The Louis Braille Museum in Torcy

Journey to the heart of the universe of a world-famous blind person

Louis Braille (January 4, 1809 - January 6, 1852) is the inventor of braille, the tactile writing system with a salient point intended for blind or visually impaired people. His native house in Couvray is classified as a historical monument and becomes a place of exhibitions of his works and elements that retrace his life. The small community of Coupvray (less than 3,000 inhabitants) located in the arrondissement of Torcy in the Seine-et-Marne is known as the native village of the one who helped blind people from all over the world to access the "Education through the writing system” he invented. This saddler's son suffers from blindness following the generalized infection of his right eye, punctured by a tool to pierce the leather when he was only 3 years old. He was sent to study at the school of Coupvray between 1816 and 1818. In 1819 he was admitted to the Royal Institution of Young Blinds where he shone on all subjects. He was appointed teacher at his age. He bent over his invention as early as 1821 after meeting the inventor of the sonogram system for the blind Charles Barbier de la Serre. It was at the age of 18 in 1827 that Braille was officially used for the first time in the transcription of Grammar’s Grammar.  

Why visiting the Louis Braille Museum ?

The birthplace of Louis Braille in the street bearing his name has been transformed into a museum since 1956. It is a briard house that has retained all its authenticity. Although relatively small, the museum promises interesting discoveries. On the one hand, it allows to plunge back into the universe of a saddler (leather work) of the eighteenth century thanks to the workshop of the father of Louis. We then enter the common room whose furniture tell the life of the time. And finally, there are also inventions and objects that retrace the life of Louis Braille as the first model of braille tablet, braille typewriter or raphigraph.