ABCS of the CBC: Alphabet books in the Children's book Collection 1700-1900

Alphabet books offer a vivid insight into the history of literacy and culture, as well as concepts of childhood. The Children's Book Collection at UCLA contains a rich array of these materials, some well-worn and much-used, some still bright and fresh. Each is a gem of print production and graphical imagery from another time and place. Though the history of alphabet books continues to the present, this exhibit focuses on the works in our collections published between 1700 and 1900, including horn books, primers, works of didacticism and seriousness, whimsy and play.

Exhibit Contents:

Exhibit Home

1. A Comic Alphabet

2. A Jumble ABC

3. A Little Pretty Pocket-Book

4. A New Lottery Book of Birds And Beasts

5. A Pretty Play-Thing for Children of All Denominations

6. ABC Child's First Book

7. ABC of Animals

8. ABC of Objects for Home And School

9. ABC with Colored Figures

10. ABC with Pictures & Verses

11. Alphabet Des Cris Paris

12. Alphabet Et Instruction Pour Les Enfans

13. Alphabet of Birds

14. Animal Land Panorama ABC

15. Cock Robin's Alphabet

16. Dolly's ABC Book

17. Flora's ABC

18. Home ABC

19. Hornbook C. 1800A

20. Hornbook C. 1800B

21. Hornbook C. 1800C

22. Hornbook C. 1700

23. Large Letters for the Little Ones

24. Little ABC Book

25. Little People: An Alphabet

26. Martin's Nursery Battledoor

27. Mother Goose ABC

28. My Darling's ABC

29. Orbis Sensualium Pictus Quadrilinguis

30. People of All Nations: A Useful Toy for Girl Or Boy

31. Picture Alphabet

32. Pretty ABC

33. Railway ABC

34. Rusher's Reading Made Most Easy

35. Sunshine ABC Book

36. The ABC of Pretty Tales

37. The Alphabet In Rhyme

38. The Alphabet of Old Friends

39. The American Primer

40. The Amusing Alphabet for Young Children Beginning To Read

41. The Big Letter ABC Book

42. The Child's Christian Education

43. The Child's New Plaything

44. The Daily Express ABC

45. The Easter Gift

46. The Farmyard Alphabet

47. The Favorite Alphabet for the Nursery

48. The Floral Alphabet

49. The Franklin Alphabet And Primer

50. The Funny Alphabet

51. The Golden ABC

52. The Infant's Alphabet

53. The Lulu Alphabet

54. The Military Alphabet

55. The Moral And Entertaining Alphabet

56. The Noah's Ark Primer

57. The Old Testament Alphabet

58. The Picture Alphabet

59. The Picture Alphabet for Little Children

60. The Railroad Alphabet

61. The Railway Alphabet

62. The Sunday ABC

63. The Union ABC

64. The Young Child's ABC, Or, First Book

65. Tom Thumb's Alphabet: Picture Baby-Books

66. Victoria Alphabet

67. Warne's Alphabet And Word Book: with Coloured Pictures

68. Wood's Royal Nursery Alphabet

Title Little People: An Alphabet

Full description This charming book depicts each letter of the alphabet with a child from a country associated with the letter, and has accompanying text. Through the images and text national stereotypes are conveyed, teaching children the hierarchies of power within societies and amongst nations.

Literacy The content of the book indicates the reader would need to possess an international literacy in order to understand references in the verses to people of other nations. The book expresses popularly held stereotypes at the time. For example, for the letter C, boys from China are described as being "merry" and "good." For the letter A, Arabian boys are described as being "upset" and fierce. This book was published in London during early 20th century, a time when many nations and nationalities were becoming widely known to Western culture. The reader of this book would be learning these national stereotypes.

Childhood The reader imagined by this book would be a child beginning to learn the hierarchies of power, but who is still enjoying the pleasantries of childhood. Through the text a reader finds that the illustrated children are not all depicted in an equally favorable light. For the letter P a Persian is richly dressed and "roves through rose-gardens and lemon groves." However, for the letter N, a Neapolitan (a person from Naples, Italy) is dressed in plebian clothing and "plays the pipes for pence... to help him on his weary way". Despite the class differences between the Persian and the Neapolitan, both of the children are depicted with doll-like faces conveying the Western notion of the innocence of childhood.

Iconography The depictions of nationalities in this book reflect the Western values of power structures and the belief in English superiority over other countries. For example, the letter K depicts a Kaffir (a person from South Africa), simply wearing a diaper, he possesses no weapons, and the text describes him as "sly." In contrast, the letter E depicts an English, wearing a soldier uniform, carrying a sword, saluting the reader with a direct gaze, and the text describes him as a "splendid race... sturdy...honest...they own much of the land and all of the sea...they will never be slaves." This contrast between the Kaffir and the English illustrates the dominant view in Victorian culture of the English being the superior nation.

Production In 1897, Grant Richards started his own publishing company, which became known for producing plays, poems, and other literary works. Richards also produced series such as World's Classics and The Dumpy Books for Children, which includes Helen Bannerman's infamous children's book The Story of Little Black Sambo. Unfortunately, Richards declared bankruptcy twice, and his publishing company eventually failed.



















Creator T. W. H. (Thomas William Hodgson) Crosland

Publisher Grant Richards

Publication place London

Date 1902

UCLA Call Number CBC PZ7 .D89 no.11

Repository UCLA Charles E. Young Research Library, Dept. of Special Collections

Dimensions 14 cm

Technologies of production Printing

Additional Information Illustrator: Henry Mayer

Caption