ABSTRACT

Local philanthropists established the Edinburgh and Glasgow Blind Asylums in 1793 and 1827 respectively. The asylums proactively created the impression that they accommodated the needs of the majority of blind people in the cities' populations, but, they effectively served to assist only a minority of the blind population. The asylums met the requirements of mainly blind males, mirroring the cultural expectations of that time, when men were assumed to have responsibilities as providers for their families. The blind asylums distributed advertising literature to raise awareness of their charitable work, detailing the items for sale produced by the inmates, such as mattresses, baskets, brushes, knitted shawls, stockings and baby clothes. The many pressing applications for admission to the institution, from all parts of Scotland and elsewhere, at once show the great helplessness of the blind. The working practices of the asylums and missions seem to have been influenced by prevailing cultural stereotypes of female morality and respectability.