Photograph of the exterior facade of the Institute for Blind Youth at 68 rue Saint-Victor in Paris. The building was constructed in 1843. Louis lived and taught here. A statue, seen here in the building's courtyard, is of the school's founder, Valentin Haüy, standing next to his seated pupil, Francois Le Sueur. No date.
Dufau's aversion to Braille's code and his prohibition on its use at the Institute were countered by Joseph Guadet, his assistant, who supported the braille code. Guadet convinced Dufau to see the benefits of using Louis' code. On February 22, 1844, the Institute celebrated its move to a new building. During the dedication ceremony, Guadet demonstrated Louis Braille's code. First, a 15-page book entitled Account of the System of Writing in Raised Dots Used for the Blind was read to those in attendance. This text acknowledged Louis' accomplishments and outlined the steps in the development of his code. Next, a child was sent out of the room. Another child was asked to use Louis' code to write poetry dictated by a visitor attending the celebration. The first child was asked to come back in the room and read the poetry from the page the second child had created.
The day of the demonstration is often said to be the day Louis Braille's code, the braille code, was accepted by the world. In 1850, Dufau acknowledged Braille's invention in a second edition of his book, Concerning the Blind, which had made no mention of Braille's contribution in the original 1837 version.
