Essai sur l'instruction des aveugles, ou exposé analytique des procédés employés pour les instruire

First edition, illustrated with an allegorical frontispiece by Dubois and 21 engraved plates by Azélie Hubert after Julie Ribault, depicting blind individuals engaged in various activities and the tools used for their education. On the verso of the front free endpaper, a manuscript note referencing the life of Saint Jerome by Colombey, concerning the life of a blind philosopher.

Pastiche Bradel-style binding in waxed, speckled beige paper, typical of the period. Contemporary brown sheepskin title label. Untrimmed copy, with full margins. From p. 190 onward, a faint angular water stain appears and continues through to p. 204; otherwise, a clean and bright copy.

Guillié, who served as director of the Institution for Blind Youth in Paris, was the inventor of a tactile writing system that predated the one developed by Braille. He began his research on the education of the blind at the Montolivet hospital. In 1818, he founded the first clinic for the blind. A detailed presentation of the character of blind individuals, their activities, the printing process, reading, and writing systems.