H is for hornbook
Hornbooks are paddles, commonly made of wood or leather, used to help children learn to read.
A sheet of paper printed with the alphabet was usually affixed to the paddle and covered with a thin layer of animal horn.
Hornbooks were used from Shakespeare’s time up until the 19th century, when the printing of primers and booklets became more affordable.
Ivory hornbook with alphabet
ca. 1800
Osborne Collection of Early Children's Books
Unlike earlier examples of hornbooks, this example includes the letter “J”. This letter was a later addition to the English alphabet, developed when writing became more commonplace.
You may also notice that the letters “U” and “V” are not in the order we see in modern alphabets.
Left: Leather hornbook with Lord’s Prayer, ca. 1800
Centre: Hornbook made of silver and mother of pearl, ca. 1800
Purchased in memory of Thomas Thaddeus Bogenschutz
Osborne Collection of Early Children's Books
The leather hornbook, on the left, includes syllables to sound out and the Lord’s Prayer as a reading text. The small cross at the top was a reminder to the child that reading, at the time, was closely related to prayer.
This silver hornbook in a mother-of-pearl frame, centre, is far more ornate than most hornbooks, and was intended to be hung on a wall.
Ivory vocabulary paddles
1780
Osborne Collection of Early Children's Books
These early flash cards were used to teach French.
Each paddle carries the word for the image on the other side, as well as a quick pronunciation guide. The complete set includes thirty-two paddles.