The Forest Republican. [volume] (Tionesta, Pa.) 1869-1952, 1894-10-03
BIBLES FOR THE BLIND.
FIRST EDITION EVER PRINTED IN
THE POINT ALPHABET.
The Book is in Eleven Volumes
Each Letter Represented by a DIFF
ferent Number of Raised Dots.

Inc BOOK IS In Eleven Volumes
Each Letter Represented by a DIFF
terent Number of Raised Dots.
HHE only Bible published in
the point alphabet to be used
by the blind has lately been
printed in Louisville. 1t con-
sists of 1889 pages, is in eleven vol
umes and was turned ont by the
American Printing House for the
Blind, an annex of the Kentucky In
stitute for the Blind. The eleven en-
ployes of the printing house were en-
gagged on the work for about ten
months, and on May z, 1894. just a
little over a year after the work was
begun, the first shipment to the
American Bible Society at New York
was made.
Of course this is not the only Bible
that can be read by the blind. Those
thus afflicted have been reading q BIZ
BILE for forty years, but it was pub
lished in what is known as the line
alphabet.
The line alphabet is made up of the
Roman letters enlarged and raised on
the leaves of the book, so that the
blind reader may know them by fol-
lowing their outline with his fingers.
Every school child can read book
printed in that way. But with the
New York point alphabet each letter
is represented by different number
of raised dots arranged in o fixed posi-
tion. Strange to say, this secoa1
method is the easier to learn, an1 is
always taught before the line metho l.
That any sort of Bible for the
blind came out at all is due to be-
quest of $40, 900 made to the American
Bible Society by wealthy woman Of
New York City. 1t was made aper-
manent fund for printing Bibles for
the blind. The four girls who do tho
typesetting began their part of the
work April %, 1853. As soon as ono
page was set up it was carried into the
molding room and an impression
taken. The page was then ready to
be cast. 1t was carried down stairs
and placed in the stereotyping M
chine. A thin coat of tin foil was then
laid over the mold and light pouring 3
of metal made, SO as to melt the tin
foil into the mold. Another pouring
was then made to fill in the blank
spaces between lines aud re-enforco
the back. A piece OF ordinary roof
er's tin the size of the page was then
laid over the back OF the thin metal
impression, and another light pourin :
made to make the two adhere. When
this had cooled off the workman hal q
true copy Of the page on a very light,
flexible plate of stereotype. All tha
rest of the 1899 pages were treated in
the same way, and on January 2i,
1894, the day the last page was set up
the last plate was also completed.
The work of printing was then be-
gun. The leaves are necessarily very
heavy, and, of course, can be printed
only one side. Four sheets, or pages,
were printed at a time When the
pages were ready for binding six OF
them were grouped together and
stitched with wire. The inside edgs
of eash ssxto is bound by cloth-linel
cardboard guard. This is made neo-
essary by the thickness of tho leaves
and the constant handling by the rea-
der. When these sextos are bound to-
gsther they make volume varying in
thsckness of from three to four inches.
The New Testament is included in
three volumes, the Old in eight.
The whole work of printing the first
set of this Bible cost Just 5000. The
cost of binding is 81 volume. The
interest on the bequest nearly half q
century ago has grown so that the
books can be sold to the blind at less
than the cost of the binding. The
whole set is sold at 81, aud the New
Testament alone can be secured for S.
less. These Bibles are being sent out
to all the schools for the blind in the
country through the American Bible
Association.