[BRAILLE ADAPTED TO CYRILLIC ? METAL WRITING SLATE] Folding metal slate for writing in Russian Braille

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Leningrad: UPP No. 1 LO VOS [Uchebno proizvodstvennoe predpriiatie No.1. Leningradskii otdel Vsesoiuznogo obshchestva slepykh], ca. 1959?1966. Double-sided metal slate measuring 24 ? 18.5 cm, with 18 lines of 24 six-dot symbols. Lines numbered on the right-hand side in pairs from one to nine, also in Braille. Top and bottom plate are secured in place with two pins at the upper and lower extremity. Also included is a stapled blank exercise booklet measuring 25 ? 19 cm with 28 blank leaves, and two separate sheets filled with Braille text and Russian manuscript alphabet and numbers in ink. Very good. Folding slate apparatus for writing in Russian Braille, mass-produced by the Training and Production Enterprise of the Leningrad (St. Petersburg) section of the All-Union Society for the Blind (LO VOS). A special stylus, similar to a blunt awl which was clamped or placed on the finger was used for writing, with the first two pages of the included exercise book containing markings made with the help of such stylus. Compared to earlier versions, this template made writing faster by eliminating the need to move the stencil. Modelled on German templates, this seems to be one of the earliest mass-produced writing tools for writing in Russian Braille. The Braille alphabet was first adapted to the Russian language in 1884 by the translator, publisher, and educator Anna Adler, a pioneer of education for the blind in Russia. A headmistress of the first Moscow school for blind children, she adapted Braille to Russian after a trip to Western Europe in 1881?1884, where books and primers in the Braille alphabet were already in wide use. Adler also typeset and published the first book in Russian Braille, "A Collection of Articles for Children?s Reading" in 1885, later spearheading the creation of the first Braille library in Russia, and contributed to the first issue of the Braille journal "Zhizn' slepykh" (Life of the blind) in 1924. Adler?s work laid the foundation for education for the blind in Russia, which continued into the Soviet period, with the creation of the Soviet Society for the Blind in 1924. The mass-production of Braille writing devices in the Soviet Union began in the mid 1940s, likely spurred by the increase of the number of blind persons due to WWII. As thousands of blind veterans returned to Soviet cities, the All-Russian Society for the Blind and the state took on the task of educating, integrating, and employing veterans, with dozens of workshops organized throughout Soviet cities. The state was extremely interested in labor resources for the restoration and modernisation of the economy. As a result, blind individuals were given the chance to receive secondary education, and to access a variety of workspaces. The reorganisation of the Society for the Blind and the establishment of the Leningrad Department took place in 1959 with the Training and Production Enterprise (UPP-1) existing in its original form until 1966. Therefore this template with the engraved mention of UPP-1 LO can be dated as having been created between 1959 and 1966. At least three variants of templates similar to this one are known, including smaller templates with 4 and 18 lines, as well as one similar to the 18-line template but with recesses relief-engraved on the outer side (likely for double-sided writing). The museum of the All-Russian Society for the Blind holds history records and a variety of early Soviet Braille writing templates such as this one. Seller Inventory # 55117

Bibliographic Details

Title: [BRAILLE ADAPTED TO CYRILLIC ? METAL WRITING...
Binding: Soft cover