Laura Dewey Bridgman, 1878 1878

This heliotrope print of Laura Dewey Bridgman was made in 1878, probably to be included as a frontispiece in a book about her life. Bridgman was a celebrity in her time, known for being the first deaf-blind American child to gain a significant education in the English language, fifty years before Helen Keller. This image tells us a lot about the social and cultural context that shaped Bridgman's life. Her education took place at the Perkins Institution, a school for the blind. By the time this photo was taken, the school would have been keen to advertise its success by displaying Bridgman as an educated and dignified woman. We can see that through her formal dress, her neat hair, and her focused attention on the knitting in her hands. Historical interpretation reminds us that what we see in this image is shaped by social institutions. Without attention to sources such as institutional records, personal letters, and contemporary journalistic reports, we would not be able to understand the social function of this image.