Circular of President and Directors of the Institution for the Instruction of the Deaf and Dumb.

The New York Institution for the Instruction of the Deaf and Dumb

Published by E. Conrad, New York, NY, 1818

About this Item

Wraps. A circular that was distributed by the New York Institution for the Deaf and Dumb, and its full title is: "Circular of President and Directors of the Institution for the Instruction of the Deaf and Dumb and the Petition to the Mayor, Aldermen and Commonalty of the City of New York with their Favorable Report and Patronage, &c." It's purpose is to promote and inform the citizens of New York, of both its needs and what had already been done for the school by its Board of Directors and the New York City Legislator. Not a public appeal for donation, but encourages generosity. It begins with the accomplish that was written by Silvanus Miller, Esq., stating that the directors of the school were "impelled by a sense of duty, and a desire to promote the welfare of those unfortunate persons committed to their superintending care, to make this appeal to a charitable and benevolent public. deprived of their sense of hearing, and the power of speech, they posses all those sensibilities and affections . [and] without the fostering care of benevolent instruction, and the steady and kind supervision of endearing friends, these [children] must languish in ignorance, remain the monuments of negligence, of inattention, and oftentimes, of wretchedness." It continues on to describe some of the education these children will receive such as "the two handed alphabet" (sign language), and " the knowledge of connexion [sic], and the significance of the letters, to their uses in spelling and reading, and the power of arithmetical numbers, combinations and actual calculations", along with the belief that these instructions "must be taught early in life." The next part of the circular is the written petition from the school to the legislators of New York City. It draws comparison between London, who had recently funded a school for the Deaf and Dumb, and New York, often calling New York the "London of America". It includes some information on the founding of the school, in the prior year (1817), the current amount of pupils, and their needs. At the end, there is a listing of the resolved items on the petition, in which the legislators agreed to fund $500 towards the school, as well as to fund ten students' tuition costs (not to exceed $40 per student per year), and paid the rent on the school room. It concludes with Board minutes thanking the legislators for the funding as well as detail the cost of schooling and tuition at the school. OCLC-0 (Aug 2020) 16 pgs. Measures 8" x 5" The school is still in existence today and is in fact known as the second oldest school for the deaf in America. It was renamed at some point to The New York School for the Deaf, and is currently located in White Plains, NY. Disbound from presumably a larger accumulation of circulars, covers lacking. Seller Inventory # 20200395

Bibliographic Details

Title: Circular of President and Directors of the ...

Publisher: E. Conrad, New York, NY

Publication Date: 1818