Key to the New York Point System of Tangible Writing and Printing for Literature, Instrumental and Vocal Music, and Mathematics: Designed for the Use of the Blind (Classic Reprint)

This book details the origination, development, and widespread adoption of the New York Point System of tactile literature and music, and how it transformed education for the visually impaired. After assuming leadership of the New York Institution for the Blind in 1863, the author began an intensive examination of the education system for the blind. The review of reading proficiency revealed the majority of students were unable to read at all, while only a few were proficient. The author determined that the commonly accepted system, the Boston Line, was deficient in several aspects: it lacked tangibility, writability, and adaptability to musical notation. Drawing on the work of others, most notably Adam McClelland, the author devised a new system based on embossed points arranged on vertical and horizontal axes, which was both more efficient and economical than the Boston Line. The author's system was formally introduced in 1868 and quickly gained wider acceptance within the field of education for the visually impaired, forever changing the landscape of tactile literature and music.