MS 3884
Papers of Charles Bliss
(1897-1985)
Papers
1943-1984
10.06m (68 boxes) + 1 folio
Available for reference
The papers of Charles Bliss were acquired by the Library, initially from
Bliss and, following his death, from his executor and the State Library of New
South Wales. They were received in a number of instalments from 1973 to June
1994.
The papers comprise correspondence, cuttings, research notes, and
roneoed material relating to Bliss's several publications on semantography and
communications. The newspaper and journal cuttings are arranged under the
headings Language, Education, Biology, History, Religion, and Pioneers of new
ideas, and, together with work notes and early drafts of articles, form the
basis of his two most important books Semantography (Blissymbolics) and
The Invention and Discovery that will change our lives.
There are also over 200 issues of Bliss's roneoed newsletters
Semantography series (Nos. 1-203), which date from 1949 to 1964.
The correspondence, which is arranged alphabetically, reveals the world-wide
interest shown in Bliss's work. Principal correspondents are Douglas
Everingham, Professor Oliver Reiser and Fritz Treuer.
The papers added in November 1986 have some categories which are
incomplete, because they appear not to have been preserved by Bliss in their
entirety.
Charles Kasiel Blitz was born to Jewish parents in Austria in 1897.
After graduating in Chemical Engineering from Vienna Technical University in
1922, Bliss became chief of patents in a large electrical firm. He fled from
Nazi occupation during World War II, making his way via England to Shanghai
where he lived until travelling to Australia in 1946. While in England, he
officially changed his surname to Bliss.
In Australia, Bliss did not return to his profession of chemical
engineering, but took a job on the construction line of General Motors Holden,
so that he could concentrate on perfecting a system of sign language he had
developed using Blissymbols to help people communicate. The system
enabled people to use simple symbols to express themselves, without being
confused by spelling and grammatical complexities. In 1949 he published
Semantic Bliss symbols. In 1971 the Ontario Crippled Childrens
Home began to use Bliss symbols for the teaching of communication to cerebral
palsied children.
After the death of his wife Claire in 1961, the Semantography Trust Fund
was established under the terms of her will, for the purpose of propagating the
Bliss concept.
In 1974, Film Australia and the National Film Board of Canada made a
film about Bliss entitled Mr Symbol Man.
The Blissymbolics Communication Foundation was established in Toronto,
Canada in 1975, to maintain standard symbol form and to provide training and
materials for people who apply Blissymbolics with non-speaking persons. The
Foundation was renamed the Blissymbolics Communication Institute in 1978.
Bliss received an Order of Australia in 1969 and an Advance Australia
Award in 1982 in recognition of his work. He was also appointed an Honorary
Fellow in Linguistics at the Australian National University in 1979
Charles Bliss died at the Prince of Wales Hospital, Randwick on 13 July
1985 after a short illness.
Description
Boxes |
1-2 |
Completed books on Semantography-Blissymbolics |
|
3-5 |
Early manuscripts and work notes |
|
6 |
Manuscript of The Invention and Discovery that will change
our Lives, including references to Nuclear Weapons used in the
book |
|
7 |
Original drawings by Murray A. Frederick for the book
Invention and Discovery Newspaper and journal article references used
in the book Invention and Discovery |
|
8 |
Newspaper and journal article references on symbols and language
used in the books |
|
9 |
Newspaper and journal article references on education used in
the books |
|
10 |
Newspaper and journal article references on biology used in the
books |
|
11 |
Newspaper and journal article references on history used in the
books |
|
12 |
Newspaper and journal article references on religion and
pioneers of new ideas used in the books |
|
13 |
Semantography Series: issues Nos.1-180 |
|
14 |
Semantography Series: issues Nos. 181-203 |
|
15-20 |
Original documents to the Semantography Series: issues
Nos. 1-203 |
|
21 |
Correspondence: Douglas Everingham, 1951-70 |
|
22 |
Correspondence: Oliver Reiser, 1949-72 Fritz Treuer,
1948-72 |
|
23 |
Correspondence fragments, 1946-73, A-E |
|
24 |
Correspondence fragments, 1946-73, F-M |
|
25 |
Correspondence fragments, 1946-73, N-Z |
Added 1977
Box |
26 |
Back to the Tower of Babel : booklet of Semantography
Series, No. 278 Transcripts of lectures, 1977 Circular letter by G.W.
Hewes, 1972 Press releases, 1972 |
Added 4 April 1985
Box |
26 |
The Blissymbols Picture Book, by C.K. Bliss and correspondence with the Director-General at the National Library of Australia |
Added 16 October 1986
Box |
26 |
In Memory of Claire, typescript by C.K.
Bliss |
Added November 1986
Boxes |
27 |
Not used |
|
28-29 |
Correspondence in named files, A-M |
|
30-31 |
Correspondence in named files, N-Z |
|
32 |
Letters and book orders, 1970-77, D-H |
|
33 |
Letters and book orders, 1970-77, I-Q |
|
34 |
Letters and book orders, 1970-77, S-Z |
|
35 |
Letters and book orders, 1978-79, F-K; correspondence with Doug Everingham, 1972-75 |
|
36 |
Letters and book orders, 1978-79, L-Z |
|
37 |
Correspondence, 1980 |
|
38-40 |
Business and personal correspondence, 1964-85. The bulk of the
correspondence relates to Blisss dispute with the Blissymbolics
Communications Foundation, Canada, and the subsequent court case. A small
amount of correspondence with friends is included and there is also business
correspondence relating to the boarding house Bliss managed in Coogee, Sydney,
correspondence courses he ran and the printing of his books, both in Australia
and Japan. |
|
41-51 |
Canada: material relating to legal proceedings that took place
between Charles Bliss, the Blissymbolics Communication Institute (formerly
Blissymbolics Communication Foundation) and the Ontario Crippled Children's
Centre in 1980. Shirley McNaughton of OCCC was alleged to be illegally using
his symbols. (See also Box 67) |
|
52-53 |
Papers relating to a nomination by Douglas Everingham to award
the 1969 Nobel Peace Prize to Bliss, 1968-71 |
|
54-56 |
Various manuscript drafts |
|
57 |
In Memory of Claire: papers relating to Bliss's wife
Claire. |
|
58 |
Documents, memorabilia, photographs |
|
59 |
Shanghai papers Memorabilia, 1978 Photographs |
|
60 |
Press cuttings Albums Miscellaneous documents |
|
61 |
Publications |
Added 16 June 1994
Boxes |
62 |
Alphabetical files, B-H |
|
63 |
Alphabetical files, H-M |
|
64 |
Alphabetical files, M-S |
|
65 |
Minute books containing copies of personal documents of Charles
and Claire Bliss, 1961-84 Sydney correspondence to family in Europe,
1946-49 (in German) |
|
66 |
Sydney papers, 1943-82. Included are invitations, newspaper
cuttings, correspondence and typescripts. Papers on patents,
1949-67 Correspondence, 1974-80 |
|
67 |
Correspondence and other papers, 1974-80, relating to the court
case Charles K. Bliss -v- Blissymbolics Communications Foundation and the
Ontario Crippled Children's Centre in the Supreme Court of Ontario, 1977-81.
(See also Boxes 41-51) Correspondence, 1984 BCI conference papers and
other papers, 1984 |
|
68 |
Miscellaneous papers including articles and newspaper
clippings, 1953-80
Printed matter |
|
Folio |
Cutting book, 1943-81 containing newspaper clippings, pamphlets
and correspondence |
December 1999
Updated 14 April 2010
|