DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.1311#0136
108 THE GREAT EXHIBITION
quarto form, and has twenty-three lines on a full page. The type is the ordinary mixture
of the upper and lower-case of Roman, letter, and the work is beautifully printed. The
first volume contains seventy-eight pages, and the second seventy-three. It is to be
regretted that so valuable a contribution to the literature of the blind should not have
found better support. It consists of miscellaneous information, with fragments of authors,
poetry, anecdotes, woodcuts, &c. In 1806, an institution for the blind was established at
Stockholm, and it is with pleasure that we learn that Mr. Watts, of Crown-court, Lon-
don, has, at the expense of the British and Foreign Bible Society, printed in relief, with
the ordinary Roman type, in capitals and lower-case, the Gospel according to St. Luke,
in Swedish, for this institution. The volume was printed in 1848, and is a beautiful
specimen of embossed typography. It is in quarto, consisting of 132 pages, twenty-seven
lines on a page of seventy square inches. Price, as sold by the Bible Society, at cost,
6s.; 500 copies were printed.
In France, Belgium, Prussia, Austria, Switzerland, Sweden, and the United States, the
Roman lower-case alphabet is used. In most, if not all, of these countries, the institu-
tions for the blind are supported and partially controlled by government, and perhaps this
is the reason why, in all of them nearly, the same system of typography prevails. In
Great Britain, however, the case is different. There are now five entirely different systems
of typography in use here, and vigorously pressed upon the benevolent public. The un-
fortunate blind are thus deprived of the advantages they might have, if harmony of
action and uniformity of typography were adopted. This diversity of opinion is causing
great injustice to them, and the jury cannot but urge upon the parties concerned the
speedy adoption of some one system throughout the country. Our opinion is decidedly
in favour of Howe's American typography. Perfection is not claimed for this system,
but it seems to us that there are fewer objections to it than to any of the others, and
it may be the more easily improved; but any one of the five principal systems now used
in England is far better than so many. The present state of printing in the Roman
character in Great Britain, is, as we have seen already, that every press has been stopped,
while the books in arbitrary characters seem to be increasing and gaining public favour.
The principal of these is one known as Lucas's. It was devised by T. M. Lucas, of
Bristol, about the year 1835. It consists of arbitrary characters, and is said to be founded
on Byron's system of stenography. It is simple, speedily learned, and easily read by the
touch, and is generally acknowledged to be, of all the arbitrary systems, the best. The
printing on this system began at Bristol, and the following are the works published
there:—1. The Gospel according to St. John, edited by T. M. Lucas, inventor of the
system for teaching the blind to read by embossed stenographic character; July, 1837;
Bristol: in 4to, sixty-six pages, and twenty-seven lines to a page. Two pages are pasted
together.—2. The Acts of the Apostles (according to the authorised version), in T. M.
Lucas's embossed stenographic character; 1838. Published under the direction of the
Bristol Society for Embossing and Circulating the Authorised Version of the Bible for
the use of the Blind; Bristol; in 4tq, 118 pages, twenty-seven lines on a page.—(This
second publication of Mr. Lucas was announced as containing some improvements: as
widening the spaces and lessening the abbreviations.)—3. The Gospel according to St.
Matthew (according to the authorised version), in T. M. Lucas's embossed stenographic
character, 1839; published, &c; Bristol; 4to, 116 pages.-—(In this third publication is
announced the firm conviction that this system will prevail over any other plan, on
account of its tangibility.)—4. The Gospel according to St. Mark, &c.; Bristol, 1840;
4to, seventy-one pages. The above, with the exception of a few small elementary works,
are, we believe, all that appeared at Bristol. In the year 1839, a society was formed,
called "The London Society for Teaching the Blind to Read." They adopted Lucas's
quarto form, and has twenty-three lines on a full page. The type is the ordinary mixture
of the upper and lower-case of Roman, letter, and the work is beautifully printed. The
first volume contains seventy-eight pages, and the second seventy-three. It is to be
regretted that so valuable a contribution to the literature of the blind should not have
found better support. It consists of miscellaneous information, with fragments of authors,
poetry, anecdotes, woodcuts, &c. In 1806, an institution for the blind was established at
Stockholm, and it is with pleasure that we learn that Mr. Watts, of Crown-court, Lon-
don, has, at the expense of the British and Foreign Bible Society, printed in relief, with
the ordinary Roman type, in capitals and lower-case, the Gospel according to St. Luke,
in Swedish, for this institution. The volume was printed in 1848, and is a beautiful
specimen of embossed typography. It is in quarto, consisting of 132 pages, twenty-seven
lines on a page of seventy square inches. Price, as sold by the Bible Society, at cost,
6s.; 500 copies were printed.
In France, Belgium, Prussia, Austria, Switzerland, Sweden, and the United States, the
Roman lower-case alphabet is used. In most, if not all, of these countries, the institu-
tions for the blind are supported and partially controlled by government, and perhaps this
is the reason why, in all of them nearly, the same system of typography prevails. In
Great Britain, however, the case is different. There are now five entirely different systems
of typography in use here, and vigorously pressed upon the benevolent public. The un-
fortunate blind are thus deprived of the advantages they might have, if harmony of
action and uniformity of typography were adopted. This diversity of opinion is causing
great injustice to them, and the jury cannot but urge upon the parties concerned the
speedy adoption of some one system throughout the country. Our opinion is decidedly
in favour of Howe's American typography. Perfection is not claimed for this system,
but it seems to us that there are fewer objections to it than to any of the others, and
it may be the more easily improved; but any one of the five principal systems now used
in England is far better than so many. The present state of printing in the Roman
character in Great Britain, is, as we have seen already, that every press has been stopped,
while the books in arbitrary characters seem to be increasing and gaining public favour.
The principal of these is one known as Lucas's. It was devised by T. M. Lucas, of
Bristol, about the year 1835. It consists of arbitrary characters, and is said to be founded
on Byron's system of stenography. It is simple, speedily learned, and easily read by the
touch, and is generally acknowledged to be, of all the arbitrary systems, the best. The
printing on this system began at Bristol, and the following are the works published
there:—1. The Gospel according to St. John, edited by T. M. Lucas, inventor of the
system for teaching the blind to read by embossed stenographic character; July, 1837;
Bristol: in 4to, sixty-six pages, and twenty-seven lines to a page. Two pages are pasted
together.—2. The Acts of the Apostles (according to the authorised version), in T. M.
Lucas's embossed stenographic character; 1838. Published under the direction of the
Bristol Society for Embossing and Circulating the Authorised Version of the Bible for
the use of the Blind; Bristol; in 4tq, 118 pages, twenty-seven lines on a page.—(This
second publication of Mr. Lucas was announced as containing some improvements: as
widening the spaces and lessening the abbreviations.)—3. The Gospel according to St.
Matthew (according to the authorised version), in T. M. Lucas's embossed stenographic
character, 1839; published, &c; Bristol; 4to, 116 pages.-—(In this third publication is
announced the firm conviction that this system will prevail over any other plan, on
account of its tangibility.)—4. The Gospel according to St. Mark, &c.; Bristol, 1840;
4to, seventy-one pages. The above, with the exception of a few small elementary works,
are, we believe, all that appeared at Bristol. In the year 1839, a society was formed,
called "The London Society for Teaching the Blind to Read." They adopted Lucas's