Establishment for the Study of Vocal Physiology: for the Correction of Stammering, and other Defects of Utterance; and for Practical Instruction in "Visible Speech."
Boston: Rand, Avery and Company, 1872. 16pp. Light green printed wrappers. Soft vertical crease throughout, a hint of soiling and staining to covers. Very good. Item #4717
Scarce first edition of the first separate publication of Alexander Graham Bell's work on "visible speech," preceded only by a journal article that appeared in the American Annals of the Deaf and Dumb for 1872. The booklet outlines and promotes Bell's work with stammerers and deaf-mutes at the "School of Vocal Physiology and Mechanics of Speech," which he founded in Boston in 1872, a year after he moved to the United States. The school attracted many deaf students, with Bell's first class numbering thirty pupils. The text begins with a note that reads "Mr. A. Graham Bell gives instruction to stammerers, and to others with defects of speech, and lessons in articulation to deaf-mutes. The general education of very young pupils will be carried on during the period of instruction." Next is a list of the subjects of instruction, including visible speech (a phonetic system invented by Graham Bell's brother, used to teach the deaf to speak), and elocution. This is followed by a list of textbooks, positive testimonials for Bell's work (including one from his brother, and several reports and letters describing Bell's work, reprinted from newspapers.
Price: $2,500