Esther Copp’s Spelling Book
name: label: associated person
content: Copp, Esther
notes: label: Description
content: This spelling book was used by Esther Copp (b. 1754) when she was about 13 years old in Stonington, Connecticut. Literacy and spelling in the colonies was heavily slanted towards religious texts. Once children had learned their letters from the hornbook, they often graduated to a primer, psalter, Testament, and finally the Bible. The primer books often included rudimentary religious passages such as the Lord’s Prayer or catechism.
label: Description
content: The Copp Collection contains about 150 books of early American imprint and shows a wide range of reading matter typical of a New England Puritan family living in a port town. Literacy was expected of many New Englanders, as Puritan doctrine required everyone to read the Bible. The abundance of multiple Bibles, psalms, hymnodies, sermons, and morality tales reflects the Copp’s religious beliefs. Other highlights of the library include the works of Shakespeare, almanacs, historical and political texts, and travel narratives.
label: Description
content: The Copp Collection contains a variety of household objects that the Copp family of Connecticut used from around 1700 until the mid-1800s. Part of the Puritan Great Migration from England to Boston, the family eventually made their home in New London County, Connecticut, where their textiles, clothes, utensils, ceramics, books, bibles, and letters provide a vivid picture of daily life. More of the collection from the Division of Home and Community Life can be viewed by searching accession number 28810.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
setName: label: See more items in
content: Home and Community Life: Domestic Life
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content: Cultures & Communities
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content: Copp Collection
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Gift of John Brenton Copp
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: DL.006528
label: catalog number
content: 6528
label: accession number
content: 28810
objectType: label: Object Name
content: book
label: Other Terms
content: Book; Printed
physicalDescription: label: Measurements
content: overall: 5 1/2 in x 3 1/4 in x 5/8 in; 13.97 cm x 8.255 cm x 1.5875 cm