Summary: New Books Network – Vanessa Warne, "By Touch Alone: Blindness and Reading in Nineteenth-Century Culture"
Host: Dr. Miranda Melcher
Guest: Dr. Vanessa Warne
Book: By Touch Alone: Blindness and Reading in Nineteenth-Century Culture (U Michigan Press, 2025)
Date: September 27, 2025
Episode Overview
This episode explores Vanessa Warne’s new book, which investigates the history of reading by touch—especially for blind people—in the 19th century. The discussion examines how the introduction and evolution of tactile reading systems like braille transformed not only the lives of blind readers, but also broader societal perceptions of reading, literacy, and the senses. The episode delves into the technological, social, and cultural complexities behind the adoption of tactile reading and its wider influence on both blind and sighted communities.
Key Discussion Points & Insights
1. Origin of the Project and Initial Questions
[02:39-05:21]
- Dr. Warne’s involvement began through volunteering at the Canadian National Institute for the Blind’s recording library, which spurred questions about the origins and history of accessible reading.
- Her curiosity evolved from practical questions (“When were the first audiobooks recorded?”) to broader cultural queries about the impact of reading by touch on both blind and sighted people.
Quote:
"It began with really basic questions. When were the first audiobooks recorded? When were the first books for blind people printed?...I was trying to think about how a very new way of reading changed the lived experience of blindness day to day."
— Dr. Vanessa Warne [03:35]
2. The Birth of Reading by Touch
[05:49-08:05]
- The practice began in France in the late 18th century, spearheaded by sighted educator Valentin Haüy, who invented inkless embossed books.
- The method spread slowly to the Anglo-American world, where it was adapted, innovated, and refined.
Quote:
"...very exciting things were happening, especially in Paris in the late 18th century. So... Valentin Haüy... develops a printing method and then pedagogical methods to support blind people in learning to read by touch."
— Dr. Vanessa Warne [05:49]
3. Social, Technological, and Cultural Preconditions
[08:32-12:16]
- Transitioning from an individual innovation to widespread adoption required technological ingenuity (embossed print, affordable heavy paper), social commitment to literacy for all, and financial investment (often from religious groups).
- There was significant activism, experimentation, and even competition for the best tactile alphabets, particularly in the UK and Scotland.
Quote:
"We're going to have to have both blind and sighted people invest in the notion that visual acuity, the ability to see is not necessary for reading."
— Dr. Vanessa Warne [08:32]
4. Competing Script Systems and the Move Toward Braille
[12:39-17:53]
- Numerous systems were devised, such as William Moon’s simplified alphabet designed for people with calloused fingers (e.g., basket makers), as well as methods mimicking visual Roman letters or radically abbreviating text.
- The “boostrophonic” (back-and-forth) line arrangement and debates about separation or integration between blind and sighted reading communities were key issues.
- The move toward a universal solution was slow and costly, with Braille ultimately prevailing due to its writability, compactness, and ease of use.
Quote:
"He [William Moon] said this could be read not only by a calloused finger, but by a person wearing a glove. ...My finger would do way better if I just then swept right down and went from right to left, so back and forward and back and forward, like an ox plowing a field..."
— Dr. Vanessa Warne [12:39]
5. Street Reading and the Limits of Literacy
[19:52-23:51]
- Blind readers were often found reading in public—on bridges, intersections—raising money, rather than in private or professional settings.
- For many, accessibility to literacy did not equate to employment or social mobility; reading became commodified, and public “street readers” became emblematic of tactile literacy.
Quote:
"Many blind people were reading not in the comfort of their parlors but instead on city streets...This private, humanizing, enriching experience becomes commodified."
— Dr. Vanessa Warne [20:19]
6. Braille’s Ascendancy and Its Distinct Advantages
[24:30-27:56]
- Braille triumphed over other tactile systems because it could be both read and written by blind people, using simple tools, fostering independent expression.
- Compared to rival scripts, braille books were less bulky and costly, and the system enabled personal note-taking and correspondence.
Quote:
"The one thing that braille really had over all of these interesting rivals...is writability...Braille was the exception, with a guide and a stylus, very affordably, very easily, very conveniently."
— Dr. Vanessa Warne [24:30]
7. Differences in Adoption: Class, Gender, Age, Geography
[28:42-33:45]
- Working-class blind people were more likely to learn tactile reading; the upper classes often relied on hired readers/secretaries.
