The digital collections of the Perkins Archives

 

The first school for the blind chartered in the United States, Perkins School for the Blind has remained a leader in the field for nearly 200 years. From photographs and documents, to tactile objects and audio visual materials, the Perkins Archives stewards some of the most historically significant collections of its kind in the world. Documenting the history of education for students who are blind, visually impaired, or deafblind, the Perkins Archives strives to make these important collections available to all through ongoing digitization and description efforts. Equitable access is core to the mission of Perkins. For the Perkins Archives this means providing access to our collections through image description, transcription, and accommodations.

Daguerreotype portrait of Perkins student Laura Bridgman and Sarah Wight circa 1845.

A new platform

Perkins Archives' digital collections are currently being migrated from two legacy sites, Flickr and the Internet Archive. This new site will allow researchers to explore our collections on one site while also facilitating accessibility standards inline with Perkins' mission and values. Collections will be on the legacy sites until they are moved to this site. A guide to the Perkins Archives collections is available at Perkins.org/archives.

Featured collections

As we continue to add to our online resources these featured collections will showcase our latest and most popular collections.

Samuel Gridley Howe's personal papers and correspondence

New collection

A collection containing Howe's personal papers and correspondence from 1820 to 1839. It includes many handwritten copies made by his daughter, Laura E. Richards who edited 2 volumes of Letter and Journals of Samuel Gridley Howe.

Nella Braddy Henney collection

Correspondence, clippings, and publications

Original correspondence, journal entries, photographs, articles, clippings, publications and other materials related to the lives of Helen Keller, Anne Sullivan Macy, Polly Thomson, and Nella Braddy Henney from 1903 to 1976.

Perkins oral histories

Audio files with transcriptions

An ongoing collection of interviews with alumni, staff, relatives, trustees, and teacher trainees with a connection to Perkins. The interviewees include alumni who attended as early as the 1930s.

Roy Cloukia photographs

New collection

Primarily photographs and photo postcards collected by Perkins alumnus Roy Joseph Cloukia documenting his friendships during and shortly after his graduation in 1913. 

Frederick M. Logan WPA scrapbook

Photographs and clippings

Unbound scrapbook compiled by Frederick M. Logan documenting the W.P.A. funded projects at Perkins from 1935 to1938, specifically the maps and models created for schools for the blind.

Perkins Lantern

A Perkins publication

A Perkins newsletter documenting student and staff activities at the school and in the greater Perkins community from 1931 to 1999.

The Mentor

A Perkins Alumni Association publication

A monthly magazine devoted to the interests of people who are blind and those working in the field of blindness published by the Perkins Alumni Association from 1891 to 1894.

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Interested in browsing our collections or searching by subject, format, or collection? Select one or more terms in the following categories. Tips and strategies for using this site and researching our resources are available on our guide to research.

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