{"id":1826415,"date":"2024-02-01T09:33:15","date_gmt":"2024-02-01T14:33:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/?p=1826415"},"modified":"2024-02-01T09:33:15","modified_gmt":"2024-02-01T14:33:15","slug":"middle-earth-in-braille","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/2024\/02\/middle-earth-in-braille\/","title":{"rendered":"Middle-earth in Braille"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"AAmong the tactile and braille maps<\/a> sold by Adaptations, the store run by San Francisco-based LightHouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired, is this bundle of braille\/tactile maps of Middle-earth<\/a>. \u201cThe maps have raised lines, textures, and braille. There are 7 maps of Middle Earth, each focusing on different features (regions, settlements, mountains, forests, rivers and bodies of water). There are also two detailed maps: the Shire and Mordor.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Among the tactile and braille maps sold by Adaptations, the store run by San Francisco-based LightHouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired, is this bundle of braille\/tactile maps of Middle-earth. \u201cThe maps have raised lines,… More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"link","meta":{"autoblue_enabled":true,"autoblue_custom_message":"","autoblue_shares":[],"autoblue_post_url":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[289,1650,486,397],"class_list":["post-1826415","post","type-post","status-publish","format-link","hentry","category-maps-and-literature","tag-blind","tag-braille","tag-middle-earth","tag-tolkien","post_format-post-format-link"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1809352,"url":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/2022\/10\/more-on-tactile-maps\/","url_meta":{"origin":1826415,"position":0},"title":"More on Tactile Maps","author":"Jonathan Crowe","date":"13 October 2022","format":"link","excerpt":"The Bodleian Map Room Blog (no relation) has a nice look at some tactile maps for the visually impaired, with some interesting 20th-century examples of the form, such as 3D relief maps, a globe, and braille maps. Previously: Tactile Maps, Modern and Historical; A 19th-Century Tactile Map.","rel":"","context":"In "Unusual Maps"","block_context":{"text":"Unusual Maps","link":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/category\/unusual-maps\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":5210,"url":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/2017\/10\/australian-braille-globe-being-digitized\/","url_meta":{"origin":1826415,"position":1},"title":"Australian Braille Globe Being Digitized","author":"Jonathan Crowe","date":"16 October 2017","format":"link","excerpt":"A rare Braille globe held by the Queensland State Library is being digitized so as to create a 3D-printed replica. The globe, invented by Richard Frank Tunley in the 1950s, is one of the last copies still in existence and is in poor physical shape\u2014problematic for something designed to be\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Unusual Maps"","block_context":{"text":"Unusual Maps","link":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/category\/unusual-maps\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1035,"url":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/2016\/02\/3d-printed-maps-for-the-blind-and-visually-impaired\/","url_meta":{"origin":1826415,"position":2},"title":"3D Printed Maps for the Blind and Visually Impaired","author":"Jonathan Crowe","date":"28 February 2016","format":"link","excerpt":"Rutgers University: \"Using a high-tech 3-D printer, a Rutgers undergraduate and his professor created sophisticated braille maps to help blind and visually impaired people navigate a local training center.\" [via] Here's a short video about the project\u00a0from Rutgers: https:\/\/youtu.be\/nvo3Z9Af1so","rel":"","context":"In \"3D printing\"","block_context":{"text":"3D printing","link":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/tag\/3d-printing\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/img.youtube.com\/vi\/nvo3Z9Af1so\/0.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":859,"url":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/2016\/02\/a-19th-century-tactile-map\/","url_meta":{"origin":1826415,"position":3},"title":"A 19th-Century Tactile Map","author":"Jonathan Crowe","date":"14 February 2016","format":"link","excerpt":"L. R. Klemm's\u00a0Relief Practice Map: Roman Empire (above) is an example of the\u00a0printed tactile maps used to teach sighted and blind students alike during the nineteenth century. [via] Most of the maps for blind and visually impaired users I've encountered to date are of modern provenance.\u00a0Previously on The Map Room:\u00a0Joshua\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Antique Maps"","block_context":{"text":"Antique Maps","link":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/category\/antique-maps\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/tactile-map-1024x734.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/tactile-map-1024x734.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/tactile-map-1024x734.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/tactile-map-1024x734.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3854,"url":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/2017\/02\/tactile-maps-modern-and-historical\/","url_meta":{"origin":1826415,"position":4},"title":"Tactile Maps, Modern and Historical","author":"Jonathan Crowe","date":"5 February 2017","format":"link","excerpt":"Two items on maps for the blind and visually impaired\u2014a subject I find terribly interesting: Greg Miller of National Geographic\u2019s All Over the Map reports\u00a0on a new tactile atlas of\u00a0Switzerland, which \"is\u00a0printed with special ink that expands when heated to create tiny bumps and ridges on the page.\"\u00a0I can't find\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Antique Maps"","block_context":{"text":"Antique Maps","link":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/category\/antique-maps\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1844808,"url":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/2025\/08\/3d-printed-tactile-maps\/","url_meta":{"origin":1826415,"position":5},"title":"3D Printed Tactile Maps","author":"Jonathan Crowe","date":"3 August 2025","format":"link","excerpt":"Touch Mapper is an open source project (GitHub) for generating 3D printed tactile maps for the visually impaired. The maps use OpenStreetMap data and produce a file that can be printed on almost any 3D printer, or ordered for a fee. The project started nearly a decade ago but I\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Unusual Maps"","block_context":{"text":"Unusual Maps","link":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/category\/unusual-maps\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1826415","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1826415"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1826415\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1826424,"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1826415\/revisions\/1826424"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1826415"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1826415"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1826415"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}