HoB_ABCs

Title The Child's Christian Education

Brief description Rest of title Being the most proper introduction to the profitable reading the Holy Bible, &c. In five parts. Containing, I. An alphabet, illustrated with cuts; and easy lessons of monosyllables ... II. Tables of words, from two to five syllables ... III. A plain and impartial account of the whole faith and duty of a Christian: collected out of the writings of the Old and New Testament ... IV. Rules for spelling. The use of stops. Bishop Ken's three hymns ... V. An exposition of the church catechism, collected from our best divines ... Designed for the use of schools and families. By the Reverend Mr. Fisher. One full-page woodcut illustration. The young Christian instructed: or, The church catechism explained. (48 p. at end) has special t.p. Brown calf over boards, blocked in blind; rebacked, in case. Gold embossed cover. Uses handset type, long S, and lead words. Bookplate reads Ex libris May & George Shiers.

Full description The Child's Christian Education was published in London, England. Written by the Reverend Fisher, the book was produced on behalf of the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge. Containing just a single page of woodcuts illustrations accompanying the alphabet, the book was designed for use in schools and at home for learning the alphabet as well as the tenets of being a good Christian. The Child's Christian Education is divided into a series of lessons, starting with the alphabet and syllables, and then moving on to accounts from the New and Old Testament, hymns, and a church catechism.

Literacy The Child's Christian Education's second title, Spelling or reading made easy. Being the most proper introduction to the profitable reading the Holy Bible in five parts... shows that spelling and reading were not the only goals for the child owner of this book. The title implies that learning to spell and read are just the first steps in the greater journey of learning the Bible and becoming a good Christian. The book was divided into a series of lessons, beginning with the alphabet, and progressing to syllables, vowels, and sentences, making a point to stress the beginning being for novices and the latter parts for the more expert reader. With its own set of pagination, the catechism in the latter section of The Child's Christian Education could stand on its own as a lesson book for any practicing child. Beside teaching reading literacy the book has many life lessons which would contribute to cultural literacy such as, "Wash you hair, clean your face, comb your hair, and then make haste to school."

Childhood The preface of the The Child's Christian Education insists that the too many children are trained to read using idle romances and end up neglecting scripture. Instead this book takes the stories and lessons from scripture and writes them in a way accessible to children. The book's author recognizes that a child is not capable of the same level of understanding or interest in the bible as an adult, but has a duty to read and learn from scripture. While compared to later titles with lighter themes and fanciful illustrations The Child's Christian Education may seem stark and somber, the acknowledgment that children needed a separate type of book is important in the history of the notions of the child and the history of children's literature. Sentiments like, "If you let this day of youth slip from you, it will not come again; then hold it fast while you have it," stress that childhood is a separate time in one's life, and one to be cherished and made the most of.

Iconography The Child's Christian Education mixes Christian and everyday secular images that offer a unique perspective on the cultural landscape of 18th century England. The illustrated alphabet letters, which are the only pictorial elements of the book, incorporate everyday objects like "S for Shoe" and "T for table" with a few fantastical images as well like "U for Unicorn." The lack of explicitly Christian imagery shows that the author was concerned with familiarizing the children with the alphabet first with known everyday objects, and then builds on those skills to teach the lessons from scripture.

Production This 1763 edition is bound in brown calf, with the title embossed in gold, and with gold trim along the spine. With only one page of woodcut illustrations, the handset letterpress printed text is small and dense on the page. Pocket-sized, the book could be easily carried from school to home. The Child's Christian Education was sold by the London bookseller B. Dod to the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, the oldest Anglican organization in the world today. Founded in 1698 by Anglican priest Thomas Bray, the society was meant to encourage Christian education and the production and distribution of Christian literature. By the 18th century the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge was by far the largest producer of Christian literature in Britain. The range of its output was considerable--from pamphlets aimed at specific groups such as farmers, prisoners, soldiers, seamen, servants and slave-owners, to more general works on subjects such as baptism, confirmation, Holy Communion, the Prayer Book and private devotion.