Rare Helen Keller Photo Found

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Experts believe it is the earliest photo of the two together and the only one showing Keller with a doll. The blind and deaf Keller’s first word was doll. Sullivan taught it to her after they met in 1887.

The photograph has belonged to the Thaxter Spencer family. His mother, Hope Thaxter Parks, visited Cape Cod as a child and played with Keller in 1888.

Spencer is unsure who took the photo, but he said his mother remembered Helen touching her face with her hands. He donated a large collection of photos, letters, journals, and other keepsakes in June to the genealogical society.

He said he’d never thought much about the photograph. He didn’t realize people would find it so rare and interesting.

However, it took the genealogical society’s staff several months to realize the photo’s significance as well. After doing some research, they found the photo had been published in a 1987 magazine and fifty years earlier in The Boston Globe. They suspect there may be more than one copy of the photo.

The photo is important because it represents a turning point in Keller’s life. Sullivan came to teach Keller in 1887 after she was left blind and deaf from a childhood illness. Sullivan taught Keller to spell words in to her hand. Keller went from an upset and angry child to a scholar who found a way to communicate.

Sullivan stayed with Keller until she died in 1936. Keller became an author and humanitarian and died in 1968. The women had a deep connection at which others marveled.