HoB_ABCs

Title Alphabet Et Instruction Pour Les Enfans

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Brief description Rough paper, bent doubled and then stitched together, all woodcut printing with strong impression marks. Bottom looks like it was cut incorrectly as the bottom looks diagonal. The printing is also not 100% correctly aligned but has the same angle as the cut almost. Large letters, very dense though in Latin Titles or descriptions in French. Access to printed materials but not too expensive and no color. Very good condition. Probably meant for older child or readers as only first page has alphabet and it only covers half of page. Punctuation is also covered. Then the different accent marked letters as well as the joined.The next page and a half is syllables and then after that are full prayers.

Full description This book is composed of rough paper, bent doubled and then stitched together, all woodcut printing with strong impression marks. Notably, the bottom looks like it was cut diagonally, in either haste of lack of sufficient equipment to produce a fine edge. The printing therefore is also not correctly aligned but has the same angle as the pages. The font is large and quite dense, which points to access to early 19th century printed materials, yet lacks color and quality materials. Though the book appears to be somewhat a crude book despite the printing and paper use, this book is in fact an excellent example of the cutting edge technologies intermingling with the rougher traditions of home hewn tools and literacy instruments.

Literacy This book is composed of printed materials which indicate that literacy had escaped the confinement of the household or local dame schools and was now a commercial enterprise, suggesting that literacy was prevalent enough to have a target demographic. Additionally, this book is composed of mediocre materials with little care taken for its binding or quality. This would suggest that it was intended for either a middle or lower class child, rather than the exclusively upper society reader.

The book also contains religious passages and prayers, which coincides with the more individualized trend of a personal relationship religion, something that went hand in hand with education as a vehicle for improving one's own faith or belief. While the materials are arguably less refined that other examples of reading tools during this time period, the fact that there exists a tool for a lower or middle class population of children is further evidence of literacy spreading into all aspects of the 19th century American or European society.

Childhood This particular book is an excellent example of a French primer which may have been designed for a middle class audience. The actual content begins with letters and syllables, and then continues with Prayers, Confession, Grace, and the Commandments. As with the hornbooks, this tool was intended to teach a child the basic foundations of education and religion.

As is common with the early 19th century, childhood involves little entertainment and instead, focuses on stark truths and facts to be memorized. The font itself its quite large which suggests multiple readers at a time while the gradual progression from alphabet to syllables to prayers suggests a broad range of ages or education level. This is also indicative of the trends Joseph Zornado indicated in his article "History as Human Relationship, Inventing the Child."

Perhaps the item was utilized in a school or large family setting, such as the Dame Schools or a mother, whom society had charged with the task of educating and nurturing the developing child. Most likely the children who used this book were diverse in age, from a moderately wealthy household that placed a strong emphasis on the spiritual aspect of children's education

Iconography While this book does not include any specific images beyond a slight border, there are many cultural icons that are present just in the physicality of the object itself. Published in the first quarter of the 19th century, this book represents a visible transition of society's change in views and improvement of technology.

In many ways, this small book serves the same function as a hornbook: to impress information upon a child with little to no thought for images or pictures that might catch a child's imagination. However, technology has begun to improve and printed materials are gradually becoming more common. Hence, though rough in appearance and production, literacy tools are becoming more widely available in different formats, which include booklets and other materials for children.

Though handmade materials are still more prominent, this book is an excellent example of the traditional and modern beginning to merge as education and society advances to an era of new ideas and new technologies.

Production This particular book is an excellent example of a French primer which may have been designed for a middle class audience. Such a demographic would have been a rather new patron for a print publications and there is a lack of sophistication that a book geared toward a wealthier patron might have enjoyed. The paper thus seems uneven and cut haphazardly, suggesting it was done with less care or by the patron themselves.

This suggests that while the print world may be aware of the middle class need for literature, they are still willing to do little more than meet the basic needs of such a demographic. While there is still much room for improvement with this piece, the writing is on the wall, or in this case, on the pages, for what would eventually be a booming enterprise of publishing now geared towards this emerging middle class with time to learn and money to spend on items to teach them.