Eighteenth Century Horn Book
date: label: Date made
content: 1700-1799
notes: label: Description
content: Hornbooks were used in the 17th and 18th centuries to teach basic reading and prayer to the young child. They were usually a child's first reading material. The lesson on the hornbook begins with the symbol of the cross followed by letters of the alphabet, vowel and letter combinations for sounding out syllables, and ends with the Lord's Prayer. A child would begin the lesson with a prayer or benediction with the teacher and read or recite the hornbook out loud. Once mastered, the child would then move on to a primer. Hornbooks were very small; this one is only a little over 4 inches. A thin piece of transparent horn protectively covers the printed paper which is fastened to a piece of wood in the shape of a butter paddle. Often a leather thong is tied to the handle to prevent the child from losing the hornbook. Most hornbooks were imported and many had decorative backs or gilding.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
topic: label: used
content: Education
setName: label: See more items in
content: Home and Community Life: Education
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content: Cultures & Communities
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: CL.64.0764
label: catalog number
content: 64.764
label: accession number
content: 253339
objectType: label: Object Name
content: horn book
label: Object Name
content: hornbook
physicalDescription: label: Measurements
content: overall: 4 1/8 in x 2 1/4 in; 10.4775 cm x 5.715 cm