HoB_ABCs

Title The Alphabet In Rhyme

Brief description 16 p. ; ill. (wood-engravings)

Full description This delicate alphabet book describes different individuals and various types of people (e.g. "a Brewer" and "Benjamin Franklin") in short rhyming couplets, exploring concepts of morality, social class, and occupation. The combination of figures chosen, vocabulary used, and the stark presentation of simple wood engraving prints without color indicate this alphabet book was intended for an older child.

Literacy By 1840, the definition of literacy had progressed well beyond being capable of putting a signature to a will or other legal document. Although the alphabet is presented alone in its entirety, in and out of order and with uppercase and lowercase letters, the main contents of the book are small couplets, rather than individual words for each letter. Remnants of the moralistic Puritanical emphasis on literacy may be seen in the judgment of the drunkard as vile and Henry VIII as wicked.

Childhood The child who would be given The Alphabet in Rhyme would likely be older and further advanced in reading skills than a beginner. The book is rather small and delicate. Even if the stitched binding was a later addition or attempt at a repair, the book is small and the pages are thin. A very young child would not be given such a fragile item.

The pictures are wood engravings in black and white, not the brightly colored pictures that would hold the attention of a younger child. Each letter represents a type of person, upon which the couplet elaborates. This content suggests that the knowledge of the reader has advanced beyond the simple childhood objects centered around the home (such as ball, cat, dog, etc.) to include some notion of the wider world, with ideas such as social class, race/culture, and occupation.

Iconography While all of the vocabulary and illustrations chosen for this alphabet book are centered on people, there is a fair variety in the type of people pictured. Professions are included (the Brewer), as well as American (Benjamin Franklin) and European (Henry VIII) historical figures. Henry VIII is denounced as a wicked king, suggesting that the child using this alphabet book may be studying history, as well. The variety of people portrayed would indicate a fairly broad education was to be expected, if they were to be easily recognized by the reader.

Production This delicate, single-signature, stitched book is an excellent example of a chapbook: thin paper, small size, simple illustrations lacking any color, and a cover of only slightly thicker paper than the interior pages. These characteristics are all ways to lower expenses in printing.

The back cover indicates the book would have sold for anywhere between one and six cents, and at some later point was re-sold, as ".50" is penciled into the upper left of the first interior page. The text is letterpress, and the images woodcut relief printing (left without color). The ability to print the text and images at the same time simplified the printing process and allowed the books to be produced more cheaply.