The New Union Spelling-Book compiled by the American Sunday School Union
date: label: date made
content: 1874
notes: label: Description
content: This 19th Century spelling book contains short reading selections on a variety of topics, accompanied by spelling exercises of key vocabulary words. Black and white illustrations appear at the beginning of each section, and there is an animal depicted for each letter of the alphabet. The front cover is illustrated with a border of flowers and ribbons. The back cover contains an illustration of a male schoolteacher with a class of five young pupils. This 128 page book is a revised version of the 1838 text.
label: Description
content: The American Sunday-School Union had as its mission the promotion of Sunday schools and early literacy and the spiritual development of children. It was a significant publisher and provider of books and periodicals for children and played a role in shaping the direction of 19th Century children's literature in America. It was formed in 1817 as the Sunday and Adult School Union but officially changed its name to American Sunday School Union in 1824 with an official founding in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The literature published by the Union primarily focused on non-fiction topics such as history and biography, along with poetry, hymns, and didactic teachings. Many authors and artists contributed their efforts at no cost. The Union in turn provided their literature at cost or, when possible, for free. Eventually, it began to produce “libraries” of books that could be purchased at a reduced rate by schools. The American Sunday-School Union continued to publish until 1960. In 1974, it became the American Missionary Fellowship, an organization that remains active today under the name of InFaith, a name it acquired in September 2011.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
place: label: place made
content: United States: Pennsylvania, Philadelphia
setName: label: See more items in
content: Home and Community Life: Education
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Gift of Dr. Richard Lodish American School Collection
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: 2017.3049.34
label: nonaccession number
content: 2017.3049
label: catalog number
content: 2017.3049.34
objectType: label: Object Name
content: book
label: Object Type
content: instructional materials
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: paper (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: ink (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: printed (overall production method/technique)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 6 3/4 in x 4 1/4 in x 1/4 in; 17.145 cm x 10.795 cm x .635 cm