Over 180 totally gorgeous items can be seen for the very first time! Captured in over 1,200 fully accessible digital images, these 2D and 3D items in the Helen Keller Archive provide an alternative lens with which to view Helen Keller’s extraordinary life. Beautiful artifacts, oversize documents, and photograph albums are now there for all to see.
The items include treasures like...
Keller’s 1904 Bachelor of Arts Degree Certificate from Radcliffe College—Keller was the first deafblind person to graduate from a university in the U.S.
Stage plans from her time on the Vaudeville circuit in the late teens and early 1920s
Photograph albums from her travels, such as her visit to a cattle fair in Dingwall, Scotland in 1933 and her visit to Japan in 1948 as the United States’ first goodwill ambassador to the country after the Second World War
Keller’s collection is full of gifts she received during her travels to 39 countries around the globe as an ambassador championing the rights of those with vision loss. Many of the items could be enjoyed for their feel and structure. Fabulous examples include:
an ivory carving of a girl holding a puppy from Prince and Princess Takumatsu, Japan, 1937
a copper vase inlaid with silver carp and cherry blossoms from the City of Hiroshima, Japan, 1947
decorative welcome addresses, such as this address from the Guild Service of Madras, India in 1955—its thin slats are linked together with a ribbon, and each slat includes either painted text or imagery
magnificent gold embroidery thread necklaces from Hyderabad, India
countless honorary degrees and diplomas, including this gorgeous certificate from the Lebanese Government awarding Keller an Honorary Medal of Merit in 1952
All of these beautiful objects provide a rich tapestry that enhance our understanding of Keller’s life. But we need your help transcribing and/or translating text! Please help us enrich our knowledge still further by transcribing or translating written items. Feel free to contact me at hselsdon@afb.org to join in this mammoth task, and in the meantime, enjoy the feast!
