Canadian Philatelist Philatéliste canadien - The Royal Philatelic ...

Transcribing Sounds
by Michael Madesker, RDP, FRPSC
BRAILLE ALPHABET: EDUCATIONAL FACILITIES (part II of III)
The idea to establish a school for Jewish blind in Vienna, Austria came from
Dr. Ludwig August Frankl, 1810-1894, Jewish Community Council’s Secretary. It
was approved in 1870 and funding was pledged by the Community’s President,
the banker Jonas Koenigswater, 1807-1871. Koenigswater, for his services to the
Court, was knighted by Emperor Franz-Joseph, 1830-1916. Koenigswater refused
the honour to name the school after him and it became known as Israelitischer
Blindeninstitute Wien, Hohe Warte.
The building was designed by the institutional architect
Wilhelm Stiassny, 1842-1905. The Institute opened in 1874
with some 50 residential students. Koenigswater participated
in the groundbreaking but did not live to see the completed
building. The Institute was operated by the Jewish
Community independently until 1927 and then jointly with
the Vienna Municipality. Financing came from the charitable
funds of Louis Nathaniel Rothschild, 1882-1955. During
World War I the Institute provided space for a military hospital.
The Jewish presence at the Institute was terminated
in 1937 and it was converted into a military hospital during
World War II. In the years from 1874 to 1937 the Institute
served as a showcase for the advancement of educational
and care innovations for the blind. *
PHSC
APS Affiliate 67;
PHS Inc. Affiliate 5A;
RPSC Affiliate 3
The Postal History Society of Canada was
founded to promote the study of the postal history of
Canada and its provinces. It publishes the quarterly
PHSC Journal, whose contents range from fullyresearched
feature articles to items of current interest
– from the pre-stamp era through postmark specialties
and regional histories to modern mail mechanization.
Each year the Society holds meetings at shows
across Canada. The Annual Meeting is held in the early
summer, and is supplemented by Regional Meetings,
usually featuring postal history seminars given by Society
members. Eight different Study Groups are devoted to
the detailed examination of various specialized aspects
of postal history.
Membership dues are $25.00 per year, with a
one-time admission fee of $1.00. For a membership
application form please contact the Secretary, Stéphane
Cloutier, 367 Levis Ave, Ottawa, ON K1L 6G6.
You’re invited to join
The British North America
Philatelic Society
BNA Topics, quarterly journal
BNA PortraitS, quarterly newsletter
Benefits include:
• Annual conventions in the U.S. and Canada.
• More than 20 study groups actively
investigating specialty areas, ranging from
Large Queens to first day covers.
• Regional groups located in many cities
in Canada and the U.S.
Contact the Secretary:
Peter Jacobi
#6 – 2168-150A St.
Surrey, BC V4A 9W4 Canada
e-mail: pjacobi@shaw.ca
Web site: http://www.bnaps.org
BNAPS – The Society for Canadian Philately
104 • the CP / le PC • MA06