ITARD Jean Marie Gaspard Rapport fait à son excellence le Ministre de l’Intérieur, sur les nouveaux développemens et l’état actuel du sauvage de l’Aveyron.

Norman, 1145 ; Wellcome, p. 334 ; Garrison-Morton, 4969.1 (for the first report).

First edition of the second report.

A specialist in deafness, Itard became famous for his work on the case of Victor, the young savage found in the Aveyron. In his first report, published after nine months of intensive care, Itard was optimistic about the possibilities of teaching him to speak.

“Itard’s second report was less hopeful – even after several years of intensive education, the boy proved incapable of learning speech, and Itard was forced to recognize that some of the effects of prolonged isolation are irreversible, especially when the isolation occurs during the crucial period of early chilhood” (Norman).

Slight restoration to the first leaf.