Indian Sign Talk

Octavo, [26]. 205pp, [57]. Quarter tan calf, pebbled cloth boards. Title stamped in gilt on the spine, subscriber's name in gilt on front panel. Rubbing to tips, wear along head and heel of the spine. Floral endpapers, solid text block. Front hinge starting, but stable. Signed "Lewis J. Hadley" in an unknown hand below the frontispiece portrait. This copy was owned by Mrs. Harriet T. Platt of Lake Forest, Illinois, who assisted in the publication. (Howes H8) A scarce work. Indian Sign Talk (1893) is a manual by the linguist Lewis Francis Hadley (In-go-nom-pa-shi), which documents the Plains Indigenous sign language, presenting more than 500 illustrated gestures with English "telegraphic" equivalents intended for communication across linguistic boundaries. Hadley, who had studied several Native languages while traveling the Great Plains, promoted the system as a practical medium for silent speech and produced woodblock illustrations and flash cards before issuing the book.