it did not teach correct spelling, which is in any event difficult for the blind to master. Mr. Frere, of London, also invented a phonetic system about 1S3S, as well as return lines. His books are read from left, to right, and from right to left alternately, the letters being reversed in alternate lines.
Nearly all of the supposed improvements for facility in reading were made upon the idea that, as the majority of the blind are adults, all methods must be directed for their benefit—a theory which does not recommend itself to Ameri cans, who consider the education of theyoungn as of the first importance. Of these new methods only two have any prominence at the present time: Dr. Moon's complex line type and the arbitrary point character. The former uses a combination of Roman letters with arbitrary characters, reversing the lines like Frere, but not the letters. Ilis system is rend with facility owing chiefly to its large type, measuring one fourth of an inch. It was meant for elderly blind persons and for those whose hands are rough ened by manual labor. It is well adapted for these two classes, but is too unwieldy for general use. The 61 volumes of the Moon Bible can be printed in eight volumes in Roman type. It also has the disadvantage of being illegible to seeing persons. Dr. Moon has printed many books in English and in foreign languages. A society has been formed to extend his system, and the blind are taught by it in their own homes. It requires, however, special teachers.