author

Pierre Desloges

b. 1747

Remembered as the first deaf author to publish a book in France, he offered a rare first-person view of Deaf life in the 18th century. His writing is still valued for the way it defends sign language and community.

1 Audiobook

Observations d'un sourd et muèt sur un cours élémentaire d'éducation des sourds et muèts publié en 1779 par M. l'Abbé Deshamps, Chapelain de l'Église d'Orléans

Observations d'un sourd et muèt sur un cours élémentaire d'éducation des sourds et muèts publié en 1779 par M. l'Abbé Deshamps, Chapelain de l'Église d'Orléans

by Pierre Desloges

About the author

Pierre Desloges was a French writer and bookbinder from the 18th century, best known for Observations d’un sourd et muet. Sources describe him as having become deaf around age seven after smallpox, and later learning to sign from other deaf people rather than through formal schooling.

His book, published in 1779, is widely noted because it is one of the earliest known works written by a deaf person in France. In it, he argued for the richness of sign language and pushed back against hearing critics who dismissed it.

Although only a small amount is known about his life, Desloges remains an important figure in Deaf history. His work gives modern readers a direct glimpse of deaf culture, language, and self-advocacy in pre-Revolutionary France.