disability history

Unsolved Mysteries in Historical Research

You know those history research shows that trace your family’s history? I love shows like that, and they’re a great...

What Do You Want to Know About Helen?

I have received some very interesting research questions about Helen Keller during my first year as Archivist in the AFB...

An Amazing Discovery: Laura Bridgman

While working my way through a series in the American Foundation for the Blind collection called “Education, Rehab, and Welfare,”...

Series 3: Unprocessed

When the AFB Helen Keller Archive arrived at APH, we found a few boxes labeled “Series 3: Unprocessed.” These unprocessed...

A Lot of Dots

Photos above from Museum Archives: Hall braillewriter 1892; APH employees typing braille printing plates with stereograph machines, c. 1945; detail...

A Barrel of Documents

My journey of discovery started when I found two folders in the American Foundation for the Blind Archive folders, both...

How the Helen Keller Archive Began

When I started working in the AFB (American Foundation for the Blind) Helen Keller Archive at APH in October of...

The Chair Went Out the Window

Museum objects and their stories are codependent. The artifact is the real deal. After all, it was there when history...

Helen Likes Beer

“Helen,” she said superfluously, “does like beer.” That about sums up Helen Keller… That’s not what people expected to read...

The Teacher as North Star

May is Teacher Appreciation Month in the U.S., but here in the museum at the American Printing House for the...

Mapheads

I’ve been a maphead all my life. When I was a kid, I drew maps in crayon of the various...