The American Spelling Book
notes: label: Description
content: This edition of Noah Webster’s <i>The American Spelling Book</i> was published by Holbrook and Fessenden of Brattleborough (now Brattleboro), Vermont in 1821. Webster’s <i>The American Spelling Book</i> was commonly known as the “blue backed speller” due to its blue cover, and was one of the most popular spelling books since its first publication in 1783. The speller was followed by a book on grammar in 1784 and a reader in 1785. Webster’s goal was to divorce the American educational system from its British roots, and accordingly his speller substituted many British spellings for American variants, dropping extra letters like “u” and “e” to simplify the language.
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
topic: label: used
content: Education Tools- Language Arts
setName: label: See more items in
content: Home and Community Life: Domestic Life
label: See more items in
content: Cultures & Communities
label: See more items in
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.006866.20
label: catalog number
content: 6866.20
label: accession number
content: 28810
objectType: label: Object Name
content: book
physicalDescription: label: Measurements
content: overall: 4 3/8 in x 6 3/4 in x 3/4 in; 11.1125 cm x 17.145 cm x 1.905 cm