[Drop-head title;] Notes on Visits to various Institutions for the Blind

HARRIS, William

Published by [s.n.], 1866-7, [s.i.]

About this Item

Manuscript on paper. 169pp, [4]. Contemporary gilt-ruled red cloth. Marbled endpapers. Inscribed 'William Harris Westcotes Leicester, March 5th 1866' to verso of FFEP. The original manuscript notebook of William Harris, later used to compile the published Guide to the institutions & charities for the blind in the United Kingdom (London, 1871), of a series of investigatory visits made by him and his co-author Col. Mansfield Turner in 1866 - the first of its kind to occur in Britain. Both William Harris, the first secretary Leicester Association for Promoting the General Welfare of the Blind, and Col. Mansfield Turner, who later submitted evidence to the Report of special committee of the Charity Organisation Society (1876) were early Victorian advocates for the improvement of institutions for the blind. In the preface to their 1871 published work, where they explain that during their visits they were 'struck with the little knowledge that each Institution possessed of what was going on elsewhere, and what was being done, or could be done, by blind people', they explain that not only where they 'the first persons who had systematically visited such Institutions', but that on discovering these they 'determined to print, at our own cost, for private circulation, a short account of each institution we had visited'. Harris' manuscript account begins on March 5 1866, where he notes he 'Left Leicester with Mr. Turner at 9.20 for Manchester via Burton & Macclesfield'. They proceeded 'to the Inst.' where the 'Manager showed us over the building which is large & well adapted for the purpose'. Their next stop, on March 6, was Liverpool, where they arrived 'about 10am' at the 'School for the Blind in Hardman St', and later the same day a 'non-resident Institution' at Bold St. The following day took Harris and Turner to Bradford, York, and on March 8 to Sheffield. In April and May the pair visit Birmingham (April 26), Bristol (April 27), Plymouth (April 30), reaching Exeter to visit the 'Resident School' there on May 2, before proceeding to Bath (May 3). In November Harris visits Brighton 'with Father'. At each stop effort was evidently made to ascertain the ages of those catered for by the institutions, the subscriptions paid, and the facilities offered. These often included worship and the provision of music rooms (at Liverpool they 'visited the Music Room & heard Mozart's 12th Mass well sung. The tenor was very good'). Also noted are the methods used to allow reading for the blind ('Moons type' at Sheffield, 'Moons system' at Exeter). Indeed, Harris notes that in Brighton 'the system of reading is Moon's who is the visitor of the Inst'n.' The remainder of the notebook comprises the results of written surveys sent by Harris and Turner to other institutions, including those in Ireland, and further detailed information on the printing of 'Books for the Blind' at Bristol, and with 'Alston Type' at Glasgow. Page 78 includes a comparison of the costs of a New Testament for the blind in 6 different types (Moon's, Frere's, Lucas's, Gall, Alston and Howe's), whilst p.101 quotes what appears to be an advert for the pricing of Moon printing, from 'Dr. Moon's List of publications; 'any person who may wish to have a particular chapter of the Bible Hymn or other worthy work xxx stereotyped, can do so at the expensive of 1s/6d per page 8vo and 2s/6d per page 4to in English and 3/- per page 4to Foreign - a perfect copy of which will be presented to the donor on the completion of the work'. These notes betray the keen eye (and sharp pen) of an early advocate for the improvement of education for the blind. On the very first page Harris notes that he and Turner 'did not think the discipline & purpose so good as it might be' and were 'not surprised to hear that the results were not so good as at Birmingham'. Similarly, of the Manchester institution Harris is critical of the 'desultory nature of the work', making baskets, mats and cocoa, occupying those in t.

Seller Inventory # AQ28902

Bibliographic Details

• Title: [Drop-head title;] Notes on Visits to various Institutions for the Blind
• Publisher: [s.n.], 1866-7, [s.i.]
• Binding: Hardcover