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Bearly Inspirational: Florence Attwood and Mavis Rendle

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By Emmeline Burdett A lot of the information in this blog is based on a Merrythought blog post about Florence Attwood, and on sources kindly supplied by Merrythought, including an article entitled ‘A Deaf Toy Designer’, by Doreen Woodford, which was originally published in the Deaf History Journal in August 2002. Photograph of Florence Attwood 1907-1952 Florence Attwood, or ‘Florrie’ for short, was one of the earliest designers for the English soft toy company Merrythought, and she designed all the 32 characters which appeared in its first catalogue, published in 1931 (Merrythought itself having been founded in 1930). A 1930s merrythought teddy bear Attwood was born on 24th July 1907 at Dawley in Shropshire, England. She caught measles when she was two years old, and, as a result, she became deaf. In common with her brothers and sisters, she seems to have attended Ketley County Infants’ School for two years, before being admitted to the Royal School for the Deaf in Manchester, England,...
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The Forgotten Room of the association Valentin Haüy in Paris, or How to Build an Inclusive Digitisation Project on the History of Blindness

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By Céline Roussel & Marion Chottin Rediscovering Maurice de la Sizeranne’s Cultural Project As Marion and I were exploring for our academic research – for CNRS-projects on the one hand, for a doctoral thesis at Paris-Sorbonne on the other – the field of disability studies, with a focus on blindness related to philosophy, literature, and other arts, we made the acquaintance of Noëlle Roy, curator of the museum and library in the Association Valentin Haüy from 2000 to 2017. She led us into a very special room, the “salle Heimann” (“Heimann room”), which houses the great oeuvre of Maurice de la Sizeranne (1857-1924): a huge, rich, unique collection of books, writings and all kinds of documents reflecting on blindness throughout the centuries. Maurice de la Sizeranne was a blind intellectual who, in the year 1889, founded the Association in the memory of Valentin Haüy. Haüy (1745-1822) was a French polymath who had founded the first school for blind young people, the Institute for Blin...
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Her manner appeared hard and ungracious, while her heart was dissolving with emotions - Harriet Martineau and Her Deafness

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By Valerie Doulton   Martineau’s Childhood and the Beginnings of Deafness Harriet Martineau was born in 1802, in Norwich, the principal city of the county of Norfolk, in England. Her family was of Huguenot descent and Unitarian, a type of non-conformist Christianity which Martineau rejected as an adult, eventually becoming an atheist. Early on in her life it was noticed that Martineau was musically gifted. But at twelve years old she began to notice a small but perceptible loss of hearing. By the time she was sixteen this had become considerably more pronounced, causing her considerable personal and social distress. In ‘Household Education’ (1828), she wrote about the onset of her deafness: “Now and then, someone made light of it. Now and then, someone told her that she mismanaged it, and gave advice which, being inapplicable, grated upon her morbid feelings; but no one inquired what she felt, or appeared to suppose that she did feel. Many were anxious to show kindness and tried to...
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Martial Arts for Disabled People - A Historical Perspective

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By Richard Sison Over their long history, martial arts have evolved various forms and techniques. A lesser known but significant aspect of this history is martial arts practice for disabled people .  Historically, such adaptations have emerged in various cultures and regions, reflecting that disability and interest in martial arts are worldwide phenomena.  Martial arts enable disabled and non-disabled individuals to physically train, cultivate mental well-being, and foster social connections. Historical Origins – Ancient China and Japan  Martial arts practices tailored for disabled individuals have a long history, with accounts dating back to ancient China and Japan. Various sources documented these practices, providing insights into the time's techniques, beliefs, and influences. Ancient China In ancient China, records of martial arts techniques were adapted. These techniques focused on using internal energy (qi) rather than physical strength, making them accessible to i...
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Penelope Friday on George Austen

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By Emmeline Burdett and Penelope Friday A few months ago I was reading an article in Jane Austen’s Regency World magazine, that told the story of the novelist Jane Austen’s disabled brother George. I’d heard about George before: he featured in the 2007 film Becoming Jane, starring Anne Hathaway as Jane Austen, and the film suggested both that the siblings had a relatively close relationship, and that George was the reason that his sister knew sign language. More darkly, other sources have shown that George was not included in his family tree, as though he had not existed at all. The article in Jane Austen’s Regency World magazine was written by Penelope Friday, a disabled writer whose website is https://penelopefriday.com . I interviewed Penelope Friday for Public Disability History. Figure 1 - George and Jane Austen from the 2007 movie "Becoming Jane". Credit:  https://janeausten.co.uk/blogs/jane-austen-life/george-austen?currency=eur  .  1.   What year was George A...
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Theodorus Steib (born 1627)

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– A disabled artist and his self-determined life – The Object We [the authors] discovered this miniature self-portrait of Theodorus Steib. It is not just a testament to his painting skills, but also to how he saw himself. His painting skills were truly amazing, and he also managed to capture his experiences as a disabled person in seventeenth-century Austria and Germany.  Self-portrait of Thodorus Steib. Oil on oak wood, dated 1651. Photo: K.-K., Rhineland-Palatinate, image courtesy of the owners. The picture shows him deep in concentration, sitting on a red cushion on the floor. His gaze is fixed on his feet. As he was born without hands or arms, his feet allowed him to live a self-determined life.  He is shown surrounded by the tools of his trade. Beside him there is an inkwell, an ink blotter, and two quills. By his other side there is a stack of paper with scissors, a drinking vessel, a can and a cut-out object. All these things are expressions of his independence, which s...
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