Slate and Stylus - History

History

Prior to the system devised by Louis Braille, a number of other methods for blind people to read and/or write on paper were used. One of the most popular was the English system of Dr. William Moon invented in 1845. The English/Moon system or Moon type is easy to learn for the newly blind as it has a strong resemblance to the familiar written alphabet, but Braille has such great advantages over the Moon system for regular usage that it quickly eclipsed the Moon system. Braille with its slate and stylus was unique in that it was the first and, until computers with screen readers, the only method a blind person could write and read themselves what had been written.

The earliest systematic attempt to provide a method to "teach the blind to read and to write, and give them books printed by themselves" was by Valentin Haüy who used a system of embossed roman characters. In June 1784, Haüy sought his first pupil at the church of Saint-Germain-des-Prés. On 5 December 1786, Haüy's pupils had embossed from movable letterpress type his "Essai sur l'éducation des aveugles" (Essay on the Education of Blind Children) the first book ever published for the blind. Prior to 1786 tools for the blind to read or write were the results of individuals personal approaches to solutions. One of the more notable approach was that of Nicholas Saunderson (Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at Cambridge) blind nearly from birth, devised an Arithmetical slate.

Braille evolved from the night writing of Charles Barbier. "Ecriture Nocturne" (night writing) was invented in response to Napoleon's demand for a code that soldiers could use to communicate silently and without light at night. Because it used a cell with 2 columns of six dots each a total of 12 dots could be required for a single symbol, the cell was too large for a single touch and was hard to read and learn, it was not successful.