Untitled (The Bible for deaf-mutes) by [Kmoch, Karel M. and Johann Karresch, illustrator] - 1890

[Prague]: Pražský soukromý ústav pro vzdělání hluchoněmých, 1890. Contemporary green card boards; 130 pp. of lithographed illustrations. Boards worn; hinges somewhat weak; internally very good. [Czech Bible for Deaf Mutes]. A very uncommon edition for deaf-mutes, which presents the Old and New Testament on 130 pages of black-and-white "stick figure" drawings and iconograms, with occasional symbolic elements. The work was published by the Prague Private Institution for the Education of Deaf-Mutes, and the drawings were executed by Johann Karresch, a teacher at the school. Also included are several drawn maps. The editor was Karel M. Kmoch (1839-1913), a Czech priest who focused on caring for the deaf-mutes. The Catholic Church played a key role in caring for the deaf in Bohemia, founding three institutes and contributing to the development of several others. The first steps toward such a primer were taken by Václav Frost (1814-1865), a Czech and Austrian priest who helped found the Institute, the fifth of its kind in Europe. After Frost's early death, Kmoch continued to systematize his work into the present book. The Czech institutes continued to use sign language, in spite of the fact that following the Milan Congress the German school dominated almost everywhere (tactile language). We are unable to trace this work in KVK or OCLC. A copy is held by the Czech National Library.