The American encyclopedia and dictionary of ophthalmology Edited by Casey AWood, assisted by a large staff of collaborators . through thefingers. The earliest authentic record of tangible letters used by the blinddates back to the sixteenth century; it is ascribed to FrancescoLucas, of Spain. Evidently no further use was made of his inven-tion until Rampezzetto, an Italian, carved letters in wood; but asthese were on a solid .surface and could be used only after the man-ner of our stereotyped plates they Avere of value only in making theblind familiar with the letters of the alphabet. 250 ALPH
The American encyclopedia and dictionary of ophthalmology Edited by Casey AWood, assisted by a large staff of collaborators . through thefingers. The earliest authentic record of tangible letters used by the blinddates back to the sixteenth century; it is ascribed to FrancescoLucas, of Spain. Evidently no further use was made of his inven-tion until Rampezzetto, an Italian, carved letters in wood; but asthese were on a solid .surface and could be used only after the man-ner of our stereotyped plates they Avere of value only in making theblind familiar with the letters of the alphabet. 250 ALPHABETS AND LITERATURE FOR THE BLIND In 1640 Peter Moreau, a notary, succeeded in casting letters inlead for the blind which gave him a name and a place among theearliest typographers. It remained, however, for the idealist and philanthropist, ValentinHaliy, Frenchman and the brother of the creator of crystallog-raphy, through an accidental circumstance, which he regarded asprovidential, to make tangible letters practically available for theblind and to establish the first school for the training of those with-out String-Writing Alphabet. The Fair at St. Ovids was being held in 1771 where great crowdsgathered daily. In one of the booths a man named Yalindin hadcollected a group of blind men whom he had dressed in a fantasticway, and who by making sport for the crowd, attracted patrons tohis cafe. The men wore long pointed hats. On their noses werehuge paste-board spectacles without glasses. Behind their leaderthe expanded tail of a peacock and on his head the head-dress ofMidas. Placed before a desk on which were music and lights theyexecuted a monotonous chant in which the tenor, basses, and violinsall took the same part. Haliy was profoundly moved by this sight. That men, strongand able-bodied, should be reduced by the loss of sight to the neces-sity of earning their bread by making a ridiculous spectacle ofthemselves, as the, only alternative of beggary, touched him de
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