2001.211.48

Ballu and braille slate

Hinged pocket slate for Ballu and braille writing; brass top plate is for braille writing, 2 lines of 24 cells; bright aluminum middle plate, grooved with horizontal furrows, four brass registration pins on both sides; brass bottom plate is for 10-dot-high Ballu writing, 1 line, 49 columns; "1345" and "Istituto Dei Ceichi Napoli Paolo Colosimo" are stamped on top plate.

post 1920

Istituto Paolo Colosimo, Napoli

Naples, Italy

The Ballu system of embossing tactile print, by embossing dots in the shapes of letters of the Roman alphabet, was invented by Victor Ballu (1829-1907) in 1865. Ballu was a student of Louis Braille and later a professor (of piano) at the National Institute for Blind Youth in Paris, France. He was blind himself, and is also credited with developing interpoint braille printing in France. His Ballu slates, designed to write his system, were also manufactured and used across Europe.

The Paolo Colosimo Institute for the Blind was founded in Naples in 1892 as an offshoot of the National Society Regina Margherita for the Blind in Florence. Its name was changed in 1913 to memoralize the lost son of wealthy benefactors.

Museum Purchase, 2001.211