The life of a deaf-mute, with an image of a manual alphabet, 1855

A rare and moving Victorian publication: The Life of a Deaf-Mute, complete with an image of the manual alphabet.

This small but powerful book tells the story of John William Lashford, a deaf-mute pupil of the Brighton and Sussex Institute for the Deaf and Dumb. Lashford died tragically young in 1848 at the age of just 17. His story was recorded by the institute’s headmaster, both as a tribute and as a means of raising funds for the school.

Written in the sentimental style so characteristic of Victorian moral literature, Lashford is portrayed as a youth who found piety through hardship and whose "good death" resonated with the spiritual sensibilities of his age. As historian Anne Borsay has observed, the narrative turned Lashford into a figure whose story could inspire compassion, reflection, and—ultimately—support for the institution.

An evocative piece of social history, and an extraordinary example of how narratives of disability, religion, and sentiment intersected in the nineteenth century. Ready to be added to any collection of Victorian history, disability studies, or cultural heritage.