Louis Braille: A Touch of Genius

C. Michael Mellor


[image of cup]


National Braille Press *  Boston


In memory of my mother and father
			-- C. M. M.


NATIONAL BRAILLE PRESS
88 Saint Stephen Street
Boston, MA  02115-4302
www.braille.com


Text copyright © 2006 by C. Michael Mellor

All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer, who may quote brief passages in a review. 

First published in the United States of America by National Braille Press Inc.


		Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Mellor, C. Michael.
  Louis Braille : a touch of genius / By C. Michael Mellor.
       p. cm.
  Includes bibliographical references and index.
  ISBN 0-939173-70-0 (alk. paper)
 1.  Braille, Louis, 1809-1852--Juvenile literature. 2.  Blind teachers--France--Biography--Juvenile literature.  I. Title.
  HV1624.B65M45 2006
  686.2'82092--dc22

                                                            2005029150


Book design by Judith Krimski, Krimski Design, Inc.		[NBP logo]

Manufactured in the United States of America
Henry N. Sawyer Company, Inc., Charlestown, Massachusetts

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Title page image: Silver tumbler bearing the arms of old Paris and initialed F.G. (Françoise Gronon, Louis Braille’s foster-sister) courtesy La Maison Natale de Louis Braille.


Table of Contents
 
Louis Braille Touch of Genius Prize for Innovation
Merci Beaucoup
Preface			
Translation of Letters		
       
Prologue
Home
Coupvray
Valentin Haüy
School Life
Braille Code
Teacher
Music
Dot-Matrix Printing
Braille Banned
Global Braille

Epilogue
Directions to La Maison Natale de Louis Braille

Illustration sources and credits
Endnotes
Bibliography
Index


Merci Beaucoup

Our profound gratitude to our esteemed colleagues in France without whom this book would not be possible.

Notre profonde gratitude tient à signaler l’aide inestimable de nos collègues françaises sans lesquelles ce livre n’aurait jamais vu le jour.

Margaret Calvarin
Directrice, Maison Natale de Louis Braille

Zoubeïda Moulfi
Chargée d’études Documentaires, Institut National des Jeunes Aveugles (INJA)

Noëlle Roy
Conservateur, Musée “Valentin Haüy”

Zina Weygand
Chercheur en Histoire, Laboratoire Brigitte Frybourg pour l’Insertion Sociale des Personnes Handicapées, Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers