Ming Sum School for the Blind

Print, Photographic

Accession Number: 2009.24.16.549-582

Description: (33) BW prints; .549: Seven people stand in loose group; far left Dr. Wilfred S. Flowers, British Red Cross, next to Miss A.H. Shaefer, newspaper reporters and representatives of the China National Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (CNRRA); May 1947; 4 x 5.625"; .550: Four CNRRA officials stand with Dr. Wilfred S. Flowers, second from right, on a walkway at the Ming Sum School for the Blind in Fong Tsuen, Canton, China, in May 1947; 5.625 x 4"; .551: Chinese adult and student stand with hands on tactile map of China; captioned, "Miss Lei and junior high pupil studying the map of China. Map = tacks and nails of various sizes indicate borders, rivers, mountains, desert, railroads, cities, etc."; 4 x 5.625"; .552: Chinese girl, her dark neck length hair pinned with bobby pins, sits at a piano keyboard; captioned "Mung Wai Van -- Junior High School girl--playing the piano"; 5.625 x 4"; .553; Four Chinese boys carry buckets on curved paved walkway; the boys wear baggy pants and shorts and short jackets; their feet are bare and their hair is cut close to their heads; there are thick trees in the background; captioned, "Blind boys carry their own bath water from the water tank to their dormitory. May 1947"; 5.625 x 4"; .554; Two Chinese girls sit at desks in a classroom, they wear identical white uniform tops; the closer girl on the right has her hands on a book; the girl on the left is knitting; captioned "Junior High School students. 1. girl in front reading Braille from book hand made from old magazines. 2. girl behind knitting"; 4 x 5.625"; .555: Alice Schaefer, a woman wearing a long dark coat and a hat, sits in a chair smiling, her hands holding open a large book; 5 x 3.5" .556: Three story brick building with arched colonade across its front; captioned "The Ming Sum main school building built about 1909 when the School was moved from the City to Fong Tsuen, Canton"; 4.5 x 3.25"; .557: View of a different part of the same building; captioned "The residence for foreign workers at Ming Sum"; 4.5 x 3.25"; .558: Two Chinese women sit at a table; one reads from a small book while the other embosses braille with a stylus; captioned "Writing a braille book as it is being dictated by a seeing teacher"; 4.5 x 3.25"; .559: A Chinese girl in a print dress embosses braille with a stylus on a print page while her other hand touches a page of braille; a second girl in an identical dress sits at a second desk; captioned "Copying from a Braille book handwritten on an old magazine paper"; 4.5 x 3.25"; .560: Chinese students sit at desks with abacuses and braille slates; captioned "Using the abacus at Ming Sum for arithmetic"; 4.5 x 3.25"; .561: Very young Chinese girl sits on bench in sunlight holding doll; 4.5 x 3.25"; .562: Caucasian man, M. Hedley Bunton, in light suit, sits at upright piano at right; Chinese girl sits at left with slate and stylus on her lap; captioned, "M. Hedley Bunton teaching music at Ming Sum. M. Bunton is London mission from Australia a very good friend of the school"; 4.5 x 3.25"; .563: Three women stand with four young Chinese children under tree in front of the school building; the children all hold dolls; captioned Miss Alice H. Schaefer, some of the teachers and children. The teacher by Miss Schaefer is Miss Maan, industrial teacher since 1913"; 4.5 x 3.25"; .564: Chinese girl sweeps walkway while dog looks on; 4.5 x 3.25"; .565: Girl in print dress with slate and stylus on lap; closeup from scene in .562: 4.5 x 3.25"; .566: Five Chinese children cradle dolls in the shade of a large tree; 4.5 x 3.25"; .567: Children riding the "giant swing," a heavy board suspended by chains from a sturdy frame; 4.5 x 3.25"; .568: Small Chinese boy in white overalls plays on the "Big Swing"; 4.5 x 3.25"; .569: Alice Schaefer, left and three Chinese children amongst parts of playground equipment; 4.5 x 3.25"; .570: The three girls from .569 sitting on a board in a playground; 4.5 x 3.25"; .571: Three Chinese boys carrying water in buckets along a paved walkway, school building in background; 4.5 x 3.25"; .572: Two Chinese boys crouch in lawn; captioned "The boys cutting grass at Ming Sum"; 4.5 x 3.25"; .573: Boy in white unform crouches in grass, holding a crude sickle; captioned "Cutting grass with a nature knife at Ming Sum"; 4.5 x 3.25"; .574: Two Chinese boys sit on a paved porch outside a brick doorway; they wear white uniforms and sit on simple wooden stools; they weave baskets and other finished baskets and brooms are arranged around them; 4.5 x 3.25"; .575: Chinese boy in white outfit sits on low stool at simple wooden bench making a broom; a young Caucasian boy watches, his hands in his pockets; captioned "Making brooms out of cocoanut fibre and bamboo at Ming Sum"; 4.5 x 3.25"; .576: Different shot of .575, a moment later; 4.5 x 3.25"; .577: Four Chinese women sit on broad outdoor stairs, all dressed identically in white tops, loose dark pants, and simple shoes; they are weaving grass mats on their laps; captioned "Industrial work among the women at Ming Sum"; 4.5 x 3.25"; .578: Another angle of the scene in .577, here showing five women with work in their laps; 4.5 x 3.25"; .579: A third angle, this one far enough back to also show the stone trimmed rounded opening behind the women; 4.5 x 3.25"; .580: Chinese woman poses for camera, holding a broom; 4.5 x 3.25"; .581: Line of seven Chinese women walking along a paved walkway under a tree with the school building in the background; 4.5 x 3.25". .582: Negative from print .570; three girls on playground bench;

Medium: Photographic Paper

Date: 1947

History/Provenance: The Ming Sum School for the Blind was founded in 1889 by Presbyterian missionary and physician Dr. Mary West Niles (1854-1933). Niles is credited with creating the first Canonese braille code. Alice H. Schaefer was a missionary worker employed by the South China Mission of the Presbyterian Church, U.S.A.

Credit Line: AFB Migel Memorial Library Collection, 2009.24

Subjects: Asia Basket making Bathing Braille Braillewriters China Education of disabled persons Maps Mowing Music Education Pianos Playgrounds Schools for the blind and visually impaired Toys Vocational education