6 points of global significance

It is perhaps one of the most beautiful inventions ever made. Braille. As a small child, I was already very impressed when I saw Braille at school. It fascinated me that blind people can read entire books by feeling the dots. And even now, so many years later, I still find Braille very special. And probably many others do too. On October 23, Lia already wrote that the Belgian Post is releasing a special stamp in its 2009 issuance program in honor of Louis Braille, the inventor of Braille. His name and the face value are printed in Braille on the stamp. Would Belgium now be the first country to issue a stamp with actual Braille on it? Apparently not. I found even more. Even a stamp from 1974. In connection with the 5th World Assembly of the World Council for the Welfare of the Blind. A Brazilian stamp in embossed Braille. To keep it a bit more in keeping with the times, in 2006 Ireland issued a stamp featuring Braille. This was due to the 30th anniversary of the Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind, a training center for guide dogs. In the same year, New Zealand issued stamps featuring Braille. Beautiful stamps to celebrate the Year of the Dog. A stamp was issued from India in 2007 in connection with International Day of Disabled Persons. And also from 2007, a beautiful stamp of Romanian origin. Issued in connection with the International Day of Blind Children's Education. Canada also preceded Belgium. Earlier this year, a stamp was released there in honor of the 100th anniversary of the Montreal Association for the Blind, a non-profit rehabilitation center for the blind and visually impaired of all ages. The 2008 Finnish stamp is unusual. It has nothing to do with blindness. Although, indirectly, perhaps it does. A beautiful plant adorns the stamp: the Lathyrus odoratus, or sweet pea. This summer-flowering plant, native to Southern Italy and Sicily, emits a strong fragrance. It goes without saying that blind people have a more developed sense of smell than sighted people. But whether the designer of the stamp had this in mind, I doubt. Although many countries preceded Belgium, I am very curious to see what the Belgian stamps will look like. Just a little more patience. Louis Braille Louis Braille was born in 1809. Due to an accident and a subsequent infection, he lost his sight at the age of three. Because Louis was a bright boy, he was allowed to attend a “regular” school. This was highly unusual at the time. When he was ten, he was taken to the Royal Institute for the Blind in Paris. Teaching there was primarily oral. There were some books with relief writing, but these were very large and thick. When he was 13, he first heard of a night script devised by a French army captain, Charles Barbier de la Serre. He developed the script so that soldiers could read and write in the dark. However, it was much too large and the grammar was incorrect. This night script gave Louis the idea to develop a special script for the blind. A few years later, the essence of six-point Braille was put on paper. Over the years, he continued to develop and improve his system. When he was 19, his fellow students began using the script. A new era dawned for the blind. Louis continued working on improving handwriting his entire life. But it was not until 1854, two years after he died at the age of 43, that Braille was officially recognized by the Institute as a fully-fledged reading and writing language for the blind. And 100 years after his death, the system was formally recognized as an invention of global significance. First image: Immanuel Giel [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/)]