Presents a selection of the earliest essays written by members of the nascent French Deaf community at the time of the Enlightenment, from 1764 up to 1840, a rich period of education for deaf people. This work shows how this era of French deaf education influenced the adoption of the manual method by the first schools for deaf students in America.

This seminal study of early Deaf culture presents a selection of essays written by members of the French Deaf community from 1764 to 1840, a rich period of education for deaf people.