- Privacy and independence were highly valued outcomes; being able to read one’s own correspondence transformed experiences of autonomy.
- The ability to read and write challenged cultural notions of blindness as solely tragic or pitiable.
Quote:
"A really surprising thing to me was that a lot of privileged upper class blind people chose not to learn to read by touch...upper class people had people who could read to them for money...they could pay an amanuensis, a secretary..."
— Dr. Vanessa Warne [28:42]
8. Impact on Sighted Communities: New Conceptions of Reading and the Senses
[34:44-39:18]
- The emergence of tactile reading forced sighted people to question the “naturalness” of their own literacy practices, the shape of the alphabet, and the hierarchy of the senses.
- Representations of blind reading became emotionally charged in art and literature, sometimes leading to myth-making and misrepresentations.
- The fact that blind people could write independently challenged ableist norms and provided direct accounts of blind experience.
Quote:
"They're going to have to say, oh, like it's not natural or inevitable that the letter A will look the way I know it to look, because maybe the look of it doesn't matter so much as the feel of it..."
— Dr. Vanessa Warne [35:07]
9. The Broader Legacy: Re-Evaluating Touch and Expanding Accessibility
[39:38-43:33]
- The value of touch as an educational and sensory modality gained recognition, leading to innovations like touch tours in museums and curated tactile art collections.
- The evolution of tactile reading had ripple effects, driving broader societal reevaluations about the role of touch as a sense in learning and culture.
Quote:
"If touch can do the same thing sight can do, if we don't need sight to read, but we can use touch, what does that mean about touch?...There's a real re evaluation of the relationship between the senses and the value of touch..."
— Dr. Vanessa Warne [39:38]
10. Surprising and Troubling Insights
[44:08-46:54]
- Some sighted people felt threatened by braille, perceiving it as secretive or even fraudulent, and resisted its spread.
- There was skepticism and suspicion (accusations of “faking” reading) toward blind street readers, revealing deep-seated prejudices, which blind activists worked hard to counter.
Quote:
"There was this sense that, I'm a sighted person, I'm an educated person, I'm a literate person, I should be able to read without any specialized training [braille]...So when that didn’t happen, some sighted people had very negative responses. They said braille was barbaric, it was foreign..."
— Dr. Vanessa Warne [44:08]
11. Next Research Steps
[47:08-49:59]
- Dr. Warne is turning her focus toward the creative, craft-based work of blind people in the 19th century—not just items made in vocational workshops, but objects crafted for self-expression and pleasure.
Quote:
"I've been thinking more and more about the handmade things that blind people made in the 19th century, either for their own pleasure or to sell, to exhibit...I'm hoping in the work ahead to continue to think about touch...but with a focus on craft and handcrafted objects rather than books."
— Dr. Vanessa Warne [47:08]
Notable Quotes & Moments
-
On the multi-dimensional impact of tactile reading:
"Literacy didn't allow either sighted or blind people to fully abandon...very negative associations that Western culture has with blindness...but they were deeply challenged by this notion that blind people could read and did read." [28:42] -
On the cultural reevaluation of touch:
"There's a real re evaluation of the relationship between the senses and the value of touch..." [39:38] -
On the resistance faced by blind reading activists:
"I'm really haunted by the energy that some cited commentators invested in declaring reading by touch as something other than really reading..." [44:08]
Suggested Timestamps for Key Segments
- [02:39] Origins of the research
- [05:49] Early history of tactile reading in France
- [08:32] Preconditions for adoption and innovation
- [12:39] Competition between script systems
- [19:52] Street reading and economic realities
- [24:30] Why braille triumphed and its unique advantages
- [28:42] Differences in adoption and impact (class, privacy)
- [34:44] Impacts on sighted communities—rethinking reading and touch
- [39:38] Wider cultural and institutional legacy
- [44:08] Resistance and misconceptions about braille
- [47:08] Dr. Warne’s next research project focus
Conclusion
This episode richly illuminates the intertwined histories of blindness, literacy, and culture, showing how reading by touch not only transformed opportunities for blind people but also fundamentally shifted broader conceptions of what it means to read, learn, and participate in society. Dr. Warne’s work is essential for anyone interested in disability history, the history of the book, or the cultural politics of literacy and the senses.