Lot 248
BLIND LITERATURE - GALL, JAMES
THE GOSPEL OF SAINT JOHN IN THE ANGULAR CHARACTER FOR THE BLIND
Rare Books, Manuscripts, Maps & Photographs
Auction: 2 October 2018 at 12:00 BST
Description
Edinburgh: James Gall, 1832 [1834?]. 4to, original boards with paper label to spine, upper board and spine detached, some dust-soiling and slight dampstaining towards the rear
Footnote
Note: An unusual book, Copac lists 4 copies held in British libraries, with a copy also in the collection of the RNIB. Although the date on the title-page reads 1832, this usually seems to be catalogued as 1834.
In 1827, James Gall published his first work in his 'angular character', subsequently known as 'Gall Type': First Book on the Art of Teaching the Blind to Read. The text is unlike the Braille script we know today, which was not endorsed by British teachers until 1870. Gall's script is a more geometric, angular version of the Latin alphabet, almost runic at first glance. Within Gall's work featured an advertisement for his Gospel of Saint John. This was to be three volumes of royal octavo at a price of one guinea for subscribers. The resulting work was one volume, 30 x 24cm, and still priced at one guinea.