Books in Braille

This image shows the predominantly brown leather spine of Precis Sur L'Histoire De France [A Brief History of France], the first full-length book produced using the braille dot system. The book measures 11 3/4 inches high by 9 1/4 inches wide by 4 5/8 inches deep. The book's title is embossed in gold on an area of red leather. The book was published by the National Institute for Blind Youth in 1837. This edition, housed at the headquarters of the American Foundation for the Blind in New York City, is one of only three known copies in existence.

In 1829, the Institute published Louis' book, Method of Writing Words, Music and Plain Songs by Means of Dots for Use by the Blind and Arranged for Them. In it, Louis explained how his code worked to produce letters, words, punctuation, capitalization, musical notes, and arithmetic symbols. The book was prepared using embossed type, but examples were provided in Louis' six-dot code.

In spite of poor health, Louis continued to make changes to his code, and in 1837 he produced a second edition of Method of Writing Words, Music and Plain Songs by Means of Dots for Use by the Blind and Arranged for Them, followed in 1838 by Little Synopsis of Arithmetic for Beginners. In this book he not only describes how to make materials for mathematics, but he also provides ideas on how to write a textbook using his code. He recognized the need for uniformity in the production of textbooks and other material for readers who were blind.

In 1837, the Institute for Blind Youth produced the first full-length book published in braille, Precis Sur L'Histoire De France [A Brief History of France]. A copy of the book, one of only three extant copies, is preserved in the Rare Book Collection of the American Foundation for the Blind and is illustrated here.