Blindstamped Cloth
Blindstamped Cloth. Very Good. Oblong, 17.5 by 23 cm. 13 laid-in well-executed albumen print photos, one per page. Depict blind students rowing, riding group bicycles, dancing around a Maypole, jumping rope, performing gymnastic exercises, swimming, choral singing, working in a shop class, performing an acrobatic stunt -- in other words, documenting their active lifestyle. Also a group photo of perhaps female teachers, and a group of teenage male students. The Royal Normal College for the Blind was founded in 1871 in Upper Norwood, London, by the English philanthropist and doctor Thomas Rhodes Campbell and the American abolitionist and pedagogue Francis Joseph Campbell. Both of these men were themselves blind, and it was their objective to establish a school that would train blind students to be independent. The curriculum prioritized physical and music education. The thought was to pave the way for students to have careers as organists, piano tuners and music teachers, as indeed many ended up having. The school continues to thrive; it is located in Hereford. Condition: moderate wear and soiling to the album.
(Inventory #: 005980)